Starr Foster’s ‘Submerged’ sopping with soul

“Most of my dances seem to be really light and quirky – almost silly with an edge of dark humor – or really dark,” said choreographer and founder of the Starr Foster Dance Project Starrene Foster.

Staying true to form, Foster’s “Submerged,” which premiered this weekend at the Grace Street Theater, carried me through a wickedly sharp, yet sobering look into her psyche through modern dance.

Foster’s inventory of movement was very impressive, especially in the opening piece, “Half Empty.” The work of Ashley Thibodeau enthralled me with thorough; skillful ballet and modern dance. Six limber and graceful dancers ran, jumped, slid and rolled while backing up Thibodeau with some very complex textures. The trademark Tim Burton-esque quirk was present from the first moment of the work through both the choreography and the selected music of Henryk Gorecki’s “Concerto for Harpsichord and String Orchestra.” Robin Jones’ lighting concept complimented the piece wonderfully with stark illumination that barely caught the darting dancers.

The emotional bleakness continued with “Crushed,” a solo that featured newest company member Melaney Cash. Though the sinister music was a bit distracting in the beginning of the piece, Cash ended up taking control as she battled on an axis created by two red and white lights on opposite corners of the stage. As she built tension, I found myself getting goose bumps from her facial expressions and passionate conviction.

“Bridge” began with an explosion from subtlety. Featuring best friends at war with each other, the piece ran the gamut of emotion-elegance, then humor, then violence.

“Invisible” was inspired by an independent documentary called “The Bridge,” which was about “how people who suffer often go unnoticed while the rest of the world goes about their everyday affairs,” according to the program. Jones’ lighting design helped carry the mood of the piece through fading color and brightness that mimicked the sunrise and sunset. Beautiful movement, graceful group lifts and dreamy, effortless flow of formations characterized the choreography while accelerated clouds were projected on a giant screen behind the dancers.

During a brief intermission, the stage was filled with smoke. What ensued was an incredibly dark look into the experiences of a Holocaust survivor-Foster’s grandmother, Erna Gill. One of the slowest, most somber pieces I’ve ever seen, the piece “Ninteen43,” had an incredibly creepy element in the use of 9-year-old Nadya Winkey. Foster masterfully used Winkey to shock the audience, as her small stature allowed her to be stealthily inserted into several formations throughout the four-part work. Foster’s dancers marched slowly about the stage, conveying murder, oppression, pain, innocence and grief through facial expression and elaborate choreography.

I don’t know what was more prevalent-Foster’s dark humor or emotional gravity. Should her topical subjects be any indication, Foster’s submerged understanding of choreography will likely be entertaining audiences for years to come.