The unique expressions of Aura Curiatlas Physical Theatre return to the Kimball Theatre April 7-8 with a combination of stories from past performances and new visions that similarly blend together dance, theater and acrobatics.
Joan Gavaler, the group’s co-artistic director and a dance professor at the College of William and Mary, said she hopes to offer a different kind of theatrical experience, a visceral one equal parts emotional and thought-provoking for the audience.
“Movement makes more sense to me in terms of relating to the world,” she said. “It’s sort of my starting place.”
In its fourth year, the show combines two acts. The first, “Dream Logic,” features six separate stories told through physicality.
“We try to take ordinary situations and try to interpret them in creative ways and flip them on their head a little bit,” said Dan Plehal, the theater’s other co-artistic director.
“Couple’s Therapy” sees lovers traverse an invisible obstacle course, accentuated with live sound effects. “Cardon” relays two languages of movement, hip hop and ballet, as the dancers seek the common ground between them. New this year, “Stack and Restack,” combines dancing with acrobatics to explore an entity disconnecting and reconnecting with itself.
The vignettes rely on the human beings onstage rather than elaborate sets and scenery. The performances combine local dancers with others from across the country.
“We’re dealing with the architecture of the bodies,” Gavaler said. “I think the range of people we have is different from other years, and it’s nice to bring some local talent to share the stage.”
Stephen Hawking, the theoretical physicist who died earlier this month, serves as the inspiration for act two. Aura Curiatlas debuted “A Life With No Limits” last year, and the latest iteration adds a voice-over alongside revised music and movement.
“The performers become the thoughts and the physics and the equations and the ideas,” Gavaler said. “It’s very timely.”
Mickey Lonsdale, a founding member of Aura Curiatlas, said the group’s unique form of storytelling without words makes their performances accessible to almost anyone.
“I get excited to take stories, however simple or epic, and find ways to tell them through combining different physicalities,” he said. “It’s a very wide variety. We want to show you that the imagination can take you to a whole different realm.”
Want to go?
Aura Curiatlas performs 7 p.m. April 7 and 2 p.m. April 8 at the Kimball Theatre. Tickets are $20, $10 for students, available at acphysicaltheatre.com.
