Elements combine in dance

There is an incredible sense of hope in Lizt Alfonso Dance Cuba’s latest presentation — a sensibility that says no matter how many scars humanity has inflicted upon the Earth, we can bring about change.

All too often we see fleeting images of a barren and depleted Earth. Photos of the oilsands are prime examples. In this 90-minute choreography called Elementos that took to the Arden Theatre stage Thursday, Alfonso reminds us we need to protect the planet’s all-encompassing beauty, fragility and strength for the survival of every organism.

In its unique form, Alfonso captures the spirit of Earth, the heartbeat of our existence. Through the theatricality of movement, characters and bold lighting we are merged into an abstract fantasia that is at times gentle and breezy or violent and scalding.

Watching the 17 dancers and seven musicians (they are visible from the orchestra pit), Elementos (Elements) takes us on a fanciful journey that mirrors the shifting moods of music ranging from flamenco and Afro-Cuban rhythms to classical and a smattering of jazz.

Inspired by environmental changes worldwide, this dance brings together the four elements of earth, fire, water and air and their fusion with mankind. It unfolds, not in a literal fashion, but as an imagined beginning of the planet.

Our first glimpse is deep in the cavernous bowels of the Earth where Fire (Claudia Valdivia) dominates with smouldering sensuality. When the erotic-like Mother Earth (Yudisley Martinez) appears, the music morphs into an energetic cacophonous rhythms that boost the intensity as the duo conveys a desire for connection and co-existence.

In a cool down moment, the balletic Water (Carmen Rosa LĂłpez/Gisselle Molina) is like a soft spray, a refreshing, playful duet followed by the full-chorus vignette of Air, a frothy, spring-like moment of lightness.

After the fertile Earth painfully gives birth to a staff-wielding Man (Anika BarĂł), the elements nurture him from his first steps to adulthood in bursts of multiple twirls, leaps and pirouettes that signify a joyful symbiotic relationship.

The all-women dancers are amazingly virtuosic, sculpturally synchronized and extraordinarily sensual and erotic. They gracefully swirl, stamp and glide while coiling their arms and throwing in a few dramatic head tosses. Whenever Valdivia and Martinez step on stage, they command everyone’s attention with saucy characterizations, sultry movements and floating grace.

Elementos is a dance that may not inspire everyone to dash out and change the world. But it is a beautifully performed reminder of how simple and complex life is and our responsibility to it.