"Braving the New World' by Rebecca Davis

Adaptations rarely surpass, let alone equal, the original works from which they're taken. The film is rarely better than the book.

But in dance, I've seen two exceptions. Kenneth MacMillan's Romeo and Juliet was one. The other, which I caught recently in rehearsal, is Rebecca Davis's forthcoming Braving the New World, which blends the themes and story lines of Aldous Huxley's Brave New World and George Orwell's 1984. In comparison to Davis's new work, I'd argue, anyone who's only read the novels has barely glimpsed the crippling dystopia these writers describe.

Part of the problem lies in both authors' cerebral, argumentative writing style. Both Orwell and Huxley spent sizeable portions of their too-slim novels on exposition that set up and specified the nature of each totalitarian regime. Orwell discussed the history of Oceania and the three-state world before shifting to the mundane— yet politically central— aspects of Winston Smith's job revising history in the Ministry of Truth. Huxley took readers on a tour of the hatcheries, then discussed the "feelies" and soma before moving on to recreational sex and human (or inhuman) relationships.

But neither book really provides an illuminating picture of how these regimes warp the emotional lives of their subjects. In this respect, Davis's choreography does a far better job.

To be sure, talented actors and dancers on a stage always have an advantage over printed words when it comes to vividly realizing pain and suffering, joy and hope, and bewilderment and despair. But Davis goes a step further: Her well-constructed libretto amplifies the individual performances in her blend of hip-hop and ballet choreography.

Hate session

In a scene entitled "Hate Session," a horde of citizens descend on a non-conformist to twist and ply and terrorize her into shape. The dancer's face and movements shift from cowering confusion to understanding, and finally into a placid gratefulness of knowing one's place. Here, Davis's choreography also emblemizes dance's common usage of repeated gestures to symbolize fidelity and allegiance (seen in ballets like Swan Lake and Giselle, for example).

Later, she shows a gaggle of children being trained to bully their peers. In Orwell's Oceania, children were indoctrinated to spy on their parents, but Davis conjures up an equally disturbing image: She uses an 11-year old as the embodiment of conformist virtue.

Davis further humanizes the altered consciousness of her protagonists through a love triangle and a struggle for power, both of which reveal the emotions that such regimes would exacerbate. Her main antagonist (Matt Thomas as Mustalla) feels only greed and a lust for power. The freethinking Gerard (Sergey Pakharev), through both his sharply drawn movements and facial expressions, reminds us why Orwell originally wanted to title his novel The Last Man in Europe.

Totalitarian joy

Unlike Orwell's Oceania, the world envisioned by Davis's choreography doesn't suffocate the stage. Certainly, much of the techno and electronica music (from Orbital and NIN) evokes the industrialized regimentation of a totalitarian state. But in other sections (particularly in the "birthing" scene), well-ordered movements— from parades and marches to the kata of martial arts— radiate a sense of beauty and even joy. These are elements that any complete portrayal of a totalitarian society should contain.

Few people recall that Huxley took his title from Shakespeare's The Tempest, in which Miranda exclaims with wonder and excitement, "Oh Brave New World that has such people in't!" Even fewer would admit that— at least in the beginning— such societies arose from glorious ideals. Fewer still would acknowledge that many were happy there. Because Davis first shows the harmonizing aspects of regimentation, her dance piece provides a parable and a warning that's as strong as, if not stronger than, the original works.

Moreover, by blending the two story lines, Davis's piece yields fresh insights. The regime she depicts satisfies the majority while excluding two men from fulfillment: the superlative type (in Ian Dodge's Controller) and Pakharev's genetic misfit. By physically manifesting this notion through these characters' shared isolation, she drives home the inherent defect of any society based on the pursuit of the greatest good for the greatest number.

Next stop: Bosnia

Braving the New World portrays a society devoted to both pleasure and order, reminding of our own simultaneous war on obesity in the midst of the non-stop hedonistic diversions of reality-TV.

Orwell and Huxley gave us works that shaped the course of modern thought. Through her use of dance theater, Davis has previously drawn attention to disturbing modern events and trends (such as Enron and Darfur). Her work has consistently demonstrated the relevance of modern dance to an understanding of contemporary life.

Unfortunately, Braving the New World marks the last of her Philadelphia premieres. Davis says she plans to devote the next phase of her career to using dance as a tool for conflict resolution in strife-torn places like the Sudan and Bosnia. It's a brave new world indeed that has such people in it.