A group of six dancers from chitra.MOVES are captured in a moment of dynamic tension and connection against a vibrant, sunset-hued backdrop. The image is framed by the repeating phrase “HOME IS COMING” and anchors Dance Place’s 45th anniversary season with a powerful display of collective movement. Photo by Hamza Bakkach.
It was strange to attend a performance at Dance Place without recently fired Artistic Director Tariq O’Meally’s now familiar curtain speech. Although it remains to be seen how the fallout from his recent dismissal will affect programming at Dance Place in the coming season, it does not seem to be affecting audience attendance for the remaining performances of the season.
…a sophisticated, groovy, and high-energy production…chitra.MOVES is a must-see for DMV dance viewers of all ages.
With different lobby events for every performance, Sunday afternoon was kids’ day for chitra.MOVES’ production of “Village Stories,” as dozens of under-tens cued up for themed, coloring packets before the show. During the presentation, a number of extended movement sections performed in silence made it a little difficult for some of the youngest, but overall the youthful audience did a creditable job staying engaged with a sophisticated, groovy, and high-energy production.
A multi-media work featuring both projected video of the dancers as well as audio of their voices, “Village Stories” sits at the intersection of two trends in current DC dance. On the one hand, it is centered on exploring community in a time of crisis and in a city with the National Guard stationed on every corner. There is perhaps no more topical theme for artists in The District. It’s something that has been explored through recent performances at the Atlas Intersections Festival and the LatinX Movement Festival, to name only a few. In its exploration of community, “Village Stories” also found itself examining the impact of technology through the use of recorded video, as well as more choreographically. As an art form made from embodiment, it is not surprising that dance is becoming a key site to unpack our physical relationship to technology. Choreographer Chitra Subramanian’s approach was thoughtful and well-rehearsed.
While none of Subramanian’s choreography disappointed, my favorite moment came during the first half in a duet between the two male presenting dancers. Progressing from confrontational to playful, they isolated rhythms and phrases from elsewhere in the piece and, in the process, highlighted their singular relationship within the larger group. With numerous other duets and solo sections sandwiched between group sections in silence or with an uptempo beat drop, building the texture of the community from its individual relationships was both the theme and the structure of the work. Subramanian fuses Bharatanatyam and hip-hop techniques with a well-developed individual voice, and it was a treat to see her mesh the form and concept with the same deftness.
“Village Stories” also makes the most effective use of projected dance footage that I have seen in a production of similar scale. You cannot watch video and live dancers at the same time, but Subramanian did an excellent job directing focus from the dancers to the screen and back. Two dancers appeared on screen posed on an escalator in the Metro. They moved only occasionally while their voices played. Their minor movements did not distract from the same two dancers onstage. At other times, the dancers froze. The video played on. The camera panned around the dancers in tight structural form in a wide open space while the dancers in the same structure on stage swayed with the focus. The video followed one dancer as he broke away from the group but then turned back to the tableaux. On stage, the same dancer continued the phrase. Wrapped in earth tones and shadows, “I am not stuck” was repeated in voice after voice. It made you wonder, ‘what else is off camera.’
Sunday afternoon’s performance delighted an audience packed with kids, but chitra.MOVES is a must-see for DMV dance viewers of all ages.
Running Time: Approximately one hour and 20 minutes with one five-minute pause.
“Village Stories” ran June 26-28, 2026 at Dance Place, 3225 8th St NE, Washington, DC 20017. More information about chitra.MOVES is available here. For more information and tickets for upcoming events at Dance Place, please go online.
