Choreographers Justine Lynch and Melinda Ring each premiere a new dance work in this shared evening. Lynch, employing a non-linear approach to the force and imagery of ritual, takes inspiration from the texture and energy specific to acupuncture, connecting performance and alchemical healing. Middle of Man slides the audience into order and chaos simultaneously, highlighting the paradox between the uniqueness of each individual’s voice and the collective power of the group to form cosmic patterns and invoke altered states. Choreography by Lynch, music composed by Tom McCauley and performed by McCauley and Gus Mergins, set and costume design by Johanna Burke and Lynch, production assistant Sarah Paulson, and lighting design by Roderick Murray. With performers: Laura Barnard, Finnian Barnard, Sigal Bergman, Burke, Stacey Gengo, Lynch, Mergins, Ansis Mergins, Paige Martin, McCauley, Holly Faurot, and Paulson.

Starting with what’s available -- some generic dance movement, two nice-looking young women, some found stuff –- Melinda Ring’s Hmmm… then proceeds to move the audience and performers further and further from common experiences into a disorienting atmosphere of questioning and uncertainty. Impulses, mistakes, attempts, and impossibilities from the dance-making process are accumulated, embedded into ever more disruptive versions of themselves towards eventual exquisite chaos. With performers Kimberly Hamlin, Inka Juslin, and Sari Nordman, and lighting designer Roderick Murray.