Rainbow Bright

The sexy,
playful, and gender-free dances of Brian Brooks Moving
Company have been enlivening the contemporary dance
scene for a decade. “My interest is
simple,” says the affable Brooks. “I think of
dance as a visual art form -- sculpture with the added
elements of time and motion.” Just 33 years
old, Brooks will celebrate his company’s 10th
anniversary with performances as part of the 92nd
Street Y Harkness Dance Festival at the Ailey
Citigroup Theater in New York City. The company's festival
performances began March 12 and will continue March 13
and 15 at 8 p.m. and March 16 at 2 p.m.

Brooks formed his
first dance company in his hometown of Hingham, Mass.,
when he was 14, without any training. At 17 he won a
scholarship to study in Boston. At 20 he came to New
York City and danced for three years with Elizabeth
Streb, who was known for her extreme action spectacles. At
23 he formed the Brian Brooks Moving Company; at
the same time he cofounded the Williamsburg Art neXus
(WAX), an arts facility in Brooklyn.

Brian Brooks, Edward Rice, Weena Pauly, Jo-anne Lee
in Acre

Brooks is known
for his precise, demanding, vigorous choreography and his
dances devoted to different hues. His work examines the
concept of endurance, asking dancers to launch
themselves impetuously into the air but also to repeat
laborious gestures for an extended period of time with
subtle changes. The dancers often resemble foot soldiers in
boot camp or superheroes, but the mission is always
team-oriented -- and fabulously attired.