The title for Dance Nation, the latest offering from Playwrights Horizons, is a bit misleading. This isn’t really a play about dance, but rather, a look into the ambitions and emotions of young teenagers. They’re in a small group hoping to go to Nationals in Tampa. There, having gone through several ordeals at other venues, they’ll win the grand title. Why this is so important to them is revealed in a series of monologues and short scenes. From this point, it gets pretty confusing. Dance Teacher Pat (Thomas Jay Ryan) constantly refers to the members of the class as “girls.” But one of them is a young man, Luke (Ikechukwu Ufomadu), who clearly has a crush on Zuzu (Eboni Booth), even advocating for her to take the lead in their upcoming presentation. Maeve (Ellen Maddow) is a mature woman, which is made painfully obvious when she strips down in the dressing room. No idea why we have to see the actresses topless and, in several cases, buck naked. Depending on your level of sophistication, the nudity is distracting and seems gratuitous. There is accompanying vulgar language, usually played for laughs, and monologues which are gruesome and disturbing. Much of this play is about young women coming to grips with their fears and their empowerment; good taste is barred from the barre pretty quickly. The women all do very good work, with a couple of standouts. Dina Shihabi makes Amina, clearly the finest dancer in the group, winsome and complicated. She knows she’s the best but doesn’t want to lose the friendship of the others. She asks several times “Are you mad at me?” This struck a real chord. It’s something most women have said throughout their lives. Shihabi is beautiful and graceful, and when she glides across the floor to save the day, we wish that this had been more of a dance show. Camila Cano-Flavia first caught my attention because of her resemblance to Laurie Hernandez, the much-loved gold medal Olympic gymnast and winner of “Dancing with the Stars.” Cano-Flavia makes Sofia powerful, likable, and unsure; she has one of the more difficult tasks in the ensemble, letting us understand the range of feelings a young woman has dealing with her first period. She is a compelling performer; it’s tough to take your eyes off her when she’s onstage. Granted, I was a teenage girl long ago, but I don’t recall locker room talks about the merits of circumcision, speculation about penises and viewing genitals, and advice on how to masturbate. I absolutely wouldn’t have been inspired by the bizarre pep talk the teacher gives referring to people around the world living in garbage. It’s easy to understand why these kids want to escape Liverpool, Ohio, and when they chant “I want my life to start, oh please,” yes, 13-year-olds do feel that way. It’s cute and appropriate to have a quick parody of Chorus Line. Lucy Taylor bravely punches out Ashlee’s monologue about a young girl realizing that she’s gorgeous, and the power that it gives her. But the speech becomes gross and unsettling, and I doubt a youngster that age would express her hostility quite in the words she uses. For me, most of the comedy fell flat, although others did laugh. The idea of a troupe of teenagers dancing to a routine based on Gandhi and “the Spirit of Gandhi” is droll, but it quickly wears thin. Why Zuzu would dream about her dance teacher is a mystery; no chemistry at all has passed between them. Which brings up another conundrum. After a fanny pat, we are left hanging as to whether or not the coach has ever been sleazy with any of the girls. There’s a certain creepy vibe in the air, but the question is never addressed. Dance Nation is not a comfortable show to sit through, even though the performers are outstanding. Is it supposed to be comedy? Why is so much of it profane and even grisly? There is an explanation from playwright Clare Barron in the Playbill, and a written sheet available at the stairs. Digesting this material may help to facilitate understanding the aims and viewpoint of the production. It may also color how the piece “should” be experienced. But at the end of the day, audience members must never be required to read written material in order to effectively experience a play.
