‘mind’s eye’ Review: HRMDC Feels It All

As the lights went down at the commencement of the Harvard-Radcliffe Modern Dance Company’s performance of “mind’s eye,” the bustling audience settled and a silence fell over the room. In the intimate space of the Loeb Experimental Theater, the viewer was plunged into the dance, invited to be a direct participant in the artist’s world of movement. There was no better space to experience HRMDC’s experimental new creations, and there was no world more fascinating to be invited into.

A strong blue light blanketed the room, and the dancers came into view. Planted in a rigid line, the dancers kicked off the show by giving a glimpse into the journey that would be the entire performance. In this first piece, titled “Right Here,” the tone was set. Choreographed by Katy E. Nairn ’26, the exploration of shapes, movement, and what they can do quickly became understood as a priority. The dancers gently created new shapes, expanding and contracting, creating an atmosphere that was focused and meticulously dedicated to the shape at hand. The dancers did not tell a story, but rather, they curated a feeling, exploring the bounds of what they could do with their bodies and the space.

The mission of “mind’s eye” was never the telling of a story. The significance of the show had more to do with the sharing of a common, or known experience, something deeply human.

From surrealist painters to fifties Hollywood science-fiction series, countless artists have been obsessed with capturing the curious inner workings of the mind. We believe that modern dance is a particularly fitting lens through which we can portray these broad musings about the mind,” Directors Nairn and Xinran (Olivia) Ma ’26, a Crimson Arts editor, wrote in the program.

The show centered itself around the many things we dream up, the things we imagine, and the ways we perceive the world around us. It was an ode to the mind and all it can do. The mind is boundless, free to do as it pleases, and more than anything, its creations can look like anything. It is for this reason that “mind’s eye” was so vast. The show was filled with fresh ideas, each more thrilling and different than the last.

In the piece “Andromeda,” choreographed by Isabel C. Dean ’27, dancers covered in white veils enchanted the stage, appearing ghostly. Using the veils to create gorgeous, soft images, the performers floated across the stage, taking on the movement of clouds. This fairy-like movement was directly contrasted by pieces like “Text STOP to Unsubscribe,” a commentary on the obsessive relationship between humans and the technology surrounding them, choreographed by Jessica Baynes, a student at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. The dancers moved with a sharpness that captured the immediate attention of the viewer. The piece evoked a sense of urgency, a need for its audience to understand its message, and a plea for the collective consciousness.

The show dipped into the gentle, melancholic nature of memory with the piece “so divine,” choreographed by Brady M. Rafferty ’27, where dancers in white explored the sadness of lost youth. They danced with a frustration guided by grief. Leaping and outstretching their arms, the dancers expressed their desire to return to a simpler time, a wholly universal experience.

As the show went on, the ideas being presented only expanded in creativity and boldness. “Sing Sing Sing,” choreographed by Sarah G. Erickson ’25, exploded into the room in a celebration of the booming excitement of swing, a staple of 1940s dance. With an intense bounciness and an attention to the slinky hip movements of the epoch, the dancers perfectly captured the loud, expressive nature of big swing jazz, and they tremendously lifted the spirits of the audience at the midpoint of the show. The piece “Yesteryear,” choreographed by Lilly L. Lee ’27, a dive into the zany, colourful world of the 1980s, saw dancers move almost animatronically, emulating a robotic rigidity. Extremely theatrical in nature, the dancers were loud in their expressiveness, sending clear messages to the audience about what they should feel.

The night culminated in a performance involving the entire company, joining together the dancers in a final, gorgeous display of common experience. As Nairn and Ma tightly embraced, it became incredibly clear just how special the creation of this explorative show was, and more than anything, how human it was. “mind’s eye” was a look into the things we all imagine, fear, and want more than anything. It was the entire range of who humans are. The company’s exploration of movement knew no limits. They explored the darkest crevices of what can be felt, never backing away from the ugliness of the human mind, but embracing it. The show was an embracing of humanity as a whole, a concept HRMDC tackled with extreme bravery. They set out to deliver an experience, a feeling, and a knowledge that dance can do and be anything. “mind’s eye” tremendously succeeded in this aspect, and it was an experience never to be forgotten.