Bodiography Contemporary Ballet has grown a lot since Maria Caruso founded it two decades ago. In recent years, Caruso has increased focus on her solo work.
Maria Caruso performs "Metamorphosis": 8 p.m. Sat., Feb. 29. 1501 Preble Ave., North Side
This week, the internationally touring Caruso brings home the solo piece she calls her best, as “Metamorphosis” receives its North American debut.
Caruso performs Saturday at a former warehouse space on the North Side. The show will also include announcements about Bodiography’s future – beyond its tour to England, Germany and Italy set for March.
The troupe is known locally for its annual concerts at the Byham Theater; it tours internationally, as well, and is the umbrella for health, wellness, fitness and education programs. Caruso, moreover, doubles as chair of the LaRoche University performing-arts department.
“Metamorphosis” developed in part from Caruso and Bodiography’s collaborations with the famed Martha Graham Dance Company.
“I wanted to create this full-evening-length work about a woman who experiences all these different things in life, from anxiety to sometimes depression, to courage, to fear, confidence,” she said.
“Metamorphosis” premiered in 2018, at the massive Karmiel Dance Festival, in Israel. Caruso has also performed it in China, Europe, and South Africa.
Caruso, who is in her late 30s, called the work “partly autobiographical” but said it is also influenced by conversations with other women.
“There’s a huge movement in the work where it’s about complete anxiety. And I see so much anxiety and depression among my students these days, and I see it just so prevalent in the world that we live in,” she said. “It’s like we don’t deal with it. It just kind of gets shoved aside sometimes.”
The style is contemporary, with a good deal of traditional ballet technique. (Caruso founded Bodiography as an outlet for dancers whose body types fell outside traditional ballet culture.) In “Metamorphosis,” costuming is also key to the character she’s portraying, she said.
“The way the piece works is that every time she puts on another dress, it just like takes over her body,” Caruso said. “It really just gives the audience the experience of really seeing a different person.”
"I think it’s the culmination of everything I’ve experienced as an artist," she added. "I think it’s my greatest work, and I’m excited to share it here in Pittsburgh."
“Metamorphosis” runs just under an hour. The performance takes place in the round, in a space seating 200. Saturday’s program also includes a performance by two of her Bodiography dancers of a 2008 Caruso duet. The performances are followed by a dance party with DJ Scott Alexander.
In a first for Bodiography and Caruso, “Metamorphosis” will take place in a repurposed space – in this case, a former warehouse in the riverfront North Side neighborhood known as Chateau.
