Des Moines Performing Arts launched their 2025-2026 Dance Series with a powerful performance by BODYTRAFFIC. Based in Los Angeles, the renowned dance company celebrates diversity and innovation through performance and education initiatives, sharing their passion for dance with audiences across the world.
BODYTRAFFIC opened their program with Mayday, choreographed by Trey McIntyre. This ode to Buddy Holly was a strange celebration of his music and a macabre reminder of his death. The dancers carried a small red plane around the stage, incorporating it into the choreography in a manner that had the audience constantly anticipating disaster. This tension was especially jarring to the Iowan audience considering the fact that Holly’s last concert and the crash that claimed his life took place just a couple hours north of Des Moines in Clear Lake. While at times its presence distracted from the choreography, the toy plane was an undeniably effective specter of death.
Set to Holly’s iconic and at times distorted music, McIntyre’s choreography was a fascinating display of contradictions, both unnerving and playful. All the members of the ensemble wore suits reminiscent of Holly’s signature style, but their tops were cropped as though someone had lopped off the bottom of their shirt, jacket and tie to reveal their bare midriffs. This exposed section allowed the dancers to audibly slap their stomachs along to Holly’s music in a bizarre and recurring display of tummy drumming that my toddler would absolutely approve of. The dancers moved in fitful bursts of energy, performing strange contortions and humorous pratfalls with equal skill. The overall impact of Mayday was unsettling and intriguing, provoking a visceral reaction from start to finish.
The second offering of the evening was A Million Voices, a work inspired by another iconic musician Peggy Lee. Matthew Neenan’s choreography complemented Lee’s music perfectly, drawing attention to her lyrics rather than overshadowing them. The dancers conveyed a charming yet sarcastic narrative, and while their movements were often sensual or cheeky, the political messages at the heart of Lee’s music shone through — messages that still ring surprisingly true to modern audiences.
The final work on the program was SNAP, choreographed by Micaela Taylor. Once again, a musical titan was central to the narrative, opening with the infectious funk of James Brown and slowly morphing into a captivating soundscape that featured disjointed remixes of Brown’s songs and interviews, as well as strange sound effects and even silence.
At times bordering on feral, the choreography was sharp and energetic with nods to Brown’s signature dance moves. You could feel the dancers pushing the boundaries of convention and breaking beyond those restrictions in feats of athleticism and emotion. The ensemble members revealed at the post show Q&A that SNAP originally featured more classical music during its creation, which was hard to believe since Brown’s music felt so intrinsic to the movement, but the balletic roots intermingled with the more contemporary and hip hop styles to great effect. The passion and humor of the piece was an exhilarating conclusion to the evening, and one that earned the dance company a standing ovation.
BODYTRAFFIC’s performance was an invigorating celebration of dance, bringing new life to beloved songs through movement. I commend Des Moines Performing Arts for bringing such a diverse and talented dance company to Iowa. My sole complaint is that they only hosted a single performance, because local audiences deserve more than one chance to see these world-class artists onstage.
