“Our skin is the surface layer of our brain: Without the sense of touch, we have no relationship with the present. Touch is the mother of all senses.” — Christopher House

Christopher House’s Sly Verb is about touch, perception and the human gaze. Inspired by Maurice Merleau-Ponty’s concept “the flesh of the world” Sly Verb seduces with the beauty of its dancing and the force of its ideas. It is provocative, inventive, poetic and kinetically thrilling.

House presents the body as both subject and object in this exquisite exploration of sensuality. The dancers literally write their signatures into the choreography with their own bodies, creating unforgettable images of strength, vulnerability and physical communion. In Sly Verb, the body is revealed as the archive of our experience.

Boundaries and limits are explored and breached in this uniquely innovative work. Dancers appear clothed or naked, almost at random. They spill off the stage into the audience, returning with high-intensity search lights to catch a private solo or using hand-held live video to examine the body in disturbing close-up.

House’s collaborators have created an extraordinary environment for his choreography. Visual artist Scott Eunson’s metal set pieces, beautifully lit by Steve Lucas, evoke the structures of nerve tissue and the fragility of the body’s architecture. Phil Strong’s haunting score throbs with the pulse of life. Sly Verb is a major step forward in the creative evolution of Christopher House.