In “We Circle the Night,” choreographer Thang Dao focuses on the story of two young lovers. Dao’s vision begins with the couple being forced from their peaceful home in the middle of the night and taken to a foreign land—both places sharing the same night sky. It was filmed at the train station in Pietrasanta, Italy, and the dancers, Elise Pekarek and Oliver Greene Cramer of Ballet Austin, playfully execute Dao’s style that combines pedestrian-like movements with ballet technique.

Incorporated into the piece, directed by Alberto Desirò and Luca Di Bartolo, is the station’s sculpture,
La Chiave del Sogno, by Kan Yasuda. The pas de deux weaves in and out of the figure’s hollowed-out oval center, dancing and imagining life beyond their new reality.

“To understand youth optimism and flirtations of dreams and life, I had Elise and Oliver examine the other spectrum of the dance, which explores exile and loss,” says Dao.

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