Love, passion, sex, death, and resurrection are all timeless themes in the arts, and all were well represented in a memorable contemporary dance drama by Kansas City native David Parsons. </p><p>On Friday at the Folly Theater, Parson's dance production of "Remember Me" played to a sell-out house, thunderous applause, and a standing ovation. Always innovative, Parsons collaborated with his dancers and the East Village Opera Company to produce a fresh approach to a tale of love and tragedy. Integrating choreography and lighting design, Parsons created a landscape of colors, visual illusions and sensual movement. </p><p>The show opened with Parsons' 1982 signature piece "Caught," performed impressively by Miguel Quinones to music by Robert Fripp. With his muscular frame dressed only in white trousers, and on a dark stage with pools of white light, Quinones displayed his mastery of liquid, sinewy movement. The high point of the performance was a seroes of precision leaps perfectly timed with a strong strobe light, giving the illusion of the dancer suspended, then floating. </p><p>After a short pause, the next session opened with the featured piece, "Remember Me," performed to a suite of selections from various popular works of opera but played in rock music style, and sung by EVOC vocalists Annmarie Milazzo and Tyley Ross. </p><p>The production was a combination of rock opera and dance drama, highlighted by the use of lighting effects and video images projected on a scrim. This enabled the production to move quickly from one scene to another, using colorful backdrops to set the mood while the vocalists served to narrate the story that unfolded in dance. </p><p>What was unusual about the performance the raw passion that infused the story line and shaped the choreography. Love, rape, and death are themes not foreign to opera, but are usually more subdued in dance. Parsons, however, tackled this material without reservation. </p><p>When re-working classical pieces out of context to create a new story line, the result is often in danger of being pastiche rather than pleasing. In this case, however, the re-working of the music into rock style allowed the dance story line to progress seamlessly from one scene to the next. </p><p>This re-working allowed for an interesting layering of meaning by putting these classical pieces in new contexts. For example, Schubert's "Ave Maria" was used for the kidnap scene, blending the character's personae (Marie) with a different interpretation of worship and sacrifice. </p><p>To those unaccustomed to current trends in contemporary dance, the choreography might have seemed a bit repetitive and erratic. The story line is engaging enough to carry the audience through the complex choreography, making the performance compelling even for general audiences. Dance aficionados will be looking with enthusiasm for this performance on DVD. </p><p>This performance was presented in memory of Elizabeth Anne Prostic as a benefit to the MetaCancer Foundation. In honor of the occasion, the lead female dancer, Abby Silva, wore red shoes. Parsons, the dancers, vocalists, and those involved in the production answered questions afterward.