"The Mysterious Disappearance of the Second Youngest Sister," from Portraits Tryptich
"The Mysterious Disappearance of the Second Youngest Sister," from Portraits Tryptich Credit: Doug Henderson

Former Molly Shanahan/MadShak members Lucy Riner and Michael Estanich debut their dance-theater troupe with Portraits Tryptich, a program of three pieces set in carefully imagined and represented surroundings. Estanich and Riner locate their moody, jointly choreographed duet “Abbot & Viv” in a living room, with chairs, lamps, and a long, low table that acts as a stage within the stage, focusing the action (and at times suggesting a bed). Even more evocative is the delicate glass bowl that Riner and Estanich balance on their heads or backs, pass back and forth, or hold in common—a locus of power that they manipulate and compete for, risk and cherish. Estanich’s “The Mysterious Disappearance of the Second Youngest Sister”—in which San Francisco dancer Robin Anderson plays an author, Estanich her male persona, and Riner her character—is performed amid piles of books. And Sara Tan dances the Estanich piece “Portrait, Unpacked,” a solo imagining the death of Joan of Arc, using a clay-covered table embellished with suggestions of blossoms.