Autobiographical and absolutely mesmerizing

A snake slithers slowly across a screen during one of Kyle Abraham’s dances, and while it’s probably not meant to represent Abraham as a dancer, watching him is like watching a python — he is silky smooth, powerful with a supple, undulating torso, and you can’t take your eyes off him. He has built a company in his own image — all his dancers can move like he does but, at the same time, it is a collection of originals.

Abraham’s company, Abraham.in.Motion, performed last week at Jacob’s Pillow and “Op. 1,†a world premiere, was created there through creative development residence. Inspired by the wrestling photographs of Eadweard Muybridge, it takes place on an off-center square carved by light that suggests a boxing ring. The dancers are stone-faced and never make eye contact, almost robotic in mien, except when they are actually wrestling. Projections on a scrim in front of the stage come and go — lines squiggle horizontally and vertically like a portcullis separating dancers from audience, but then retreat and disappear.  The abstract string music by Ryoki Ikeda is slow and meditative, the dancing compact and explosive.

At one point, two women take their tops off, covering their breasts with their arms, and lower themselves backwards onto two supine men. They rise up and walk away into the darkness. If it’s a sex scene, it’s bloodless, but fascinating.

“Inventing Pookie Jenkins†is a solo for Abraham. He’s bare-chested, in a white tulle ballet tutu. He begins in quiet, sitting on the floor, back to the audience, skirt gathered around him in a pool of light. One arm lifts, strong but with fingers delicate like a ballerina, and reaches behind him to find the other curving to meet it. The movement repeats, but is interrupted by gunshots and sirens. Abraham abandons the sequence and picks up a boombox, taking on a streetwise swagger. He walks into the audience, high-fiving and saying “wussup.†As a young black gay dancer, Abraham must navigate such extremes in his persona all the time — welcome to his world.

“The Radio Show†is a tribute to Motown, Disco and R&B, and the now-shuttered radio stations that brought that music to Pittsburgh, where he grew up listening to it.

As in the first two pieces, the movements here are often plotted on a diagonal — one dancer moving from upper left to lower right, or three lined up diagonally, moving in unison but without connecting to each other directly.  The dancing is more athletic, with powerful leg extensions and quick changes of direction and weight. The lyrics to the songs, by Aretha Franklin, The Velvelettes, Lady Gaga and many others, provide scraps of character and plot:  “I realize I love you†as a couple duet and then fight, which segues into  “I’m going out and you better be here when I get back.† The dance is nearly an hour long and yet never loses its momentum — it’s fascinating to watch from beginning to end.

All of the dancers were superb but two particularly stood out:  Raymond Pinto, an 18-year-old Connecticut native, whose long legs and arms moved with speed and precision, and Amber Lee Parker, who was simply stunningly beautiful in person and in movement. Together, she, Abraham and the other dancers created a visual feast.

There are only two weeks left to the season. Go to jacobspillow.org for info.