This weekend, the dance concert Unstruck opens in Hall Auditorium. Choreographed by Associate Professor of Dance Elesa Rosasco, the production consists of three dances performed without pause titled “The Net of Gems,” “Within” and “Toward.” “Vapour,” a pre-show, will be performed outside. Performers are drawn from the Oberlin Dance Company and the Oberlin Improvisational Dance Ensemble.

Rosasco’s three dances respond to the questions of purpose, choice, time and spirit. The works show influence from Indian mythology, Tibetan Buddhism, sculpture and the processes of grief and affirmation of life. Unstruck is the translation of AnÇhata, the fourth chakra in the region of the heart. Chakras are wheels of energy associated with particular colors and sound-vibrations. This production expresses the idea that the fourth chakra has vibrations that cannot be detected by the senses; the wheel is associated with the principle of touch, the element of air and the gazelle, or lightness in matter. This chakra is often represented with two intersecting triangles that stand for the union between male and female, characterized by an inclination to repel from each other and propel toward new possibilities or counterparts.

The first work, “The Net of Gems” is related to the mythic Indian image of the Net of Indra, an expression of compassion and the connectedness of all creatures. The piece uses large glass blocks, symbolizing the dualities of strength and fragility, solidity and fluidity. The dancers’ breath is audible, emphasizing energy and the life force, as they dance an exploration of the interrelatedness of life.

“Within,” inspired by the serpent Kundalini, a symbol for the endless potential for spiritual enlightenment, is characterized by lyrical movements and incorporates video.

In the final dance, “Towards,” the dance space is expanded not only out but up, representing a fully awakened Kundalini. Using ropes to reach vertical space as well as to suggest the body of a snake, dancers perform in accordance with the movement and space associated with the fourth chakra’s symbolic triangles.