Chew on This

Rube Goldberg meets Pilobolus on the Food Network. That's what it sounds like the Second Hand Dance Co. will turn out to be, when the three-man troupe takes over the PCC Proscenium Theatre Sunday night.

Described as "a performance of muscle, dance, acrobatics and wit," the show is further billed as "a cutting-edge theatrical presentation replete with dance, comedy, audience participation and food." At one performance three years ago, the New York Times reported, the group "pared and sliced long white daikon radishes, ending in a food fight to weirdly appropriate music by Beethoven."

This may be some consolation for those of us disappointed by the cancellation of the Cookin' tour. But there's more to Second Hand than bad table manners.

According to the company's press info, the group consists of Greg O'Brien (no hair), Andy Horowitz (long hair) and Paul Gordon (other guy). The trio met as students at New York's Binghamton University, where they now gyrate as artists in residence. The name "Second Hand" derives from the group's early practice of fashioning their costumes and props from stuff they found in Dumpsters, alleyways and thrift shops. Their props continue to be unexpected yet familiar--popcorn poppers, flashlights and the like.

When they're not swinging frying pans around, the three men intertwine their bodies in what has been described as "sculpture in motion." Think Swan Lake's "Dance of the Cygnets" getting tangled up in slow motion, only with half the usual number of cygnets, and male dancers instead of women, and no Tchaikovsky. On second thought, forget Swan Lake.

Instead, think of Second Hand as an ever-evolving organic contraption that you'll now be able to witness first-hand.