JoAnna Mendl Shaw's new "Rules of Engagement," performed on Saturday at the Claremont Riding Academy, juxtaposes the rigid repetition of videotaped horses running fast and hard on a treadmill with interaction between a live horse and three humans in an atmospheric stable. There is also a hint of commentary on the wildness of nature in this 45-minute collaboration with Janet Biggs, a video artist. Ms. Biggs's images of thundering hooves, an eagle, ice floes and swimmers are sharp and clear. And there is one terrific performer in the cast. But somehow the ingredients never quite mix in "Rules of Engagement."
Ms. Shaw has worked with ice dancers, in-line skaters and gymnasts, but she is probably best known these days for her interest in pieces that use live horses, with an emphasis not on what tricks they can do but how they interact with humans. In "Rules of Engagement," the two female dancers (Gina Paolillo and MaryAlice White) at times clench into the pose of rearing horses, but for the most part they and Blake Pearson, who completes the human cast, suggest angst and seduction in calmer ways.
