British dance company Motionhouse comes to the Ringling

For people who like performing arts that are a little bit out of the mainstream and a little hard to categorize, the New Stages series at the Ringling in Sarasota offers some of the most edifying work in this area.

The three-show New Stages series for this season winds up this weekend with a piece titled “Captive.” It’s inspired by a poem titled “Panther” by Austrian existentialist poet Rainer Maria Rilke. “Captive,” like the source poem, examines how a human, like an animal, can be plucked from normal life and plunged into captivity.

“Captive” comes from a British company called Motionhouse that’s known for integrating elements of circus and acrobatics with contact choreography and innovative, virtuosic dance. In the piece, four dancers in a large cage blend dance and aerial work.

There are four performances — two matinees and two evening shows. The matinees are free, but there’s no seating — you can either sit on the ground or stand. You don’t need tickets for the matinee performance; you can just walk up.

The evening shows are ticketed and seating is provided.

New Stages, an integral piece in The Art of Our Time visual and performing arts initiative at The Ringling, aims to bring in unique works from genre-defying artists. The performances are all outdoors, so the entire campus of the Ringling becomes a stage.

Details: 2 and 7 p.m. April 7-8, The Ringling, 5401 Bay Shore Road, Sarasota. Matinees free, evening performances $15. 941-358-3180, ringling.org.

This story was originally published April 5, 2017 at 5:06 PM with the headline "British dance company Motionhouse comes to the Ringling."