Song of the Sonoran: MOMIX brings ‘Opus Cactus’ to Fox

The show originally was inspired by a visit to the Sonoran Desert of Arizona.

Lithe and limber dancers take the stage, transforming themselves into lizards and fire dancers and cacti – artistic illusions that stem from the mind of choreographer Moses Pendleton, founder and artistic director of MOMIX.

Pendleton initially created “Opus Cactus” as a 20-minute work in 2001 for Ballet Arizona in Phoenix. He then developed it into full show for MOMIX, the company he founded in 1980.

“Opus Cactus” has been tucked away for about 10 years. That doesn’t mean it’s been forgotten.

“There were a lot of people asking to see it again,” Pendleton said. “Now back by popular demand. And new and improved.”

One of the things about reviving a show, he said, is it presents an opportunity for revision.

“It’s fun to revisit a piece, and as you rehearse it, you have a chance to see new things and make it better,” he said. “It’s been fun to revisit the past this way and see that it still resonates in the present.”

Another plus?

“It’s been so long (since people have seen it), I think there’s a new audience for it,” he said.

“It’s lots of fun and full of mystery,” he said, adding, “All the things you expect from a MOMIX show.”

A MOMIX show often has its basis in the natural world. “Botanica,” which came to the Fox Theater in 2013, centered on the four seasons. “Lunar Sea” imagined dancing on the moon. “Alchemia,” the company’s latest creation, focuses on the spiritual aspects of earth, water, air and fire.

“I think it’s fun to see humans being nonhuman. It’s part of the MOMIX aesthetic,” Pendleton said. “Nature is the inspiration here.”

In creating “Opus Cactus,” Pendleton said he originally thought he would make a dance inspired by the large sunflowers he grows in his New England garden. Then he went to Arizona.

“Within two days of being down there and wandering in the greater Phoenix area at dusk, I was overwhelmed by the mystery and the almost magical danger of these giant saguaro cactus,” he said. “And that became the theme of the show.”

It’s not just saguaros. There are Gila monsters and fire dancers and tumbleweeds, and the “other strange flora and fauna” of the Sonoran, everything that was new to him as a New Englander.

For those who have never seen a MOMIX show, or who don’t know what to expect from a contemporary dance company, Pendleton tells audiences to “just expect the unexpected.”

“A lot of people who don’t like dance do like beautiful, powerful physical bodies. They like to see something they haven’t seen before. There’s humor and imagery and illusion,” he said. “It’s a magical evening. If it stimulates their imagination, and many times it does, and they walk out with a little less gravity in their steps, it’s been a success.”