Ashley Murphy and Samuel Wilson in Contested Space, Dance Theatre of Harlem, April 2014. © Rachel Neville.
Several passages leave vivid after-images, as when Ashley Murphy hovers in profile, her strong feet shimmering like hummingbird wings. As she bends forward or arches toward the sky, she alternates between atonement and elation. Murphy is a marvel: she dances with crystalline clarity, managing to be both expressive and utterly elusive. She gives nothing away.












