“DIORAMA,” Starring Daniil Simkin and Maria Kochetkova

Rising from the seats of an empty theater, Daniil Simkin could be a vampire in an old silent movie. To the percussive, insistent accents played by the Kronos Quartet in this first-time collaboration, longtime partners Simkin and Maria Kochetkova explore the options of dancing together while apart—from Deutsche Oper Berlin and the sand dunes at Skagen, Denmark, with two separate film crews.

“Diorama” is dark, and strange—a surreal and bizarre chase. Choreographer Sebastian Kloborg’s movements are steeped in theatricality and experiment; when Kochetkova senses Simkin’s presence from her place projected on a backdrop behind him, she’s startled and backs away. Nothing is normal right now, so we might as well try something different.