Genetic Drift

(2016) is a term used to describe “the variation in the relative frequency of different genotypes in a small population, owing to the chance disappearance of particular genes as individuals die or do not reproduce.”  Hook applyies this thought to the evolution of ideas about dance, asserting that ways of moving and defining dance evolve due to chance encounters we have in training, exposure to aesthetic values in our training cultures, and the personal proclivities of individual dancers.  This work pays homage in part, to Balanchine’s iconic work, Serenade.

Yegg

(2012) is a solo developed collaboratively with UIUC alumna Racy Brand. It is best described as a demonstration of the Aesthetic of Attempt, where attention is placed on the elaborate cycles of preparation and recuperation supporting the fleeting “main events” of moving. This taxing pedagogical gauntlet vivifies the inconvenience of the present tense as we witness the solist imperturbably relish its extravagance.

Game Point

(2005) Game Point is performed to a recording of Anne Sexton reading three of her most famous poems:  'Her Kind', 'Ambition Bird' and 'Music Swims Back to Me.'   This work was conceived as a compulsory technical exercise that challenges the dancers coordination, stamina, balance, concentration and will power, ultimately evoking the power of lonely grit and the relentless wrestling with problem-solving that life and  aging demands.

Patriot Act Up

The New York Sun referred to Ms. Cochran in Sara Hook’s Patriot Act Up as "an intoxicating torrent of energy."  Danceview Times writer Tom Phillips called Patriot Act Up "a chilling post-9/11 version of (Balanchine’s) "Starts and Stripes".  And Jack Anderson of the New York Times calls it "bitterly comic."  The work speaks for itself in ironic over tones.  Part political and part homage to the patriotic fervor of a nostalgic age, Patriot Act up operates on multi levels.  One can be struck by both contemporary socio political relevance and the references made to Dance History.

Valeska’s Vitriol

(1999) is a comic homage to Valeska Gert, the famous cabaret dancer/ actress of the Weimar period in Berlin.  The work pays tribute to Gert’s brash, satiric style and to her fascination with the grotesque.   The soloist is a manic, coy, cartoon baby who transforms into a  burlesque hall horror creature; cloying, needy, sad, and gleefully uninhibited. The work has been performed by many dancers, including a separate group iteration performed by students at the University of Illinois.

 Rue

(1998) is a short work set to a Schubert Lieder song entitled “Du Bist Die Ruh” which means “Thou art rest.”  Referred to as "richly evocative" by Danceinsider 's Maura Nguyen Donohue, this work represents a composite of Hook's movement interests including tangled and awkward coordinations, distortions of the head and neck, sudden and drastic level changes and the reversal of body part role definitions.  Arms function as weight supports and the feet articulate with the subtlety and sculptural facility of the hands.  Virtuosic in an unconventional sense, Rue is an extremely introspective work; a contrast to Hook's other more outrageously aggressive character portraits. 

Bashibazouk

Bashibazouk (1997) is a solo inspired in part by German Expressionist dance pioneer, Mary Wigman, especially her seminal works, Witch Dance and Song of Fate.  The soloist mimics Wigman’s possessed intensity and expressive use of hands and the choreography pays homage to Wigman’s devotion to clarity of spatial intent and geometry.  However, these historical elements are put into an original contemporary context, which is a signature example of the focus of Hook’s creative research and style. The title,  Bashibazouk,  is a slang word meaning “someone who is ill tempered.” It is derived from the name of a Turkish sect of soldiers in the 17th Century who were infamous for their savagery and lack of discipline.

Housebroken 

(1995) is a duet created collaboratively by Sara Hook and David Parker. Originally inspired by the memories of the idiosyncratic behavior of some of their older relatives, Hook and Parker created a work that uses an elaborate, gestural language to reveal the complex negotiations of long-term love.  They achieve a gritty and gnarled cooperation, both humorous and heartbreaking, which endures the irritation, tenderness, dependence and decline characteristic of most long-term partnerships.