Dancer and choreographer Alanna Morris went to raw places in her "Black Light a re: Search performance" at the Cowles Center over the weekend.

Bravely laying bare intimate moments of her spiritual and emotional journey, the Minnesota-based dancer and choreographer unveiled her process of self-realization in a masterful exhibition of skill and artful movements.

An inquiry into the sacred was sustained throughout the show, co-presented by Northrop and the Great Northern. That held true for the dance pieces themselves, half of which were performed solo, and through invitation to the audience. As an example, the program reminded the audience members to "ground and center" themselves. "Your quality of presence is supported and valued here," it noted.

A sense of ritual opened the first piece, "Invocation to Ọya," choreographed by Morris and Patriann Edwards. To a steady drum beat, Morris danced inside of a circle lit with tea lights, while the other performers channeled spiritual beings, each with a distinctively unusual costume design and dance vocabulary.

Morris (formerly Morris-Van Tassel) effortlessly drew from her technical prowess in contemporary dance and brought in a more casual style of social dance, including a twerking section. She employed elements of Afro-Caribbean movements and experimented with ones based on her research into a deeper way of being and performing.

The lighting, designed by Valerie Oliveiro and Beaudau Banks, added drama to the performance. Particularly effective were the sunset colors produced on the scrim behind the dancers that accentuated Morris' gorgeous costumes, designed by Trevor Bowen.

In "Latent Psyche," Morris was cast in vivid colors like green and lavender, highlighting her underlying psychological experience in relation to the other aspects of herself, personified by the other performers.

The music design, however, didn't work as well. While the musical selections in the first act all helped drive the arc of the piece, abrupt fades to the tracks resulted in a choppiness that took away from flow. But after intermission, the Afro-Caribbean music performed live elevated the ending to a transcendent level.

All the dancers were in white in the last piece, "Yanvalou and Mayi," performed by Morris and Djenane Saint Juste, who also choreographed the work. Morris' movement, with a flowing skirt streaming through the air, referenced the Haitian revolution in a transcendent exploration into rebirth.

The work exemplified how vulnerability can become a source of strength and liberation.