AllMovie

March 2001 brought with it a potentially earth-shaking crisis for world-renowned dancer Homer Avila. After a series of successful onstage collaborations with the giants Twyla Tharp, Mark Morris, Bill T. Jones and others, Avila experienced shooting pains in one hip, which his physicians diagnosed as cancer. His right leg and hip were amputated within a month, but in lieu of sacrificing his passion, Avila - incredibly - kept dancing, with only one leg. His efforts were abetted by the assistance of Alonzo King, who choreographed a series of works to conform to Avila's disability. Documentarist Karina Epperlein's deeply inspirational 16-minute film Phoenix Dance follows the first Avila-King collaboration, three years prior to Avila's death from cancer, as they embark on a special version of the pas de deux Pas, designed for a one-legged man and a two-legged woman. Given Avila's disability, an unusual dynamic forms on stage. In the Avila-King creation, the traditional roles of the male dancer and the female dancer exchange places, with the man evincing emotional and physical dependency and the woman projecting inner strength and authority. Overall, the film suggests that when unstoppable determination and cultivated ability share the stage, literally anything is possible.