Six dancers, one 4 1/2 -minute song . . . 32 costume changes. You’d think Trish Sie’s “Skyscrapers” would be a multi-car collision. Instead, it’s the most colorful work of Pilobolus’ season at The Joyce.
“Skyscrapers” was originally an OK Go music video, in which a couple tangos against an ever-changing background, their outfits matching the color of every scene. Now it’s being performed live by a sextet with split-second timing — and no modesty.
As soon as the dancers come offstage, they strip to their underwear while a backstage team of three (Andy Herro, Jeff Sturdivant and Kristin Helfrich) helps to dress them.
“I’m just trying not to send them onstage with half their dresses tucked into their panties,” explains Herro, a fellow dancer.
But even as the cast zips in and out of dresses, pants and jackets, it’s almost eerie how calm the atmosphere is backstage. There’s even a mantra for it: “Slow is smooth — and smooth is fast.”
Stopwatch, please! Here’s how “Skyscrapers” dancers Shawn Fitzgerald Ahern, Eriko Jimbo, Jordan Kriston, Jun Kuribayashi, Manelich Minniefee and Nile H. Russell put it all together:
00:00: Couple No. 1 — Jimbo and Minniefee, dressed in black — do a sultry walk across the stage.
00:18: They tango off as Kriston and Ahern come onstage, in red. Backstage, Couple No. 1 rip off their black outfits and dive into their next costumes: orange. Jimbo’s sprinting cautiously in 4-inch gold stilettos: Luckily, the shoes never change. Minniefee zips into his shirt and pants, which are sewn together in one piece; his tie’s held on by a magnet.
00:33: Kriston runs backstage with Ahern, strips off her red dress and pulls on an orange one. She starts to race back onstage, only to realize she’s forgotten her partner. She grabs Ahern and heads onstage.
01:34: Kuribayashi and Russell dance their exit, both in bright yellow. Behind the scenes, Kuribayashi peels off his yellow jacket and hurls it to the floor. Russell, still running, jumps over it like it’s a hurdle and shucks his clothes.
02:15: Herro prepares Kriston’s next outfit, an indigo-and-purple wrap dress that’s taken three versions to work out the quick-change kinks. Herro compresses the dress into a cylinder and squats with it in his hands, waiting.
02:40: Minniefee rips off his turquoise outfit and starts getting into a white suit and tie. “Purple!” Sturdivant whispers. Minniefee grabs the purple.
03:05: As Herro holds the wrap dress, Kriston steps into it as if she’s jumping down a chute.
03:36: Minniefie enters, dressed all in white — his seventh color change.
04:30: The cast has made it through all the colors of the rainbow and 43 pieces of clothing. There’s one surprise left — it’s onstage, and it’s the quickest change of all. But you’ll have to see it for yourself.
“Skyscrapers” runs through Aug. 11 at The Joyce, 175 Eighth Ave.; 212-242-0800.