A performance described as “contemporary visions, death-defying aerial antics and just plain insanity,” the University of Utah Modern Dance Department’s graduate concert seems appropriately titled The Odds. Such performances are always intriguing, as these third-year graduate students have both ample time and energy—not to mention something to prove—while aiming to choreograph stand-out work before venturing into the professional arena.

The result of such tension is work that pushes the boundaries of dance theater through innovative movement, unique perspectives and stimulating subject matter. Taking inspiration from such literary references as Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland and Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot, the five grad students—Nancy Carter, Erin Empey, Juliana Hane, I-Fen Lin and Shannon Vance—deal with such diverse themes as order and chaos, the myth of human flight and the interplay between gesture, metaphor and language.

The Odds @ Marriot Center for Dance, University of Utah, 330 S. 1500 East, Salt Lake City, 801-581-7327, Nov. 19-21, 7:30 p.m., Dance.Utah.edu