BU faculty members step to the fore

October 04, 2004|Globe Correspondent

Though Boston University still doesn't have a dance major, its dance program services more than 900 students with a range of stylistic offerings. Friday night's Dance Showcase 2004 at the Sargent Dance Studio Theater gave some of the dance faculty a chance to strut their stuff in a short concert of seven works, including three premieres. While it wasn't quite as rich as in years past, the evening did give a sense of the dance program's diversity.

The most substantial and satisfying work on the program was the premiere of Margot Parsons's three-part "Sweeping Pools of Time," in which an expansive embrace of traditional vocabulary was enriched by modern influences, especially off-center turns and balances, and held poses that collapsed with a visceral sense of release. Rebecca Bromberg's solo featured liquid arms with expressive fingers, while Daisy Giunta's more vigorous turn was often driven by arms that sliced through the air like semaphores. Both solos were beautifully structured with a visually compelling use of space. In the final duet, the two excellent dancers found common ground in unison and imitative phrases that pulled movement qualities from each solo.

DeAnna Pellechia's dramatic "Tang," another premiere, effectively pulled flamenco, tango, jazz, capoeira, and martial arts into a study in contrasts, with blistering turns and sharp angles melting into sensuous rolls of the torso and hips. Liz Roncka gave a lively, nuanced performance in the premiere of Tye Gillespie's "Talk to Me." Slow, deliberate contortions on the floor, limbs skewed and twisted, were interspersed with abrupt bursts of energy propelling her into the space. She silently, somewhat slyly, moved her lips most of the while, as if telling a secret story no one was supposed to hear. It was intriguing, but ultimately didn't go anywhere.

Andy Taylor-Blenis, stepping in last minute for Jossie Coleman, who broke a toe, gave a vibrant performance of excerpts from Miguel Lopez's "Arcs," a mercurial solo of spins and stretches. Micki Taylor-Pinney, BU's dance program coordinator, presented an excerpt from last June's "Constellations." Though one suspects this quartet would have been more convincing in context, it was easy to sense the work's loose narrative pitting tradition against youthful rebellion in the form of women (Ann Brown Allen, Judy Cohen, and Liz Roncka) trying to rein in the youthful insouciance of Melissa Tartamella.

John and Anne Marie Paul offered a lively Latin number and a serviceable tango that, while graceful, could have used tighter footwork and crisper dynamics. Similarly, David Connolly's tap dance to a Count Basie tune was capable if unadventurous.