Alaska News

Former dancers return for group's 20th anniversary

Alumni, guest artists and current company members helped Dance Spectrum Alaska mark its 20th anniversary this weekend, showcasing contemporary dance, ballet and jazz.

DSA has had artistic ups and downs over the years, but the company's longevity is thanks in large part to the niche it found in the local arts -- urban dance. Unfortunately, there was none to be seen on Friday's Discovery Theater program.

DSA played it safe with mainstream music and dancing that didn't get the audience shouting approval as in past performances. In many respects, this was early DSA -- hesitant, simplistic and going for the easy gymnastics instead of the tough look and the bold stance.

Several dances, though, stood out among the routine.

Abigail Arima's and Becky Kimball's "Sinking" was an evening of hard liquor and lost dreams. Five women's loose movements slipped lazily around each other. Jessie Embley had the right combination of anger and despair, sliding to the floor and bouncing back to be hauled off by her companions when she got too raucous.

Artistic director Carlyn Larson's "Heaven and Earth" echoed many of her modern dance pieces. Performers moving slowly in silhouetted silence were amorphous beings rising from the primordial mud. Occasional gestures reminiscent of Indian god statues were perplexing. But the interaction of two dancers who seemed to be versions of each other -- one younger, one older -- was strangely evocative of something found and lost again.

Guest performers Sam Gottstein and Farah Canale sassed their way through "Le Jazz Hot." He was the loose-limbed jazz man who chased Canale's sky-high ballet legs and come-hither glances.

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His tap dancing was an interesting contrast to her contemporary movements -- loud against quiet, percussive against soft.

Guests Tammy Gibson and Christopher Beroiz were totally Hollywood glitz in their two self-choreographed duets. Gibson's movements were sharp-edged, but they went nowhere. She was all blond hair, sexy torso and flashing legs with little emotion.

Friday's concert may not have been DSA's finest, but you have to congratulate the company on keeping its dance alive for 20 years.

Anne Herman holds a master's degree in dance and has been a consultant for the National Endowment for the Arts.

By ANNE HERMAN

Daily News correspondent

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