DANCE REVIEWS : JOFFREY’S ‘FAUNE’

When different casts tackle familiar choreography, audiences can glimpse the performance opportunities of a work and the personal resources of the dancers. It’s not just a matter of determining preferences--who’s better, who’s worse; it’s a chance to explore the fascinating relationship between text and interpretation.

In the Joffrey Ballet production of “L’Apres-Midi d’un Faune” Saturday in Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Peter Narbutas seized on a structural pattern of the choreography--the way that tense poses erupt in spasmodic action--and made it the key to his portrayal of the Faune. From the first, he was a cunning animal, initially blocked and then fully energized by desire. A memorably bold, intense and detailed performance.

In a skillfully danced, compellingly dramatic interpretation of “Three Preludes,” Deborah Dawn seemed a free-spirited embodiment of the Rachmaninoff score and Tom Mossbrucker a curiously reluctant suitor who followed her into deepening levels of involvement. This emotional process gave all the flashy gymnastics a strong purpose--as displays of commitment and trust between lovers--and made Mossbrucker’s partnering reliability an index to his character.

“Birthday Variations” and “The Clowns” completed the program.