DANCE REVIEW : Lo-Tec Dance Concert Could Make Imprint

Since the Cunningham brand of modern dance is rarely taught and even more rarely performed in San Diego, most local dancers--let alone typical audiences--are only vaguely familiar with its challenges and rewards. Last weekend’s Lo-Tec concert by Bay Area-based Virginia Matthews and Karen Attix went a long way toward changing that.

Matthews and Attix, both experienced interpreters of Cunningham’s quirky style, featured five local dancers on their program. This opportunity to perform with the pros was a unique fringe benefit for the San Diego dancers, and it just might have lasting effects on the local dance community.

The five home-growns--all summer interns of Three’s Company--danced Matthews’ “Touchstone,” a high-voltage tribal piece that uses Cunningham-style ensemble work juxtaposed with a solitary figure. The dance exploded like popcorn from every corner of the stage, and pushed the dancers to their physical limits.

Considering that the dancers had to learn the moves in a one-week crash course from the visiting choreographer, it was an impressive display. Tonnie Haig took the lead with authority and drive and was a real stand-out. She should develop into a mesmerizing dancer with this kind of professional training to spur her on.

Matthews and Attix showed off their wares to better effect in “Credo Quia Absurdem Est,” a dazzling duet recently reworked by the twosome.

“Dancing in your 40s does not require a reason or an answer,” said the program notes, “but it is something that you constantly question.” The theme is universal to women of the ‘80s, and the dancers pounced on it with wit and invention.

While Attix’s abstract text called the shots, the twosome pondered its possibilities in stylized poses and minimal movements that created stunning stage pictures. Both dancers are tall and lithe, with close-cropped hair--like a pair of matching bookends--and they complement each other’s attack perfectly. The chic turquoise and black costumes were just frosting on the cake.

“Credo . . . “ is a delicious mix of kinetic icons, from the one-legged flamingo pose that sets it in motion to the near-cerebral Oriental and East Indian motifs threaded through its designs. And it made a striking vehicle for the talented performers.

Matthews danced two solos, including a playful work that uses a playpen as more than just a prop. “Playpen” opens with Matthews trapped in the playpen, no doubt another comment on motherhood. She finally escapes, but not for long, as the pull of the playpen draws her back to reality.

“Playpen” is only a bauble, but it was well executed. And the children’s chorus singing folk songs in the background created just the right aural atmosphere for the piece.

“Sheila’s Blues,” designed and danced by Attix to the jazzy strains of a Sheila Jordan score, was a sassy little throwaway that really turned on the opening-night audience.

The least successful work was “In Memory Of,” a solo by Matthews with fuzzy funereal overtones. It mixed fleeting images of Alvin Ailey’s black dance jargon into the Cunningham stew, but came up emotionally empty, despite the wailing score that accompanied it.

Last weekend’s Lo-Tec marked the local debut of this modern dance duo, but it was still something of a homecoming for the veterans. It was their first joint performance in seven years. Both took time out for motherhood during their hiatus.

Although Lo-Tec is generally synonymous with limited lighting and sound support, technical director Allan Smith managed to make the studio resources look a lot more sophisticated for this concert.

Three’s Company’s Hillcrest studio will be dark during the July 4th weekend. But the Lo-Tec series resumes July 8-9, when Stephanie Gilliland returns from Riverside with her dancers and a full evening of her own work.