DANCE REVIEW : Lo-Tec Violence, Angst and Dark, Brooding Works

While the Bolshoi Ballet Academy danced fanciful, fairy-tale ballets last weekend, two modern dance makers and a small band of dancers addressed darker themes in Three’s Company’s no-frills Hillcrest studio.

The Lo-Tec concert featured works by Margaret Wingrove and Shawn Womack. Neither Wingrove nor Womack is an unknown quantity in modern dance. Wingrove (with a success at Jacob’s Pillow to her credit) has had her own company in San Jose since 1981. And Womack (a recent NEA fellow in choreography) has a company that bears her name in Cincinnati. But both choreographers had low profiles in San Diego before debuting here last Saturday and Sunday.

Wingrove’s work and three dancers from her seven-member company dominated the performance. They executed five of the six pieces on the program, including “Shatterings,” the emotionally-draining dance drama that had its world premiere at Saturday night’s performance.

AIDS-inspired dance works are becoming sadly commonplace as the deadly disease spreads. But Wingrove’s perspective--as the mother of a victim--may be unique. In any case, her five-part dance drama was a moving tribute to friends and family of AIDS sufferers, not just the people afflicted with the vicious killer. And Wingrove got her message across without any heavy-handed imagery or sappy sentimentality.

Michael Howerton, a lithe, lanky dancer with cat-like lunges and strong technique, gave a shattering performance in the powerful “Why Me?” section. Juxtaposed against the mournful pluckings of a guitar, the deformed gestures of this tortured solo sent Howerton writhing. But he danced it with dignity and determination.

The bleeding patterns of their tie-dyed costumes (credited to dancer Annette Williams) aided and abetted the spirit of the piece. Too bad the bare-bones studio setting could not provide the level of lighting the piece deserved.

Violence and angst were pretty much the order of the day at this concert. A little balance would have served the choreographers and the audience a lot better.

The performance opened on a downer with “Mind Trap,” a trio for Howerton, Williams and Kerry Rapp. Flimsy vertical frames and a crudely executed fence were used as metaphors for the psychological walls that stifle the human spirit.

In this case, Wingrove was too literal in her imagery and too preachy in her program notes. “Mind Trap” might have made a bigger impact without them.

“Two Into One” sounded more hopeful than it was, but at least it fared much better as a dance work. As the electronic score pounded its dissonant accompaniment, Howerton and Rapp played with a destructive relationship--yet another kind of entrapment.

This could have been just another angst-filled twosome, but Wingrove made inventive use of props (a wooden chair and an open frame), then ended it all with a climax that completely caught the audience off balance.

“Reflection” was another dance for a couple, this time for Howerton and Williams. The choreography was interesting and well danced by this well-matched pair, but Philip Glass’ throbbing rhythms seemed out of step with the lyrical designs.

“Early Sorrow,” a solo for Rapp, never stooped to the maudlin in its “young girl’s lament over the untimely death of her mother.” Instead, it trusted the movement--deep lunging leg lifts and rapid shifts in direction--to tell the tale. And Rapp, with flowing hair and a beautifully supple spine, was a mesmerizing presence in this brief lament.

Womack has been in residence here for weeks, teaching at workshops for local dancers. The piece she unveiled at this concert was a direct result of that residency and served as a vehicle for five Three’s Company interns. It was the third such opportunity to come their way this summer, and the “work-in-progress” was an effective showcase for the emerging dancers. However, the program didn’t need another dark, brooding work. Hopefully, things will lighten up a little, at least in the emotional sense, when Three’s Company’s Lo-Tec series resumes Aug. 12-13.