DANCE REVIEW : Jazz Troupe Leaves Beaten Path; Audience Reluctant to Follow

Jazz Unlimited may never entirely shed its image as a Vegas-style dance troupe with more speed and pizazz than kinetic substance. But during last weekend’s concert at San Diego State University’s Don Powell Theatre, the company took a step in that direction with a pair of premieres that took their cues from the flowing lyricism of modern dance. Both “Summons,” and “Silahkan” were obvious signposts of softer things to come, although the audience showed it preferred the old favorites.

Melissa Nunn, a choreographer with roots firmly planted in the tenets of traditional modern dance, created the blunt-edged motional patterns and pretty stage pictures of “Summons.”

Despite unflattering costumes for both the men and the women, the dance ebbed and flowed nicely along the eerie lines of its Tibetan-flavored score. Brash lighting designs enhanced the mood.

There were lapses in unison work at times, and the stop-action balances demanded more control, but “Summons” was a worthy addition to the repertory.

Patricia Rincon, founding director of the 10-year-old troupe, made a detour of her own with a new ensemble work she dubbed “Silahkan.” The sextet owed its lovely, lyrical quality to the Eastern musical motifs of Zakir Hussain. Its East Indian stillness and supple moves of Egyptian dance were quite a departure for Rincon and her dancers.

At its best, the dance should ripple along rhythmically, like leaves sailing on the crest of a gentle breeze. Unfortunately, the cast had difficulty sustaining that seamless flow of movement during its first performance Saturday.

The most disappointing work on the program was Rincon’s lively “Trilogy,” which seemed totally at odds with its laid-back, country-style accompaniment and the crude photo montage used as a backdrop.

The old hallmarks of jazz dance still showed up in this concert, but not until the latter part of the six-piece program. Rincon’s second premiere, “Grounded,” a dramatic dance about stifling relationships and entrapment, began with a striking tableau of the five dancers in a huddle. They peeled apart for some rapid high jinks, but never strayed far from the core. It was a fine showcase for the dancers.

Jazz Unlimited went back to its 1985 signature work, “Company Break,” for its only all-out crowd pleaser. The piece, with a rollicking score by Rob Mullins to propel it, is the kind of sassy show-biz shenanigans that Jazz Unlimited fans have come to expect. And it generated a spontaneous outbreak of applause and whistles when it burst on the scene for the finale.

Jazz Unlimited may have designs on a new image, but, judging from the response it received Saturday night, it may have to find a new audience to accept it.