FESTIVAL ’90 : DANCE REVIEWS / L.A. FESTIVAL : 2 Visions of Mythic Asia at Arboretum

A huge, gilded dragon, looped to the gills on home-grown sake, writhed and rolled, belching columns of smoke and fireworks, as his four heads fought over who would get the last drop of the magic sauce.

That was the set-piece moment in the dance-drama “Yamata-no-orochi” (The Eight-Headed, Eight-Tailed Dragon), presented Thursday night at L.A. Arboretum by the Uwanuda Kagura troupe from Japan.

Intended, according to the company’s own literature, as a PG-rated “entertainment for the masses,” the fairy-tale story of gods and princesses unraveled with the languid pacing of art meant to be seen by a casual audience.

The only glitch in the otherwise festive offering was an intrusive and superfluous loudspeaker narration that explained what was about to happen before each section of the story unfolded.

Sharing the bill with the Uwanuda was the Whittier-based Majikina Honryu Dance Company, an all-female troupe of third- and fourth-generation Americans of Okinawan descent.

They presented a variety of gracefully executed dances, distinguished by floating movements, delicate hand articulations and subtle characterizations.

Their finale selection, “Watanaja,” ably sketched a folksy cross-section of seaside village society, complete with archetypal figures ranging from the fish peddler to the monk, and a modest dose of humor. Particularly striking throughout was the ease with which these women portrayed a gallery of male personas.