Dance : Intelligence Shows in Gilliland’s ‘Raw / Bone’

Except for her assaultive, engulfing woman’s quartet “Coriolanus,” the pieces presented by Stephanie Gilliland at Cal State L.A. on Friday proved far too thoughtful and complex for her program title, “Raw and to the Bone.”

This locally based postmodernist clearly identifies with the risk-oriented, stamina-testing movement theater gathering converts in the community. However, Gilliland’s intelligence, sense of craft and sensitivity to emotional values in dancing kept her work demanding more sophisticated responses.

Admittedly, “The Men’s Piece” had plenty of brute athleticism but also moments when the five jocks paused to get into their feelings before launching a new round of intense jogging or high-diving gymnastics.

Midway, Gilliland paired off guys in pants with guys in skirtlets--possibly a wry, feminist joke (like the party dresses in “Coriolanus”).

Feminist concepts of sexual politics and empowerment also colored other pieces, from the solidarity of the wonder women in “Coriolanus” to the isolation of Gilliland and Michael Cecconi in her lush, turbulent, untitled duet.

In “The Furniture Pieces,” Gilliland chose a table, chairs, a mattress and even a cat’s carpet-covered scratching post (a tunnel, actually) as platforms for dancing. Along with the use of kneepads and gymnastics, the changing architectural deployment of these objects labeled the style as L.A. Modern, ’94.

However, Gilliland’s thematic focus on hyper-extended stretches unified the suite and helped give it a distinctive sensuality.

The chair duet for Gilliland and Cheryl Graham, for example, featured intimate lifts and holds, competitive jockeying for position and an intriguing, enigmatic subtextual drama. A symbolic power struggle perhaps? A love relationship? Tonya and Nancy?

Don’t ask, don’t tell.