DANCE REVIEW : ‘Voices in Motion’ Showcase Reveals Emerging Talent

Emerging choreographers need chances to hone their skills outside studio workshops, but where in the Southland can they go? For starters, to “Voices in Motion,” a no-frills showcase series that gained a larger space and a new financial stability over the weekend with performances at the L.A. Theatre Center sponsored, in part, by the city Department of Cultural Affairs.

The discovery of the Friday program: Lisa Townsend, whose finely crafted postmodern duet “Lurking Beneath the Surface of Conscious Life” inventively honored female strength and resilience.

“Voices in Motion” founder Samuel Donlavy-Smith explored the same theme in a gutsy character solo, “On Jordan’s Bank,” that found Tiza Wynn dancing in and around a large tin tub. Striking in concept, the work remained undeveloped: a tantalizing fragment--just like “M.I.A. (Missing in America),” an intense, high-speed solo performed in light so dim that dancer-choreographer Phyllis Gomer-Douglass became a blur and it was easier to follow her shadow on the wall.

At least Laura Gorenstein switched on the light for her solo “Smolder,” though it revealed little more than shapeless angst stuck at one level of expression. In contrast, Cindera Che’s septet “Homecoming” boasted variety and technical expertise, but no evident focus. A tribute to Chinese culture seemed buried in the music and design motifs, but the choreography itself stayed blandly ornamental.

A sharper sense of purpose came from artists recently featured in Dance Kaleidoscope. Michael Mizerany repeated his impressionistic “Tin Soldier” solo. Anne Goodman and Jeffrey Grimaldo of Naked With Shoes presented “Hydraulic Vertical Plunge,” another endearing attempt to make modern dance look spontaneous, thrown-away, eccentric.

Accompanied by the Mark Shelby Quartet, Jazzantiqua seemed under-rehearsed in Pat Taylor’s suite “Canticle,” not ready for a style mixing character-gesture with exposed technical display. However, Maura Owens looked exemplary both alone and in her duet with the promising Juan Carlos Claudio.

Works by Kuwantu Cammon and Darryl Retter were scheduled on a Saturday “Junior Concert” matinee.