An Intriguing Night of ‘Solos and Duets’

The estrogen level was high at the Fountain Theatre’s second annual “Festival of Solos and Duets” Friday. And none was more evident than in the riotous, captivating work-in-progress “Soak,” directed and danced by stunning Madeleine Dahm and loopy but able Batyah Shtrum, both of Hybrid Physical Theatre.

They created a Laundromat scenario in which a woman’s work is never done but high jinks aplenty rule. From Dahm’s seductive topless dance with her head in a dryer to Shtrum’s headstand in a laundry basket, this duo gave cataclysmic life to the spin cycle, set to wild and campy bachelor pad music.

Another laundry-laden piece was “Shades of Blues--’Wash Day,’ ” performed by Laura Schifferli and choreographed by Nanette Brodie. Vital with haughty energy, the long-limbed Schifferli swayed and swiveled her hips to a great Robert Johnson blues track, creating a perfect meld of joy and heartache.

Choreographer-dancer Tina Mantel chose the dense sounds of Glenn Gould playing Bach for a series of “structured improvisations” in “Begegnungen mit Bach.” Combining stretching and upper-body warmup moves, Mantel managed a sweeping lyricism that, nevertheless, remained emotionally detached from the complex music.

Kiha Lee also performed her own work, “Deep in My Soul,” an enticing melange of traditional Korean footwork with a new age sensibility, executing deep bending turns and sharp spins in pristine white silk pajamas to an angst-ridden yet life-affirming soprano solo.

Less successful was Liz Maxwell’s “Junk Dance,” as she spasmodically dug through childhood memorabilia to the music of Arvo Part. Maxwell’s spoken text compounded the vacuity.

Also spouting text--by Sylvia Plath--was Glynna Goff. Her crisp diction enhanced fluid movements, bringing life to “The Applicant.”

Glen Velez’s annoyingly twangy score proved fatal to Tina Croll’s “After Image,” a repetitive, jerky affair that exploited facial expressions to naught. The lone male on the program, Michael Mizerany, performed his previously reviewed “A Bump in the Road,” providing the perfect spark of testosterone to a mostly enjoyable evening.