Technique Provides Firm Footing for Vibrant Jazzdance

Something wonderful happens when a choreographer weds music and technique with purity and effortlessness. Such was the case with Jazzdance by Danny Buraczeski, who brought a four-part program to Pepperdine University’s Smothers Theatre on Thursday. Buraczeski, who was a Broadway dancer in the ‘70s, clearly revels in his role as performer, but it is his solid movement vocabulary and adherence to classic jazz traditions that infuse his dances--and eight dancers--with spirit and substance.

“Foot Fetish,” a playful romp set to six blues songs, is a peek at simpler times, with dancers Jennifer Wolverton, Les Johnson, Maria Vignone Slutiak, Mariusz Olszewski, Dana Holstad and Brad Garner bopping and grooving with brooms and handkerchiefs. Judith E. James and Garner’s duet offered a kind of mating dance, while Joanne Horn’s solo was all dips and slinky curves.

“Ezekiel’s Wheel,” Buraczeski’s foray into more modern terrain, with an original percussive score by Philip Hamilton, is a tribute to writer James Baldwin. Linked arms and unison moves accentuate the themes of tolerance and unity, with mourning and loss the centerpiece as Baldwin--on tape--reads his “Eulogy” from “Another Country.” Continuously moving, the eight dancers spin, twist and flow organically from one formation to another, creating a sublime tableau of hope.

“Scene Unseen” is an elegant look at Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn, loosely portrayed by tuxedo-clad Buraczeski and Johnson. This work deftly blends Ellington-Strayhorn music with dance storytelling: Enter the women, all sequins and fans, to complicate the mix in these seven vignettes where relationships are explored through tango dips, vamping and even male-male kissing (Olszewski and Johnson).

The program finale, “‘Swing Concerto,” is a vibrant melding of klezmer and big band, wherein Buraczeski and company let it all hang out with high kicks, lifts and lots of whirling couples. Warning: Ebullient spirits and flying feet can be contagious.