Standing out in the Spectrum

There’s a special art to getting noticed and remembered on a program of short pieces by many choreographers -- a program such as the 16-part Spectrum: Dance in L.A. bill at the Ivar Theatre on Saturday.

Clarity of purpose is a must, so pieces that switch styles (Stefan Wenta’s folk ballet “The Faraway Sea”) or focus (Rei Aoo’s dance drama “Dilemma”) risk seeming confused.

Similarly, excerpts from pieces that nobody knows (Brenda Bike’s quartet “Exercise of Power” or Rande Dorn’s equally satiric duet “Being WE Knee Deep in Sweetwaters”) can look fragmentary: puzzles with no solutions.

The trick to being memorable in such circumstances may lie in projecting a single high-profile concept: the alternation between formal ballet moves and sprawling, anti-ballet anarchy in Scott Heinzerling’s solo “as if” (danced by Tekla Kostek).

Or the juxtaposition of antique Bharata Natyam from India with contemporary hip-hop and jazz dancing in Janet Roston’s “Tanjore Project.”

A powerful rhythmic pulse can also keep a dance on the list of highlights -- whether the approach is formal and elegant, as in Ken Morris’ jazz quartet “Jungle Moon,” or go-for-broke celebratory as in Erin Landry’s messy, large-scale “Africano.”

In addition, sophisticated spatial design (Hillary Thomas’ quartet “Back to the Earth”) and a distinctive movement vocabulary (Anna Djanbazian’s liquid duet “Selfless Love”) always help a piece linger in memory.

Now, if choreographers can combine several virtues and add faultless execution, they’re heads above nearly everyone, which is where Denise Leitner’s artfully designed, sharply rhythmic women’s ensemble “Pathways #4” belonged on Saturday, along with Corey D. Burrell’s more conventional but equally exciting women’s mood piece “Love Ridden.”

Finally, it doesn’t hurt if you’ve got drama in your blood, structural savvy galore and one of the finest dancers in the city, as in Joe Goode’s postmodern character study “Native Son.” Patrick Damon Rago danced this solo with his usual brilliance and an extra edge of ferocity.

New works by Jesse Abrescy, (“Music Sustains Me”), Bob Boross (“If There’s a Hell Below, We’re All Gonna Go”) and Ruby Karen (“Passing Thru”) completed the program.

Next performance in the Spectrum series: Feb. 1-2.