Georgian State Troupe Gives Women Equal Time at Last

When they dance, the Georgians show just about the finest combination of force and finesse around. As seen Thursday at Pepperdine University in Malibu, the men of the Georgian State Dance Company can glide on their toes when they aren’t swashbuckling or flying like eagles before landing on their shins. They lunge, jab, twist, turn, often at the speed of light, always with pristine technique and upright elegance.

The women, however, used to live in a graceful ghetto, always seeming to skim and float in severely glamorous white dresses. They were the something worth swashbuckling for. Not that this can’t be stunningly effective, as in staple ensemble dances such as “Davluri-Sadarbazo,” “Kartuli” and “Simd.”

But, wonder of wonders, someone has discovered that women can be forceful too, presumably director and choreographer Tengiz Sukhishvili and chief choreographer Iliko Sukhishvili Jr., son and grandson of company founders Iliko Sukhishvili and Nino Ramishvili.

New dances saw the women branch out, becoming stern in “Samani,” their still-filigreed arm movements and long, ice-blue tunics balanced by small kicks, leaps and raised fists. In “Uchkhresti,” they rattled hand-held wooden instruments, while threading through the swiftly moving geometric formations the company is known for.

The men, of course, still had their day--it’s hard to beat the thrilling stylized sword fights and show-off solos, but the women may develop their own tricks in time. They already had some intricate allegro steps and incipient warrior personalities.

Onstage musicians provided an especially driving musical pulse in their only solo number, “Georgian Rhythms.” It sounded like Tbilisi may have an Afro-Cuban quarter, another indication that the company moves with the times.

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The Georgian State Dance Company, Haugh Performing Arts Center, 1000 W. Foothill Blvd., Glendora. Tonight, 8 p.m. $13-25. (626) 963-9411.