Beeman’s ‘Buddha’ is show’s jewel

Choreographer Terry Beeman understands the body: Whether he’s assigning it sculptural balancing poses, making use of deliberate slow-motion runners’ stances or busting loose with glorious, in-your-face primal lunges, this dancemaker -- and 20 breathtaking dancers -- stole the show from Rei Aoo’s Dance Planet at Glendale Community College Auditorium on Saturday.

“Antoine’s Mischief,” a 75-minute premiere inspired by Antoine de Saint-Exupery’s “The Little Prince,” was billed as a joint choreographic effort by Aoo and Beeman. Only “Buddha Run,” however, Beeman’s 20-minute contribution -- a monumental centerpiece of the 10-part suite -- had a cohesive, inspired vision. The dancers, clad in skimpy black spandex and knit caps, preened a la Muscle Beach, periodically leaping, writhing and pirouetting, often as a unit, with taped music steadily swelling to fever pitch.

A hybrid of commercial, jazz and modern dance, the work had the feel of an artful music video, albeit one awash in drama and undulating with astonishing displays of beauty and endurance.

Unfortunately, Beeman’s opus was surrounded by the curious lacuna of Aoo’s work. Talk about a disjointed evening. With wan dialogue by Richard Kuller and Aoo, the narrative had the prince (Tiler Peck, a robust but robotic dancer), on a quest to unlock a “Storeroom of Riches.” Indeed, an oversized key was literally passed from dancer to dancer in each segment.

Musical accompaniment varied from mawkish to mundane.