A weird ‘n’ wriggly Spectrum showcase

Deborah Brockus’ Spectrum series is where Southland dancers and choreographers hone their craft, strut their stuff or try something risky that might not otherwise fit into their creative profiles.

As usual, Spectrum #21 at the Ivar Theatre on Sunday proved uneven but offered more exciting discoveries than outright disasters, with 17 short pieces on the bill, 10 of them premieres. Some of the best work qualified as off-the-wall, and nobody occupied that space more memorably than Bubba Carr in his mercurial, unaccompanied solo “Self.”

An experiment in twisty, rubber-limbed flow, this boneless, spineless showpiece might be the genesis of a whole contemporary style -- assuming that Carr can teach it to others and set it to music.

Almost as wildly wiggly, Kenji Yamaguchi joined tapper Hiroshi Hamanishi for the challenge duet “East Meets West,” but their displays of flashy technique ultimately went nowhere. However, the intense contrasts and linkups between Yo Smith Kwon (as a butoh glamour queen) and Daniel Senning (as a charismatic ballet rebel) made Laurie Cameron’s bizarre duet “At the Joshua Tree” a highlight.

Marlon Pelayo’s insectile trio “Retro Meow-a-pillars” also wore its weirdness proudly but needed stronger execution to sustain interest.

Although the program supplied conventional outlets for male energy (Ken Morris’ hot gymnastic trio “Apotheosis”) and female prowess (Christine Baltes’ sleek jazz quintet “Out With the New, In With the Old”), gender indeterminacy added novelty to other pieces.

For example, you could find lone men dancing along with all-women ensembles in the Abby Bruce Company’s pop septet “Blue and Yellow,” and in Esencia Flamenca’s formal sextet “Abajo de las Sombras,” both nicely performed.

Moreover, along with solos choreographed by the women who danced them -- Ellen Rosa’s fitfully effective “Plank” and Del Leon’s moody “A Short Study on DeRobles” -- Spectrum found room for male choreographers exploring women’s sensibilities in Bob Borros’ soulful “I Am,” danced by Heather Castillo and Michael Menna’s static “Prayer to the Muse,” danced by Lisa Allin.

Olivia Gaugain arguably choreographed the night’s freshest woman’s solo in her fluid, despairing “Goodbye My Lover,” boldly executed by Tida Sripanich.

Dances about dancing also turned up. Benjamin Allen’s ensemble showcase “Rock the Cradle” playfully recycled an anthology of pop cliches, while mecca vazie’s sardonic trio “Le carosel” suggested that such hackneyed moves as the buck and wing signal the decline and fall of Western civilization.

Completing the program: Deborah Brockus’ forceful jazz trio “Surge (Always Ever Amber)” and John Castagna’s “Fledermaus” story-ballet, “Sweet Revenge,” which fumbled its opening sequence but grew highly persuasive in its duet for Gaida Paulovska and Joseph Gutierrez.