Dance troupe showcases artistic connections

Along with the troupe’s five dancers, the program featured live musicians, a guest choreographer, a flamenco dancer and a wooden set piece by sculptor Jim Lewis. The combined effect was a rich and varied celebration of the connections and collaborations between regional artists. Plenty of Sinopoli’s work was also on tap, beginning with “Clusters,” one of her earliest pieces, choreographed with Rob Kitsos.

Dressed in gauzy white, the five dancers move like birds or plants in the wind, legs sweeping or outstretched in balances. Small groups form and reform as the dancers exit and enter the stage, creating ever-changing compositions. Building gradually to a fast-paced section and then slowing down again, the 16-year-old “Clusters,” set to a sound score by Franghiz Ali Zaheh, has the flowing, organic feel that has characterized much of Sinopoli’s work since.

Wearing bright red and orange, Laura Teeter ate up the scenery, so to speak, in Sinopoli’s solo “Ream,” with live music by guitarist Maria Zemantauski. Zemantauski also performed her soulful flamenco guitar in “Music Suite,” alongside cellist Monica Wilson-Roach, and accompanied the expressive flamenco dancer Lisa Martinez, whose feet and skirts flashed almost as quickly as Zemantauski’s fingers on the guitar strings.

The musicians returned for “Compas,” which melds Sinopoli’s curving choreography with the bold, dramatic movement of flamenco. Turns, kicks, slides, circling hips, staccato rhythm and lots of attitude gave the piece heat and punch; the fluid unison sections for the four dancers (Teeter, Melissa George, Claire Jacob-Zysman and Audrey Burns) were particularly striking.

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