In technique, sheer strength and polish, the O-T-O Dance remains unrivaled in this town's modern-dance community. They're also the finest practitioners of aerial dance in the region and among the best in the country. Under artistic director Anne Bunker, O-T-O has developed an overall lyricism, punctuated here and there by whimsical mischief.

SEASON REVIEW

The spring season of professional modern dance concerts has shown Tucson possesses a wealth and variety of dance talent. In particular, three companies divide along distinct artistic lines.

In technique, sheer strength and polish, the O-T-O Dance remains unrivaled in this town's modern-dance community. They're also the finest practitioners of aerial dance in the region and among the best in the country. Under artistic director Anne Bunker, O-T-O has developed an overall lyricism, punctuated here and there by whimsical mischief.

O-T-O Dance

O-T-O danced for free under the spring stars in the DeMeester Outdoor Performance Center April 28-30, and Tucsonans turned out in droves to watch the dancers. Two company members presented pieces: Mimi Chen's "Shadow Beauty" choreographed the dancers' long floating sleeves as well as their bodies in a light dance that was part ballet, part evocation of Chinese legend, part Chinese ribbon dance, and wholly beautiful.

Matthew Henley presented "A Bitter Suite," a trio of dances exploring human relationships. The first and finest was a stunning duet that transformed the everyday circling, bickering and loving of one couple into spare, sensual moves that seemed both startling and precisely accurate. In comparison, the second part was unfocused, but the third, a solo danced by Henley, was reminiscent of Alwin Nikolais' work, as Henley emphasized the solid shapes of his moves by wrapping himself in elastic fabric.

Bunker's "Toilet Trees," danced with apparatus from Benjamin Plumbing Supply, was its usual humorous self.

Though Charles Thompson danced his part in Robert Davidson's "Ave Maria" with his signature mixture of strength and grace, he did not quite conjure up Davidson's desperation to climb to heaven via Mary (danced by Bunker).

Most intriguing on the program was Bunker's newest section from her full-length work in progress, "Balanced Edge." Rather than standard trapezes, the dancers twirled on what looked like dangling punching bags, displaying both Bunker's inventiveness and her dancers' sleek power. The sense and purpose of their movement, however, was unclear in this excerpt, though clarity may come with both time and context.

O-T-O is deservedly well on its way to becoming one of the artistic pillars of Tucson. The fledgling companies of NEW ARTiculations and Zuzi deserve continued support as they work to shape new and very different worlds out of movement.

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