Strong Ensembles Step Up the Pace of ‘Encounters’

In her two-act dance-play “Encounters,” Kelly Devine creates some of the best group choreography on local stages, a distinctively personal take on commercial pop dance style.

At the El Portal Theatre in North Hollywood on Friday, Devine’s ability to infuse hot ensembles with unexpected originality--adding a feline stretch here, a sweet buoyancy there--even carried “Encounters” through a formula finale in which members of her 14-dancer company took turns performing their favorite steps.

Unfortunately, Devine proved clueless when it came to using movement to coherently portray character or express emotion. In intimate dramatic scenes--the crux of the “Encounters” plot--she simply threw flashy steps at her leads like raw meat to lions. Nor was she strong enough as a writer and director to keep Jenna Stewart, Stacy Walker and Jason Yribar from turning a mundane love triangle into an overwrought, wordless soap opera.

In outline, her story resembled one of those dreadful Lifetime cable movies in which the dream stud of the first reel always turns into Mr. Monster by the fade-out.

As mentioned, the ensembles looked terrific and, at the beginning of Act 2, Devine briefly explored the three main characters’ feelings with a welcome simplicity. But soon after, “Encounters” ricocheted into teary melodrama and crude comic relief, undermining any shred of credibility.

As the victimized single, Stewart needed greater vulnerability and Walker more than a slew of gestural mannerisms as the betrayed wife. But Yribar commanded enough authority as a dancing actor to make each scene and solo impressive on its own terms.

Danced to uncredited pop recordings, “Encounters” featured scenic panels by David Weiss that suggested various locations but left plenty of room for dancing.