Gamson Members Offer a Lyrical Worldview

Give Rosanna Gamson credit. As artistic director of Rosanna Gamson/World Wide, the choreographer-dancer presented her company members in an evening of their own works over the weekend at Highways Performance Space. The seven pieces, performed under the banner “Terra Nova: New Dance/New Theater,” ran the, well, gamut.

On the plus side was Gamson’s “Darker,” exquisitely danced by Peter Kwong and the choreographer. With a live, mournful cello score by Shane W. Cadman, this duet about love and its aftermath exuded lyricism, highlighted by sensuous unisons. Another potent duet: Cesar Cazares’ “UnWinding,” with Lilia Lopez rocking in neo-Keystone Kops mode (shimmying and leaping), and Barnaby Levy moving robotically to Eduardo F. Lopez’s sound collage.

“Ausencia” (Absence), choreographed by Edgar Ovando, offered a startling display of Butoh-inspired back bending as Ovando, Cazares and Erica Finley maneuvered ritualistically to a tape of women chanting.

Also alluringly austere: Johnny Tu in his solo, “Cardboard Blanket.” Bursting with elegant, occasionally violent arm gestures and stamped with tai chi-like deliberateness, Tu explored life among the homeless.

Less successful were works making use of props and spoken text: “From Delphi to Dodona,” choreographed and performed by Deborah Rosen with Jeremy Jacobs, featured lunges and athletic lifts, but the shower of fortune cookies was overkill as they divined the future. Indeed, Grace Umali’s and Richard Owens’ live musical accompaniment proved more compelling. “Stone Blind Love,” created and performed by Dana Wieluns and Bill Celentano, saw the duo acrobatically moving within a circle of stones and spouting poetry, to little effect.

“Berserker,” Paul Outlaw’s take on Nat Turner and Jeffrey Dahmer, was an unfortunate cross between Karen Finley and the comic Gallagher.

Neither profound nor funny, Outlaw splattered tomatoes and smeared his naked body with red noodles, popcorn and honeydew chunks, simultaneously giving irksome voice to the pair.