Reviews

GARLAND – Oh, the pain of too many dances to write about and too little space. Saturday night at the Granville Arts Center was the perfect example, where Curtain Call Dance Festival unleashed far too many terrific dances.

BRANDON THIBODEAUX/Special Contributor

Ballet Ensemble of Texas members (from left) Abbie Feller, Julia Nicholson and Allyson March perform the piece Festive Overture during the festival at Granville Arts Center.

The festival did triple duty, with the Dance Council offering awards to Sarah Nesbit, Keisha Breaker, Liz Gallego and Yvonne Lovell. Second, it gave student scholarship recipients a chance to show their mettle, and third, it showcased student companies, universities, pre-professional and professional companies. There were 16 dances overall.

Here's a few of the best:

A mother and son and seven friends ponder war with stoic restraint in Louisiana Dance Theatre's Mothers of War. Friends and mother in long peasant dress lunge with whiplash fury. At the end, the mother sits on her son's slumped body, her skirt stretched out to hide him.

With feet bounding and gourds shaking, Ms. Gallego brought Aztec dance to life on the fiery Mitote.

Tension seethed between Lauren Perry and Willis Johnson in Push/Pull, with Ms. Perry slumping over her partner, and Mr. Johnson pulling her back up.

In long, full white dress, Michele Gifford swirled around bereft with anguish in Elisabeth Gillaspy's Lorelei.

Metropolitan Classical has a new star in Shea Johnson, who made a dashing slave in Le Corsair, with looping, high barrel turns. His partner, Maiko Abe, looked a bit tentative.

Houston's Kingwood Dance Theatre's A Long Line of Goodbyes showed just how effective the use of a long line of 14 dancers can be, as they spill out into solos and groups, and end with all but one disappearing.

Tap dance at its jazzy best ended the show with a bang, as Austin's Tapestry Dance Company used just feet and hand claps to hammer down the rhythm.

Sunday featured some repeats and new works, with honors going to Acia Gray, Catherine Turocy and Charles Santos.

Margaret Putnam is a Richardson-based writer who covers dance.

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