Reviews

Whatever magic dust Southern Methodist University is sprinkling, it worked Friday night.

In "Best of Dance," students from the Meadows Dance Ensemble created 14 works that showed a level of sophistication that bodes well. Is there any surprise that the division is ranked up there with State University of New York Purchase College and Juilliard as one of the top three dance programs in the nation? Not if you have been paying attention.

The imprint of teachers and guest artists surfaced throughout. Did we see a MOMIX touch, a little Twyla Tharp, some Danny Buraczeski, a hint of Bob Fosse? Graham?

Kimberly Lyons' Diggin' on James Brown was a saucy affair for tap dancers in jeans and a loose, easy air. Chris Jarosz' and Jarrell Hamilton's Call It What Ya' Want may have come out a tad tame for hip-hop, but the industrial background and Lois Cantanzaro's terrific lighting spoke "cool."

Four works stood out. In Matthew Walfish's somber January 1987, a soloist dips and turns on pointe amid seven others who stretch out on the floor supported by one hand, their bodies as straight as boards.

The title Push/Pull, choreographed and performed by Lauren Perry and Willis Johnson, described perfectly the tension between the couple, while another sort of tension enveloped Michael Wright's Excerpt from Loss. Spare and intense, Loss borrowed Graham's use of tubing both as a symbol of shackles and control, as dancers pulled at each other's stretch-knit shirts.

An umbrella makes a simple ploy. Just what to do with one is another question. Katie Drablos and Ms. Perry figured it out in Let It Be, in a dance that was as witty as it was compelling.

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

PLAN YOUR LIFE Today at 2 p.m., SMU's Bob Hope Theatre, Owens Arts Center, 6101 Bishop Blvd. $13, $10 seniors, $7 students. Call 214-768-2787.

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