Diverse dance invitational succeeds

Now in its 11th year, Kaye Weinstein Gary's "Yes, VirginiaDance" invitational built on Gary's recent foray into theater and sought diverse dance artists from the state and beyond.

Continuing her relationship with local actor-director Billy-Christopher Maupin, who collaborated on last season's "The Words of Wendy Wasserstein," this year Gary presented a 10-minute play by Joan Ackermann, "A Great-Looking Boat." Gaye took on the role of Mrs. Carmichael (originally Mr. Carigianis), a woman born blind but possessed of vivid insight. Mrs. Carmichael has an encounter with Elaine Fink, a volunteer reader whose mangling of "The Odyssey" leads to insightful interactions -- and the sharing of oversized cream puffs.

For me, there was a major disconnect between the "Mind's Eye" prologue, a tableau danced by Gary with Katherine Lynch and Shannon McConville, set to Dvorak's "Romantic Pieces, Op. 7," and the very agreeable dramatic section.

One couldn't find anything more filled with contrasts -- and perhaps more uncomfortable to watch -- than Kyle Abraham's "Brick."

Abraham, a Pittsburgh native and one of Dance Magazine's "25 to Watch in 2009," began this exploration of contemporary black male identity and sexuality with a ruthless, raw rap track that segued into an ambiguous electronic tone, against which his solo's movements changed from hip-hop to martial arts to tribal-like actions to an almost imperceptible motion reminiscent of Japanese Noh or Butoh.

In contrast to the stark, white-rice makeup of those Japanese styles, Abraham's body was covered in thick, black makeup that left grimy smears on the white mats he danced on. Large Afro wigs, some scattered on the floor and at one point hoisted into the air on ropes, contrasted with his bald head. Crude marker outlines of his body brought to mind the chalk outlines of crime scenes, and a rope he climbed nimbly could have been a noose.

College of William and Mary professor of dance Joan Gavaler offered a most amusing piece, "Rapid Eye Movements," in which a sleeper's vivid dreams are portrayed by a trio of pajama-clad male dancers. They, at various times, play the part of pillows, monsters, bedbugs or watchful overseers. Underscored by folksy bluegrass music and the easy give-and-take of contact improvisation, "Rapid Eye Movements" was a strong opening work that set the tone for the program.

Lynch and Philip Skaggs from the Richmond ballet performed a duet from contemporary choreographer Colin Connor's "Vestiges," a work that focuses on isolation and connectedness through the use of intense partnering. On the Grace Street Theater stage, Skaggs appears larger than life, and Lynch deceptively delicate and fragile.

The widely diverse and mostly successful program also included New York choreographer Melanie Aceto's duet, "Knit" (a work that, in spite of its three distinct sections and movement styles, somehow failed to stand out); New England-based Prometheus Dance's dark duet, "Between Blood and Bone," a work inspired by Yugoslavian deportation and genocide; and New York choreographer Kate Weare's "Scorched," a work that irreverently explores the human instinct to merge and the illogic of our couplings.