A showcase expands.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

The Japan Society's Annual Contemporary Dance Showcase is an excellent primer on what's hot in dance in Japan. And now, with Phase 2: Japan + East Asia, broader Asia. Five companies run the stylistic gamut. The male Ko & Edge Co. is a highly regarded practitioner of butoh. The company chelfitsch (a play on selfish?) riffs on the contemporary Japanese obsession with infantilism. Yoko Higashino's troupe (above) takes a collaborative approach that combines movement, music, and image. Jang Eun Jung Dance Company represents Korea, and from Taiwan hails Wind Dance Theatre, begun by Cloud Gate member Wu I-Fang. Jan. 9-10. Seewww.japansociety.org.