Full Radius Dance. (National: A Jubilant Salute to a Decade of Dance).

FULL RADIUS DANCE 7 STAGES THEATRE ATLANTA, GEORGIA JUNE 22 AND 23, 2001

Douglas Scott's Full Radius Dance offered a well-balanced compilation of repertoire favorites and three premieres in the tenth anniversary program, "Dancing the Dream: 10 & Counting."

Scott founded the modern dance company in 1991 as Dance Force, Inc. to change the way modern dance was created and supported in Atlanta. In 1993, dancers with disabilities began to work with the company and Scott joined fellow dancer and choreographer Ardath Prendergast to found E=motion, a company whose mission was to integrate disabled dancers into professional dance. In 1998, the two companies merged, becoming Full Radius Dance.

Full Radius Dance was the first, and is still the only, physically integrated professional company in Georgia, and one of a handful of similar companies nationwide. Audiences were not surprised when the company and Scott were honored opening night: the company with a proclamation from Atlanta mayor Bill Campbell and Scott with a grant from the City of Atlanta. However, these honors seemed almost anticlimactic compared to the performance itself, which revealed dancers whose performances were both professional and personal, and whose commitment to education and outreach has made a lasting local imprint.

The premieres, Circle, choreographed by Nicole Livieratos, By Passion Driven (Story I), choreographed by Prendergast, and Dream a Little Dream, choreographed by Scott, explored attitudes, actions, and outcomes involving people with disabilities.

As its name implies, Circle explored the circle motif through all sorts of props. A small pink ball rolled across the stage floor under a dancer's bare foot, a roll of string was unrolled to question and redefine space, and hula hoops and wheelchairs were used to explore the spatial relationship between circles and those who move within them.

By Passion Driven (Story I) is the introductory segment of a larger work Prendergast began in 2000 (Story H). The full work explores the ways romantic passion can enhance as well as impede relationships.

Dream a Little Dream ended the evening on a particularly high note. Scott's optimistic, tongue-in-cheek choreography to Cass Elliot's happy 1960s pop tunes left the audience wanting more. The lighthearted treatment of a serious message--to dare to dream of a physically integrated offstage world where all individuals are accepted for who they are--worked like a charm, as did the appealing lighting with daisies projected on the scrim and costuming to match. The dancers' beatific expressions, the interdependence they demonstrated through clasped hands, their intricate weaving of patterns through space, and changes in direction and focus were strong and well suited to the piece. Dancers Jaehn Clare, Tommy Gates, Margo Gathright-Dietrich, Diane Lassila, Prendergast, Scott, Teal Sherer, and Monica Van Pelt gave highly integrated, focused performances. Here's to another ten years and another full circle of artistic achievement for Full Radius Dance.