Sharir Dance Company, University of Texas Recreational Sports Center, February 19-22, 1998(Austin, Texas)

From physical feats to cyberspace I choreography, Yacov Sharir continues to explore the human body in motion. Since founding the Sharir Dance Company in 1982, the Israeli- American choreographer has built his dance troupe into Texas's leading modern dance organization. With an eclectic and provocative repertory and supported by a loyal and growing audience, Sharir and co-artistic director Jose Luis Bustamante look optimistically toward the future while celebrating their fifteenth-anniversary season with retrospectives and a remounting of Bustamante's popular sitespecific work, Court 6.

Squeaking and thudding are the prevalent sounds as Sharir Dance Company bounces off the walls of a glass enclosed racquetball court in Court 6, presented February 19 to 22 at the University of Texas Recreational Sports Center. What might seem claustrophobic--watching dancers in a tight, enclosed court--is quite the opposite. The dancers move naturally across the court's sleek, smooth surfaces of polished wooden floors and transparent front walls. Court 6 (the actual name of a racquetball court) is a beautiful dance space--open, light, airy--with high, bare walls begging to be traversed. Choreographer Bustamante obliges, with dancers walking and climbing the vertical spaces, using only their strength and Bustamante's creativity to defy gravity.

The transparent walls create a unique perspective, as if observing some rare species displayed behind glass. Dressed in black and white padded bike shorts with knee pads and black sneakers (design; by Kari Perkins), the dancers punctuate nonstop, sculptural movement with jumps and rolls as they intentionally collide Whither running freely or squashed against the glass like bugs on a windshield, they move with athletic precision one-armed handstands and kamikaze dives into the wall are just two of the many signature steps comprising Bustamante's angular, sophisticated choreography. Sometimes steps turn inside out, adding a rough-and-tumble attitude well suited to the racquetball ambiance.

Strong duets, trios, and ensembles permeate the thirty-five-minute dance, including one memorable grouping of Marika Chandler, Terry Hardy, and David Chao. Chandler flings herself onto a wall and slowly slides to the floor, while Hardy supports Chao as he walks perpendicularly along a glass wall. Bryan Green, Luis Manuel Narvaez, and Liza Travis ricochet off the walls, spinning and rolling, only to rise and repeat their actions. Carolyn Pavlik flies through a frantic solo, her arms and legs carving designs in the air. After the opening hustle and bustle, Bustamante offers a shocking dynamic contrast: slow-motion walks and simple, unison movements. Traditional groupings in this most untraditional setting has an astonishing effect of beauty and serenity, especially after all the careening and sliding.

Musical accompaniment ranges from David Lang to Perotin, with sound engineer William Meadows electronically manipulating noises from the miked floor. Sounds of colliding bodies, squeaking sneakers, and heavy breathing are amplified as part of the soundscape.

Dance and sports are separated by aesthetics, yet both make us ponder the amazing human body in motion. Bustamante pointedly focuses on the similarities-strong gutsy moves exhibiting physical prowess and practiced control. One cannot help appreciating these versatile, talented dancers, performing as easily in a sports arena as on a proscenium stage.

Returning to a traditional venue for the season finale, the company presented a retrospective evening, Yacov Sharir: Past & Present, at the B. Iden Payne Theatre, May 1 to 3. On this program, which included two premieres, Sharir focused on highly physical dances, rather than on his experimental and technology-mediated works.

The Egg (1992) combines four finely etched duets within the ensemble. Michael Kapoulas's electronic score drives the dancers with a rock-tinged beat as the men, attractively dressed in slacks and jackets, partner the women, and they partner them. Each duet is stylistically distinctive, yet retains signature movements of sharp kicks and explosive leaps. Two noteworthy duets feature Travis and Narvaez, and Hardy and guest artist Jeffery Bullock. Blue costumes, bathed in blue light, frame the tender love duet More About Love (1988), set to Yudit Ravitz's music and danced by Pavlik and Green. Slippery smooth, they glide through swirling arms, legs, and lifts in a relaxed, natural performance. Sharir's 2x5+ (1995) features understated athleticism to Tom Lopez's expressive score, surrounded by Amarante L. Lucero's designs of rotating circles of light. Chao and Hardy perform a silky-smooth duet, while the ensemble bounds on and off the stage.

Andrea Beckham and Sharir co-choreographed All Round Me, a premiere featuring three dancers, suspended sculptures, video projections, and an electronically sensored floor connected to the sound score. Composer Russell Pinkston performs his composition, while Beckham, Pavlik, and Green dance. All Round Me's serene quality contrasts sharply with the other highly physical dances on the program. Equal emphasis is placed on movement, sound, and visuals. John Christensen's white body bags hang like bats above the dancers, while video images flutter across the set. Electronic sounds rebound through the hall when dancers step on the sensored floor, yet it is hard to isolate and appreciate these new sounds within the ongoing soundscape. The work is free-flowing, bordering on disconnected, and the evening's most technologically assisted piece.

Command-Enter, the second new dance, provides a high-energy finale of solos and ensemble dancing that features the troupe's signature athleticism. Virtuosic solos in brightly colored circles of light accentuate each dancer's skills, allowing time to savor the talents of Pavlik, Hardy, and newcomer Jessica Chisam. An exciting quick-footed ending, punctuated by Sharir's onstage drumming, offers fast, intricate rhythms and an aural contrast from the evening's mostly electronic music.

Sharir Dance Company performances are known for their professional polish, with consistently strong dancing framed by high production values and state-of-the-art robotic lighting. This performance proved no exception. Although Sharir is recognized internationally as a leader in dance with new technologies, his forte continues to be highly physical, studio-created dances. Sharir's choreography proves why his company has thrived: innovative movements crafted with artistic integrity and intelligence.

Sondra Lomax is dance critic for the Austin American-Statesman newspaper and teaches ballet at the University of Texas at Austin.