Genevieve Carson and Nick Heitzeberg in "Unravel" (Photo by Taso Papadakis)

L.A. Contemporary Dance Company celebrated 10 years of dancing in Los Angeles this weekend, performing "LACDC10" at the Los Angeles Theater Center in downtown. 

The company, co-founded by choreographer and USC alum Kate Hutter in 2005, performed six works from the company’s decade of repertory and screened a short tribute film, featuring company members dancing in the L.A. River and against urban landmarks, such as the 6th Street Bridge.  

Like this sprawling city, LACDC covered a wide span of Hutter's choreography with exuberance Saturday night, yet excelled when pared down to distinct duets.

In "Triptych" (2005) and "Big Skirt Woman Dance" (2007), LACDC’s women rhapsodize to soaring choral incantations. Yet placed together on a single program the two numbers read as an homage to Martha Graham, rather than unique signifiers of LACDC's youthful style. In both pieces, the womens’ full skirts billow about as they run and turn, becoming an emotive extension of their rapturous movements, but also a distracting reminder of Martha Graham's penchant for voluptous skirts.

More zest arrives in "(adjective), (noun), (verb)!" in which Kim Thompson shines against a co-ed crew of dancers. Part Chaplin’s Great Dictator, part Napoleonic parody, she eyes her cohort  and the crowd from beneath a comically feathered, colonial hat, admonishing the audience with a vigorous finger shake in one instance, then thumbing her nose at them in the next. While her performance is amusing, the role of her supporting cast - a woman in a pink nightgown (Kate Andrews), a disheveled man in pajamas (Christian Bearsley), and an ensemble of five dancers — is more vague and nebulous. If Thompson’s little tyrant is stealing the show, what then is the value of this cast of characters? Are they mere backdrop?   

Yet L.A. Contemporary Dance succeeds most when it selects character over caricature, vulnerability over volume, the present over the past.   

In "From the Founders of Insecurity and Ego" (2005) just two men, (Christian Beasley and Andrew Person) personify both neuroticism and vanity. As if using a mirror to place tiny polka dots in precise positions, one man lightly touches himself on his forehead, forearm, cheek, and nose, repeatedly, but in a captivating and unpredictable pattern. The motion invites a multitude of interpretations. Is he crossing his chest before entering a church? Is he padding some sweat off his brow with a handkerchief? Is he an executive buttoning up his cuff links? Or a clown putting on a false nose of the red, squishy, foam variety?

Meanwhile, the other man is a frenetic ball of nerves, who shakes and shivers in the background, yet remains a palpable presence, just out of the other man's visual reach. If this man is examining himself in some imaginary mirror, then the other is a haunting ghost, lingering uneasily at the edges of its reflective frame.  

Kate Andrews and Christian Beasley in "(adjective), (noun),(verb)!" (Photo by Taso Papadakis)

These relational movements are an engrossing gesture to life — to the anxious habits that plague us and the rituals that drive us insane. 

While last fall’s Into the Fray highlighted LACDC’s collaborative chops in a single, sweeping group number, "LACDC10" finds its strength in the synergy between individual dancers on a smaller, more intimate scale.

In the duet, "Unravel" (2012), newly appointed Artistic Director, Genevieve Carson, and company dancer Nicholas Heitzeberg embody the ebb and flow of a relationship in flux.  Longtime friends and dance partners, these two know each other inside and out. They tangle and untangle, negotiating each other’s swirling limbs and off kilter spins with a fluid ease. Knowing when to rise and fall, inhale and exhale, catch and release, they demonstrate an intimacy that is intricate, as well as intensely connective. 

Such emotive ties rise briefly to the surface in "Blank" (2013), when LACDC’s entire company walks onto stage. A tangle of limbs interconnect them. An outstretched arm finds itself attached to a kissing mouth. A thumb, with fingers splayed, curves against a forehead, like rooster’s ruff. Not one limb exists without the touch of another human being. 

The achievement of this anatomical jigsaw puzzle is astonishing to behold, and just within reach, as LACDC embarks on another decade in Los Angeles. Their continued cultivation and development as a company can only be anticipated with excitement for what lies ahead. 

"LACDC10" ran from May 1-2 at the Los Angeles Theater Center. For information about future shows visit www.TheLATC.org

Contact Contributor Christina Campodonico here. 

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