Dance

By Deni Kasrel

There's a slate of shows in store by local movement artists who defy neat categorization. Grace Mi-He Lee, Asimina Chremos and Paule Turner, Duchess, all merge well-studied dance technique with theater and performance art. Temple educator Louise Gillette presents a fresh perspective on modern choreography via creative use of the trapeze. All this eclecticism promises to yield some wild and idiosyncratic work.

Spellbinding describes the art and craft of Sankai Juku, a top pick from the crop of visiting acts. Their November appearance at the Annenberg Center is already sparking a buzz in the dance community.

Modern Dance Ensembles

Oct. 11-12: Eleone.Mandell Theatre, 33rd & Chestnut Streets,893-1145. Eleone's director is Leon Evans — one half of the team that led LEJA Dance Theater. While he's African American, Evans doesn't want Eleone pigeonholed as a black dance company: "I have more than that to say," he declares. A centerpiece of this program, Eighffanbutlah, celebrates cultures crossing paths at Philly's notorious corner of Eighth and Butler Streets. Accompanying music includes tunes by Simon and Garfunkel plus Bone Thugs N Harmony. How's that for diversity?

Oct. 24-26: Trinity Irish Dance Company. Annenberg Center, 3680 Walnut St., 898-6791. Not a reels-and-jigs gig. Similar to Rhythm In Shoes — which came to this venue last year via the same presenter, Dance Affiliates — TID takes traditional Irish dance out of its familiar folksy context to use as a springboard for progressive theatrical material built on fiery footwork.

Oct. 28-29: Mark Morris.Annenberg Center. Once the bad boy of postmodern dance, Morris now strives less for irreverence and shock and more for introspection and substance. Collaboration with Mikhail Baryshnikov for White Oak Dance Project has affected his methods — Morris now tours with a live ensemble and is into big production values. However, one may still expect the sensual and surprising from him.

Nov. 18-19: Sankai Juku.Annenberg Center. If your preference is for energetic, accessible dance, this one isn't for you. However, if you're into graceful gesture designed to craft an enigmatic, mesmerizing dreamscape, then you'll be pleased by Sankai Juku. This visually arresting ensemble creates works rooted in butoh — a modern Japanese dance method in which internally focused movements symbolize concepts of human suffering. Sounds like a drag, but actually, it's stimulating. And the way Sankai Juku's artistic director Ushio Amagatsu merges the body language of butoh with his specific artistic vision — with thoughtful use of color, light, shadow and intriguing props — is like nothing else I've ever seen. Amagatsu has danced with a live peacock and used a large pool of water for a stage set. With this program, Yuragi, expressions of spiritual and corporal struggles turn transcendent. In one section, performers seem to be levitating. A unique mindtrip — keep yours open and be transported.

Independent Artists

Sept. 20-21: Louise Gillette,Trapezius Aerial Dance Company.Conwell Dance Theatre, fifth floor of Conwell Hall, Broad Street & Montgomery Avenue, 204-1122. A piece Gillette did at the Community Education Center in June, titled Jockey, reminded me of Elizabeth Streb. Playing off the idea of how people jockey for position in relationships, it has two women doing demanding acrobatic partnering. Jockey is reprised in this concert along with five other works. You may hold your breath watching Romp. It's got 10 people swinging and spinning on four trapezes. The trapeze appears in other dances: Gillette cleverly employs the apparatus to explore its ability to open up movement potential.

Oct. 11-12: Grace Mi-He Lee.Community Education Center (CEC), 3500 Lancaster Ave (387-1911). Lee goes for postmodern narrative material, generally with a sense of humor. As she's danced naked and even vomited on stage, being over-the-top is also part of her repertoire. Here she presents three pieces. One — a parody and deconstruction of Little Red Riding Hood in which characters take to the therapist's couch — is sure to be a highlight.

Oct. 25-26: Paule Turner, Duchess, Conwell Dance Theatre. Philly's most madcap movement artist. He wears thick mascara, dons dresses and dances divinely. Here Paule offers It Takes Two to Tango: I'm Nothing Without You, in which he and others dig into relationship clichs while taking on the tango for all it's worth: the drama, the color, the sadness. Partly inspired by Pina Bausch, Paule says, "I try to make these episodic mini-films for stage." Absolute entertainment, the Duchess is good for what ails you.

Nov. 15-16: Asimina Chremos.CEC. Chremos is tired of the angsty demon-exorcising stuff she's known for. With this new, for now untitled piece, she's out for a good time. Created in collaboration with Andy Bresnan (the bandleader of Big Mess Orchestra), this evening-length work will feature a live ensemble and a zany grab bag of dances choreographed by Chremos with a Busby Berkeley tilt. The cast features Tony Agostinelli, Leslie Dworkin and Paul Struck, among others. Mina is moving to Chicago in December. "This is my last big hurrah in Philadelphia," she says. (For more information on this piece, read Chremos and Bresnan's conversation in this week's 20Q.

Nov. 21-23: Hellmut Gottschild.Painted Bride Art Center, 230 Vine St., 925-9914. Longtime director of ZeroMoving Dance Company (he left the company in '93 to pursue solo work) and recently retired professor at Temple, Gottschild carries the flame here for dance inspired by German expressionism. He says, "I'm never interested in taking on an issue unless I can do some movement exploration." Here, Gottschild devises movement based on childhood memories and frogs, with dance partner Ilse Pfeiffer. Sets by Warren Angle and sound by Daniel Goode.

Ballet Companies

Oct. 18-19 & Dec. 6-7: Russian Ballet Theater.The Playhouse, DuPont Hotel, Wilmington, DE, (302) 656-4401. I'm an avid cheerleader for this company. Well-trained and enthusiastic, they recognize that good ballet involves not only expert dance technique but a flair for acting. They're moving storytellers.

Nov. 11-12: American Ballet Theatre.McCarter Theatre, Princeton, NJ, (609) 683-8900. ABT needs no sell job on my part; it's a renowned dazzler with fine-tuned dancers possessed of obvious passion for their art form. Hope that Paloma Herrera is in tow. This program demonstrates the troupe's versatility with a revival of George Balanchine's classic Apollo plus Lar Lubovich's A Brahms Symphony. Worth the ride.