Anchorage Daily News

It was a hot night at Alaska Dance Theatre's "East Meets West" concert on Friday. Young dancers from several local troupes shot the temperatures through the roof with dance moves that sizzled and popped.

East High Contempo, West High Dancers and the Underground Dance Company joined forces with ADT performers for the "Out of the Box" series. They got a raucous, full-house audience totally jazzed for dance ranging from hip-hop to African, ballet to tango.

The Underground Dance Company blew the audience away with a series of hip-hop dances, and East High Contempo offered multicultural works as diverse as Japanese dance and tango. West High Dance got a little "Flash Dance" groove going and twisted things around with a pumped-up "Zombie" number. ADT's offering -- "Fifteen Wild Decembers" -- was a complete change of pace and the only work done in pointe shoes.

In many respects, East High Contempo's African-influenced "Fukuzanna," choreographed by Roger Gleaton, was the basis for much of the dancing on Friday's program. Hip-hop can trace its origins, in part at least, to the rhythms and body isolations of African dance. In this ensemble work, the performers moved as if they were born to those primal rhythms. Feet beat out movement sequences that echoed in variations pulsing through arms and torsos. The girls' long, tie-dyed skirts accented the fluid grace that resonated in many of their actions.

Those body isolations and rhythms got distinctly more edgy in Gabe Harvey's hip-hop "Ice Age" and "Heat," performed by his Underground Dance Company. The performers jumped right into hip and torso isolations, vibrating as if they had been shot with electricity. And the attitude -- the don't-mess-with-me game face -- was up front all the time. What marked these dances was the hard-edged quality all the actions had. Furious movements ended abruptly, then blasted up again. Fists were thrust out while feet twisted, smacked the floor and punched the air as if in full battle mode.

The West High Dancers' "Zombie," choreographed by James Johnson, was a more menacing variation of hip-hop as six dancers lurched and staggered toward the audience. Lee Hyori's warped carnival music, "Get Ya," matched the dancers' jerky, spooky actions.

Contempo returned with two beautiful works. Leslie Ward's "Kikuchiyo to Mohishimasu" was a lovely Japanese-style dance, and Ivan Glyzrin's "Tango" was smoky and seductive. Grace and half-hidden sensuality were major elements of "Kikuchiyo to Mohishimasu." The dancers dipped and swirled in gentle movements marked by the exotic thwack of cloth fans opening and closing.

The Contempo performers handled the more overt sensuality of "Tango" well. They carved out razor-sharp lines and directional changes with tautly held bodies. The girls whipped out their legs, wrapping them around the boys' thighs as they slid down into a deep lunge. They were, though, surprisingly graceful, softening their movements in subtle ways that took nothing away from the steamy sensuality of the tango.

ADT's dancers finished the concert with Pamela Walden Renno's "Fifteen Wild Decembers," set to Geoff Smith's minimalist music. Seven dancers dressed in long, white skirts filled the space with swinging movements that rose and fell on gentle feet and soft arms.

"East Meets West" was another in a series of introductions to dance that ADT offers in its "Out of the Box" programs. This time hip-hop took center stage for a wild ride around contemporary dance and a great show.

Anne Herman holds a master's degree in dance and has been a consultant for the National Endowment for the Arts.