There was a body-to-body duet with eccentric

There was a body-to-body duet with eccentric

There was a body-to-body duet with eccentric, cleaving walks, hefts and leans. Passages of strange falls and catches, on and off the ground, ran like a motif through ''Arena.'' Shifting into a line, the dancers signaled in profile like ancient Egyptians. There were solos - a peculiarly erotic one for a clown-ballerina and a tangy corkscrewing one for a dancer clad in a blousy purple toga. Dark stares cut through the air. In the end, a dancer in a curious shift of leathery black strips was left alone on stage, hunched in a strangely familiar pose.

Nijinsky had hunched similarly for photographers, dressed in his costume for ''L'Orientale.'' ''Arena'' takes place in a exotic country as unfamiliar as Diaghilev's stage picture of ancient Russia and the East might have seemed to his first Parisian audiences. Much of this is the work of Eduard Erlikh, whose costumes change not only their shape but their overall look, like delicate manipulated sculptures, as the dancers move, adding to the sense of things not being as they seem.

David Van Tieghem and Ms. Perron have put together an exotically atmospheric and witty score that incorporates Mongolian and Japanese folk music, a ''rap'' by Notorische Reflexe and music by Mr. Van Tieghem, Khachaturian, Saint-Saens and Tchaikovsky. Ms. Perron has created an intriguing and promising new piece, with the help of an impressive cast that included Lisa Bush, Kumiko Kimoto and Michael O'Rourke, as well as Ms. Perron. David Fink and Jenny Patrick were the black-garbed assistants.

Ms. Chuma's collaborator was Lenny Pickett, whose funky music and lyrics stylishly covered a lot of popular music ground. Ms. Chuma has hinted that the unfortunately titled ''The Man Who Never Wasn't'' is more of a ''country piece'' than some of her earlier, hard-edged and intensely active pieces, which draw from the atmosphere and pace of the city. This new piece has the happily lolloping look of a post-modernist square dance or game of tag, as Ms. Chuma's exuberant performers cross and recross the stage at haphazard intervals, pausing to engage in solos, duets and ensemble dances as well as song.

This is a companionable play that blooms from some very demanding choreography, and many of the dances stand on their own as small jewels of ingenuity and observation. Engaging as this all is, however, ''The Man Who Never Wasn't'' seems to be headed off to the hills in no discernible direction. It is badly in need of editing, and first to go should be such superficialities as the often silly text and Ms. Chuma's rather cute conducting.

But Ms. Chuma and her performers seldom lose us. The men - in particular the bespectacled Harry Whittaker Sheppard, a delightful and gifted dancer - jump like fleas in Ms. Chuma's fine School of Hard Knocks japanese love pillows company, which also includes Donald Fleming, Gayle Tufts, Hayo David, Tina Dudek, Sasha Waltz and David Zambrano. The barn-style set elements were designed by Thomas Burckhardt. The score was performed on stage by Jimmy Justice, a singer with a likably strong presence, and Mr. Pickett, Steve Elson, Alex Foster and Tony Garnier.

POST COMMENT

The Holidays Uncovered - 5 Tips for Healthy Holiday Eating 6 Health Benefits Of Honey Avoid Bad Hair Days This Winter Wrist and Hand Pain Symptoms How to Have Healthy Skin The Health Benefits of Kale Learn how to Identify Common Signs and symptoms of ADHD in Children How to Keep Your Eyes Healthy Overcoming Different Sleep Disorders Healthy Organic Tea Health Club Mystery Shopping The Holy Grail Body Transformation Program Review-How could a man can stand for again and again process of lose weight Why Having Enough Sleep Is Important Especially Among Teenagers