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The program opened with the choreographic debut of 26-year-old dancer Alejandro Cerrudo, Lickety-Split, originally developed as part of “Inside/Out,” the HSDC 2006 Choreographic Workshop. The gentle, melancholic guitar strums by Devendra Banhart provided an appropriately fitting soundtrack for this romantic and humorous exploration of young love. Performed by a sextet of dancers (Robyn Williams, Cheryl Mann, Sarah Fuller, Pablo Piantino, Terence Marling, Tobin Del Cuore), this piece offered plenty of inventive movements, combined with elements of break-dancing, running and gliding. The intentionally awkward choreographic steps and silly pantomime, introduced in a series of duets and ensembles, projected a sense of innocence and enchantment and made Lickety-Split immensely likable and a pleasure to watch. As to the meaning of its title, “I like the way it sounds,” explained Cerrudo.

HSDC has collaborated with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra during the past four years on a number of choreographic works commissioned and performed with live music. The second dance of the evening, Jorma Elo’s From All Sides, was a result of this artistic partnership. Dubbed as the busiest dancemaker in the country, Finnish-born Elo is resident choreographer of Boston Ballet. His recent high-profile works include Slice to Sharp, created for the New York City Ballet’s Diamond Project and Glow-Stop for the fall season of American Ballet Theater at the New York City Center. Both dances showcase the Elo’s intense, vigorous choreographic style.

From All Sides, a sextet danced to a heavily percussive and atonic score of Mark-Anthony Turnage, suggests drama and distress. This abstract piece mixes stillness and motion, music and silence, but evokes images that fail to impress. The dance clearly lacked excitement and sense of purpose. The music, rendered through an amplified recording, couldn’t convey the original idea of the score: sounds of orchestra surrounding the audience from all sides. Fortunately the dancers didn’t disappoint. They performed with mastery and dedication, aptly interpreting “the manic moods of Elo’s choreography.”

 

After the intermission, the comic and lighthearted Strokes Through the Tail, a dance by Irish choreographer Marguerite Donlon, was a welcome contrast to the preceding piece. This highly entertaining burlesque of Swan Lake and Les Sylphides, accompanied by Mozart’s ever popular Symphony No. 40 in G Minor, was a highlight of the program. Amadeus would have thoroughly enjoyed the quirky wit and humor of this dance inspired by the composer’s peculiar musical notation. The ensemble of six (Cheryl Mann, Terence Marling, Larry Trice, Yarden Ronen, Martine Lindinger, Alejandro Cerrudo) was at its best keeping the audience laughing and cheering throughout the performance. The bare-chested men looked smashing not only in formal black tail coats, but also in white tulle skirts.

A ritualistic and spiritual Gnawa, created in 2005 for HSDC by Nacho Duato, the Spanish choreographer and artistic director of Madrid’s Compańía Nacional de Danza, culminated the evening. One of the most popular and frequently performed works of the troupe’s current repertoire, Gnawa is set to an evocative fusion of tranquil Spanish and North African melodies. Duato is known for the symbolism of his choreography. Throughout the dance, he creates an array of intricate, visually arresting choreographic formations for the entire cast, deftly melding balletic movements with tribal dance motifs. Similar to his Na Floresta presented by the Washington Ballet at the Kennedy Center last month, Gnawa’s music score incorporates sounds of the rainforest. Performed eloquently and solemnly, this dance is a spectacular showpiece in its enchanting imagery and music.