Ririe dancers kick off season

"FAST FORWARD," RIRIE-WOODBURY DANCE COMPANY, Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center, additional performances today and Saturday (355-2787)

A lot of dance, a little bit of talking and an array of moods are all a part of the Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company season-opener "Fast Forward," the company's latest installment of new and exciting modern dance.

The production features three world-premiere works and a revived piece, each of which is physically challenging in its own way.

Larry Keigwin's premiere "80s Night" is an eye-catching number that starts things off with a tip of the hat, and with new-wave shades, to the decade of decadence.

Silver lame costumes and aerobic-inspired dance steps take the audience back to the past. Infusing a bit of Tchaikovsky with the music of Salt-N-Pepa, The Motels and Men Without Hats, the piece catches the audience up in all the glitz and new-wave nightclub pomp.

Next is Andrea Beckham's premiere "There and Not There." Drawing on her ballet background, Beckham's work hits the other end of the spectrum with its long extensions, fluid movements and tip-toe combinations.

RWDC associate director Charlotte Boye-Christensen got the idea for the next work, "Chairs, Basically," while participating in a tango workshop in England earlier this year.

The piece is definitely tango inspired but not a work made up of tangos. Sharp and deliberate steps are softened by flowing limbs of expression, and the chairs that are used basically become "silent partners." giving the piece an extra pop at the end.

Alicia Sanchez's 2005 number "If My Right Hand Would Say What My Left Hand Is Thinking" ends the evening on a dynamic roller coaster. The percussive score at the beginning highlights the dancers' energy as they leap, kick and tumble in the halo of the dramatic lighting design.

Sometimes the dancers dance to silence, and other times they dance to music. And with the help of live microphones, they are also able to interject words and spoken stories that enrich the dancing. And each time they do, the audience can't help but get drawn into the movement.

When the end comes, it doesn't come swiftly but with a poignant solo that touches the souls of all in the theater.

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E-mail: scott@desnews.com