Monday October 06, 2003
	Eva Evdokimova Returns to Sensedance CLAUDIA LA ROCCO Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) Half the fun of Henning Rubsam's Sensedance is watching his dancers' expressions - from playful camp to pleasurable surprise - as they react to the moves they make. The intimate Joyce SoHo provided the perfect setting for up-close observation when Sensedance opened its fall season last week with the return of guest artist and renowned prima ballerina Eva Evdokimova. At times in "Litanei & Fruhlingsglaube" ("Litany & Faith in Spring"), Evdokimova's emotions seemed almost too big for the space - not surprising, considering she has spent much of her career performing with such icons as Rudolf Nureyev in such grand venues as Milan's La Scala and the Kirov Ballet in Leningrad. Choreographed by Rubsam for Evdokimova in 2002, the short solo showcased the ballerina's sweeping extensions, as her angular limbs melted into open, delicate lines in a soulful transition from the first Schubert melody, "Litany for the Feast of All Souls," to the second, "Faith in Spring." If Rubsam gave a nod to his balletic roots in the Evdokimova solo, he deconstructed them in "Petit Pas," a grand pas de deux premiered Wednesday by Rubsam and the spunky Erika Pujic, who started out on point only to be unshod by her kneeling partner. The dance featured a duet's traditional elements - entree, adagio, variation for the female dancer, variation for the male dancer and coda - but turned inside out, with normally cooperative lifts and turns made awkward as the grimacing dancers struggled unsuccessfully to break free of the ballet's structure. At one point, Pujic leapt out of Rubsam's arms only to hit the wall and ricochet back into his waiting embrace. Rubsam performed his solo first, staring straight ahead like a deer in headlights as he struck various parts of his body with his open palm. Rhythmic and controlled at first, he quickly devolved into flailing slaps, accompanied by Neil Armstrong's narration of his 1969 moon walk. Rubsam and Pujic stood side by side in a glaring spotlight at the end, chests heaving, as feminist Gloria Steinem spoke of a future society in which there will be no roles. Despite their black unisex leotards and Steinem's talk of humanism, Rubsam's faith in such a future seemed deeply ambivalent. Wednesday's performance also premiered a revised version of "Garden," an evocation of communal, humble tasks set to traditional Iraqi music. Though somewhat overlong, it was danced with heart and verve by the all-female company, who seemed all sinuous hips and intertwined arms. The program concluded with the delightful "On the Fritz," a cheeky "tour de farce" in which Rubsam's impervious backside took center stage as his dancers cast admiring glances, as Linda Ronstadt's rendition of "Just One Look" played.