Crashing Dance

Comments (0) By Nirmala Nataraj Wednesday, Jul 25 2007

Given San Francisco's reputation for producing some of the most scintillating movement repertories in the country, the WestWave Dance Festival is the perfect opportunity to see what local choreographers are up to in their pre-season off time. The festival was initially seen as a platform for choreographers of all stripes to present work, both developed and undeveloped, and build up an audience. Since it's pretty much accomplished most of those objectives, now it's simply a nice way for performance lovers to soak in some culture. Remaining highlights include Paco Gomes & Dancers, who serve up high-energy Afro-Brazilian dance, complete with serpentine pivots and instantly recognizable folkloric themes on July 27. An evening of dance theater on July 28 reveals choreographers' more thespian sides, such as that of Kerry Mehling of the Talismanic Physical Theatre, who regales viewers with her mercurial wit and quicksilver limbs. Finally, the festival's modern dance component, playing tonight, features choreographers playing with themes that are both abstract and immediate -- Marina Fukushima presents a gorgeous piece about dance and disability that exemplifies the festival's penchant for going against the grain of thematic expectations.