Review: Laguna Dance Festival gets off to a mixed start at LAM

The segment's ethereal blend of contemporary ballet left the artistic message undefined and an audience puzzled. In this case, fault could be attributed to the stone-faced duo, whose pasted-on expression added an artificial sheen to the performance. Granted, a dance should always be left up to audience interpretation, but an audience still needs nonverbal clues from which they can draw meaning.

For UCI senior student Andrea Yorita, technique and agility is no question. Her lines were near impeccable, but something was missing.

Even the most technically sound dancers can fall short in performance when flow and spontaneity fall victim to years of training, which all too often traps dance students inside their heads.

But, when the chips are down, great dancers don't think about steps; they just let the music move their bodies. After all, dance should speak to the soul — that is the very reason for art itself.

Yorita's partner, junior undergraduate Jeremy Zapanta, impressed audiences with his strong execution of lifts that made for a breathtaking vision amid the mystic gallery. However, Zapanta fell short in comparison to his partner's technique, grace and poise. As is typical of dance students, a consistency in performance was lacking, but fragmented glimmers of hope during sporadic moments suggest a bright future for this duo, but all in due time.

In contrast, the next contemporary ballet duet, choreographed by first-year graduate student Jennifer Lott, featured a pair of more seasoned dancers, whose age and experience were assets to their level of comfort in performance.

As first-year graduate student Vincent Hardy entered from the audience, clearing a path with his formidable presence, he burst on to the scene exhibiting his limitless extensions and command over the space. It was no surprise, given his professional background dancing for Complexions Contemporary Ballet. Hardy towered over his partner, an enchanting Jessie Ryan, also a first-year graduate student at UCI.

The duo got off to a rough start, but after the pair took a short time to relax into the space, they soon warmed up to each other and unleashed a captivating performance that had the whole audience on edge. Together, their intricate partnering told the story of ever-changing love won and lost.