Tanya Batson-Savage, Freelance Writer

Left: Gabrielle Waite and Jair Jones steal the show with 'Me and Mrs Jones' during Wolmer's Dance Troupe's 16th Anniversary Season of Dance, 'Lines', held at the Little Theatre, Tom Redcam Avenue, on Sunday.

As the 2006 season of the Wolmer's Dance Troupe moved toward its end, two of its junior members waltzed in and stole the show. 'Lines' was staged at the Little Theatre, Tom Redcam Avenue, last weekend and featured eight pretty and enjoyable dances.

The final dance lasted for the entire second half of the show and featured seven movements. The show's title was well illustrated in many of the pieces as the dances used either the lines created by the group of dancers, or with the lines created by individual bodies. The pieces were choreographed by Barbara McDaniel, the group's founder and artistic director, and artistic coordinators, Onaje Bell and Kameica Reid.

As such, the opening piece 'The Prayer' presented a delicate exploration of lines in praise using stretches and geometric formations that enhanced the piece's quiet spirituality. 'Step Lightly' seemed to have been removed from the same cloth. However, as the dance featured the juniors and some of the intermediate dancers, it was better able to make use of lines created by individual bodies.

Very good costuming

The entire showcase displayed very good costuming, sometimes presenting a seeming explosion of colour. This was most intensely captured by 'Colouring', a pepperpot piece which seemed to explore a medley of colours as varied as the dance genres each movement employed. Pieces, such as 'Just Do It', an energetic offering of contemporary dance (choreographed by Bell), seemed an explosion of cotton candy pinks. The finale was, however, easily the most colourful as the myriad of colours of the leotards would have made either the rainbow or a pack of skittles jealous.

'Church', choreographed by Reid, was also an interesting piece. The lively, hip hop flavoured dance used many of the traditional symbols usually associated with the church, from the dancer's clothing to their hats and tambourines, which contrasted beautifully with the often contemporary movement and the beat.

The show-stealer, however, came much later in the evening as a part of the dance titled, 'Dance Lines'. It's 6th movement of the final dance was easily the most outstanding piece of this year's repertoire.

The movement, a romantic duet, was choreographed by McDaniel to Billy Paul's Me and Mrs. Jones and performed by Gabrielle Waite and Jair Jones. In fairness to the other dances, tots onstage always get bonus points, allotted to them by the cute factor. And the movement was greatly empowered by the cuteness of the two young dancers.

However, the movement had more to offer than being cute. It was outstanding because it combined drama and dance, or rather, it managed to explore the dramatics behind dance and excavated some message behind the movement. Through McDaniel's choreography, the two young dancers gave dramatic performances which captured the essence of the dalliance, which the song illustrates.

Especially in the second half of the show, music had been used merely for rhythm, but with no sense of meaning. So, the juniors' dance to Me and Mrs. Jones stood out not merely because the two dancers were as cute as the famed buttons, but because, it was the dance which managed to offer a little emotional depth to the movement.

Scenes from the Wolmer's Dance Troupe's 16th Anniversary Season of Dance, 'Lines'. - photos by Winston Sill/Freelance Photographer