RICHARDSON – For three days, the Eisemann Center and the Renaissance Hotel were abuzz with master classes, lectures and performances as some 600 dancers in 25 companies descended for the annual Regional Dance America/Southwest Festival.

 

The festival culminated Sunday night at the Eisemann Center with the gala performance, and if I were the betting type, my money on who is most likely to emerge as a star would go to Dallas Ballet Company's 16-year old Julia Cinquemani. As a dancer, she has everything one could hope for: elegant legs and feet, subtle presence, silky control. Next year: American Ballet Theatre.

Of the 12 works, six stood out. One was funny, three somber, one bordered on the surreal and, thankfully, one was a frolic.

The comedy came from BalletForte's Scherzo. Dancers lose their place in line, someone gets slapped, a short man leaps into the arms of a tall woman, and everyone ends up in a heap. At the center of the mishaps, Jeiron Wong plays a "Who me?" character with perfect timing, a Bugs Bunny in tights.

The moody and modern cast a spell in Midland Festival Ballet's Outside of Time, City Ballet of Houston's Elegy and Ballet Ensemble of Texas' Grace Under Fire. Clean and expressive dancing met the demands of imaginative choreography.

A bench, two red and three black umbrellas, 15 dancers in white dress and a dimly lit stage created an ambience of mystery with a hint of the surreal in Kingwood Dance Theatre's Moments of a Rainy Day.

The conceit behind Dallas Ballet Company's Hommage à la Russe was to celebrate Russia's 200th birthday, but the music, dress and daring dancing said otherwise. It was Hungarian Gypsy all the way.

Margaret Putnam is a Richardson-based writer who covers dance.