Review: Second night of 'The A.W.A.R.D. Show!' is a knockout of stellar dance

Thursday night was good. But Friday night was a knockout.

As "The A.W.A.R.D. Show!" continues, it reminds us that Seattle has some stellar dance talent in its midst — more than can possibly be helped out by the $10,000 prize attached to this four-night showcase presented by On the Boards and New York's Joyce Theater.

Catherine Cabeen, Friday night's finalist, got the evening off to an extraordinary start with "Segments," which she both choreographed and performed. Still, this wasn't a solo. Every move she made was tied so closely into Kane Mathis' alternately percussion-harsh and string-lush live performance on the kora (a 21-string West African harp) that "Segments" was virtually a duet.

Along a stark strip of light, Cabeen progressed toward Mathis almost as if he had her by a string. When he rapped the body of his instrument, she was staccato-sharp in her response. When he strummed arpeggios, she undulated with the sound.

Beaten back, then lured forward again by the music, she made a slantwise progress across the stage that finally culminated in a meeting and a kind of emancipation too good to give away. "Segments" repeats on Sunday.

Cabeen seemed a tough act to follow — but SD/Prism Dance Theatre's "Linkage" had an elasticity and surging strength to it that were fascinating to watch. Six dancers in utilikilts — three male, three female — formed a line that they then broke up in myriad shapeshifting ways. With their dips, crests, sudden soarings from behind and seamless catches out of left field, these young dancers were constantly on the move.

Choreographer Sonia Dawkins, artistic director of SD/Prism, provided the intricately woven paces for them to follow. "Linkage" proved the perfect title for this human chain that kept reconfiguring itself in ever-startling ways.

If SD/Prism and Cabeen hit powerhouse notes, dancer/choreographer Shannon Mockli, from Eugene, opted for a quieter mode in "Trio with the Johns." Slowly pacing the perimeter of a circle of light, she responded with growing elaborate detail to a score assembled out of recorded text (John Cage reading words by Jasper Johns) and music by the Balanescu Quartet. "Trio" didn't have the visceral impact of "Segments" or "Linkage," but it had thoughtfulness, coherence, fluid charm.

Scott/Powell Performance's "Images from HOME," a work in progress pairing an electronic score by Jarrad Powell with choreography by Molly Scott, was a strong closer for the evening. Although it was difficult to see the overall shape it's headed for, its components were striking. Jim Kent and Ellie Sandstrom's opening duet — a game of grab-and-turn, entanglement and mirror moves — couldn't have been better.

As Powell's score turned percussive, Sean Ryan and Jess Klein seemed to be assisting in some thunder-driven rite involving big rippling energy and finely detailed finger-fluttering. Meanwhile Michael Rioux, a compact, bearded dancer, somehow made his gender-blind costume (white T-shirt, fluffy tulle skirt) look intently masculine. Given his comic turn in Deborah Wolf's "The Hipdeep Family" on Thursday night and his powerful performance here, he's clearly a dancer to watch.

"The A.W.A.R.D. Show!" continues Saturday with work by DASSdance, Lingo Dance Theater, Lauren Edson and Amelia Reeber. It closes on Sunday with Wolf, Cabeen and one yet-to-be-determined finalist from Saturday's program reprising their pieces.

Michael Upchurch: mupchurch@seattletimes.com