The Aspen Sante Fe's Heady Moves

As the sun set Tuesday night at Wolf Trap, another kind of darkness crept across stage. Picnickers gulped their last chardonnay. What began as a light and breezy evening of ballet soon grew darker, steely and more cerebral.

The Aspen Sante Fe Ballet opened its engrossing evening with Twyla Tharp's "Sweet Fields," a breezy pastiche that pays homage to Shaker hymns, Appalachian folk dance and the Virginia reel. Ah, Americana. How lovely. Cue the sunset, roll the dark European stuff.

Aspen Sante Fe is a small touring company that specializes in contemporary works. The troupe travels between its namesake cities, and tours steadily between seasons. It is the first American company to perform works by Cayetano Soto, an up-and-coming Spanish choreographer. Like a Pedro Almodóvar film, Soto subverts beauty to convey something else.

When the curtain opened "Fugaz," two women in nude leotards were mechanically stretching. Then, suddenly, a collective gasp from the crowd. Two men in dark clothing rose up from the pit and climbed the stage. They were dancers, but that realization came without relief. These men dominated their partners, locking elbows across their necks and swinging them around by the crotch. The women submitted, maintaining perfect position even as the men thrust knees between their legs.

The psychodrama didn't end there. Up next was a William Forsythe duet with more flesh-tone leotards. This platonic piece, called "Slingerland," was more concerned with execution than looking pretty. Katherine Eberle unfurled her legs like arrows, her extensions on target as she tiptoed around Sam Chittenden.

It's obvious that Tom Mossbrucker, the company's artistic director, has a type. He prefers his ballerinas short, strong and technically suburb. This was especially apparent in the closing work, Jorma Elo's "1st Flash." Elo, a Finnish choreographer, created this piece for Nederlands Dans Theater. It bears his signature quirky hand gestures and angular movement. Set to contemporary music, this strategy can work, but "1st Flash" mocks Sibelius's Violin Concerto. Elo's response to a grandiose crescendo by his fellow Finn? A simple tendu right. Not flattering for the music, but typical on a night where simple movements were loaded with meaning.