Men as mentors, complex relationships, and ugly office politics were among the themes in "ManDance," San Diego's first exclusively male dance concert. Presented last weekend at SDSU's Don Powell Theatre, it featured eight choreographers and male dancers from the community. On Friday, premiere works by Joe Alter and Eric Geiger of San Diego and Keith Johnson of Long Beach added great depth and intensity to the program.

Alter, a SDSU dance professor, and Geiger, who'll soon join the faculty at UCSD, have decades of experience between them, both in America and in Europe. In their co-creation, "Duet for Solo Violin," they merged their strengths with great success. They danced with their eyes, always connecting and passing wisdom back and forth. In spot-on unison, they circled the floor, rose in releves shoulder-to shoulder, and repeated tender gestures. The free spirit music of violinist Paul Giger washed over them as they carefully rubbed the floor, and with each breath, they evoked images of a father and son from long ago, working in respectful solidarity.

"Threshold" was a gripping physical dialogue between choreographer Johnson and Rogelio Lopez Garcia, all confined to a small pool of light. It seemed they were trapped in a dark, secret world. They entwined their arms and swayed, but fearing the closeness, quickly slipped away. Several in the crowd gasped when Johnson stared and opened his mouth as if he wanted to speak, but had no voice. A haunting piano score by Wim Mertens added to the tension as Johnson finger-walked his hand up his torso, as if calling to a deadly cancer in his core. It was an unforgettable spine-tingling experience. (Johnson is an award winning performer and associate dance professor at CSU Long Beach, and if all goes well, he'll return to SDSU to share his masterful artistry in workshops).

Gabriel Masson balanced the program with his clean, airy solo "The Day Before Tomorrow" (2001). He circled through the space, stopping to grab the air and coil his fingers. Following the meditative music of Guy Klucevsek with a turn-around progression, Masson flashed a grin and reversed movement sequences as if reliving pleasant memories from childhood.

Daniel Marshall offered two works, a trio and a solo. "Layers" was most interesting when dancers Julio Cantanio, John Diaz and Aaron Ellis moved in unison to accentuate their different body types and personalities. Quick changes in direction, white shirts, and garbled voices from a Steve Reich score, defined them as uptight office workers. They turned on each other, and when the light faded, all that was left was ugly prejudice. In "Moments After," (2003) Vincent Hardy's ballet training and amazing flexibility shone as he stretched into arabesques, exuding great pain and loneliness. For those familiar with Daniel Marshall, it seemed to be a cruel metaphor. Marshall should have performed the piece himself, but he's still recovering from a ruptured Achilles tendon that he suffered while performing in California Ballet's "Nutcracker" in December.

The program opened with "Stories Far Away," a solo by Marcos Duran who is now dancing with Malashock Dance. Set to mournful music by Hilmar Orn Hilmarson, Duran moved with smooth power punctuated with gestures and changing colored lights. In the end he sunk to his knees and stretched to the heavens. It was an acceptable choreographic debut and very short, which let the audience settle into the evening before plunging into longer works.

"Interstice," by Bradley Lundberg and Geiger, was about never ending love and lacked an ending. The title refers to "a short space of time between events," and this piece had too many events with too many stops and starts. It included emotional bear hugs, manipulations, bold lifts, power plays, mind games and three musical scores (Steve Reich, Morris Palter, Tosca). Most impressive was a section where the men encountered each other on a tabletop. (They performed this section recently at Sushi's "4X4.") They sniffed and stared each other down like wild dogs meeting for the first time. Sweat rolled off their muscular shoulders. Brief moments evoked the image of two brothers fighting over the top bunk bed.

While John Diaz's "Conceptual Hygiene" was not as long, it was not fully investigated, and the title offered no clues to its premise. Dancers Jacinto Delgado-Guizar, Brian Schaefer and Abraham Ponce twitched and skittered over the floor and seemed to shy away from the light - like little bugs. At times they seemed to be aliens dropped on earth or medicated college boys. Diaz could have pulled them out of their odd poses and run with some bluesy rhythms, but he didn’t, which made for a flat finale. And that was a flaw in the programming.

This first installment of "ManDance" offered a total of eight works (six were premieres), all created by men, and for men. While some of the choreography didn't quite measure up in this program, several works were thrilling and need to be seen again. The full evening of men dancing was refreshing, and their intensity and conviction was impressive. Bringing men together will surely strengthen the role of men in the San Diego dance community. It will be exciting to see how these talented men evolve, collaborate and grow as artists.

Download program here

Download program here