Dance has long shared a reciprocal relationship with painting, sculpture, and photography. Audiences can now experience that relationship in a single evening at Friday Night Liberty. The first-Friday evening of free open artist studios and galleries at the NTC Promenade is also featuring site-specific dances.

There are 42 groups in residence at NTC and many exhibits on view, such as dance paintings by Peggy Fischbeck at the Mandell Weiss Gallery, and playful sculptures by James Watts at the Martha Pace Swift Gallery. And for the first time, this month's event included a Gallery Crawl, a guided tour of four site-specific dances by choreographers Jean Isaacs, Jillian Chu and Anthony Diaz.

The crawl opened at the Ingram Plaza flagpole with Easter Oratorio, a signature work by Jean Isaacs San Diego Dance Theater. The acclaimed work was designed for the stage, yet it was exhilarating in an outdoor setting.

A cast of seven danced on a large section of concrete surrounded by rose gardens and blue sky, which created boundless space. The potent combination of statuesque bodies, dynamic changes in tempo, and soaring Bach, felt larger than the stage version. Still, the close proximity also maintained intimacy. One could easily see the dancers' taped ankles, torn shoes, and kneepads. A stiff breeze added to the drama. Their sheer skin-toned costumes fluttered as they stretched into poses and lifts. (A few gusts had us clutching our programs and reaching for sweaters). Dancers Matt Carney and Trystan Loucado were exceptionally strong, identical twins in both expression and timing.

Site-specific dance is a curious thing. When you witness a dance in an unexpected place, that place is burned into your memory in an unusual way. It will be difficult to pass the flagpole without thinking again of Isaac's Oratorio, as if something is missing.

Equally memorable was Chu's trio, I prefer the company of trees, a mischievous exercise on an open staircase outside the New Americans Museum. Dressed in brilliant prints, three women did everything your mother warned you not to do: They leaned over and slid down the railings, climbed up the outside of the steps, and hopped on an off the steps in delightful rhythms and hopscotch forms. Alana Burree's child-like joy and energy was infectious and drew unexpected attention. People in adjacent buildings peered out of windows. Families strolling by with their children and dogs couldn't help but smile.

It was smiles all around in and for the duet Sarah Larson, choreographed by Tony Diaz, and danced by Diaz and Sarah Larson, an excellent pairing with sparkle. Inspired by two colorful sculptures by James Watts, the couple presented a vivid conversation that ranged from tense, almost aggressive lifts on a stairway to adorable hugs side-by-side. There was a wonderful sense of courtship but also sincere friendship. Sequences burst with hints of Tango and delicate gestures. There was a wow moment when Larson rubbed Diaz's chin like a cat, and they finally sunk to the floor grinning.

Anthony Diaz and Sarah Larson dance near sculptures

by artist James Watts in the duet Sarah Larson.

Photo: Manuel Rotenberg

Diaz is a charismatic mover and master of design, but he hasn't created work like this since his days at UC San Diego. Good things come to those who wait. He utilized every aspect of the Swift Gallery space and mirrored the sculptures in subtle ways. Our eyes darted from red circles on the wall to a flower in Larson's hair. Moreover, his revved-up vocabulary and musical choice (Kut and Swel) made a quiet gallery come alive. One could imagine that the odd little sculptures enjoyed it.

Isaacs also presented Step Dances, a humorous chorus line for seven women on the steps leading up to Dance Place, the residence of her company San Diego Dance Theater, Malashock Dance, and San Diego Ballet. It was not a complex work, more entertainment than art, but it served as an easy welcome to a broad audience. And who can resist women in trench coats and music by Dolly Parton and Randy Newman?

Kudos to Isaacs and Alan Ziter, executive director of the NTC Foundation, for adding dance to Friday Night Liberty; it is now a complete arts and culture destination, a gem that all Diegans and visitors can enjoy.

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The next Friday Night Liberty is Sept. 3 at the NTC Promenade. Jean Isaacs San Diego Dance Theatre's 12th Annual Trolley Dances rolls downtown on Sept. 25 and 26, and Oct. 2 and 3.