By SPENCER STUART TOPEL

"A space can be small and not intimate. Yet with the right relationship between the audience and the performers, almost any space can become intimate." Eloquently said, artistic director Julie Nakagawa Böttcher's words resonated as the audience sat hypnotized after a tremendous show of virtuosity, beauty, and intimacy by her company's dancers in Trace Fulfillment. The evening, the second of Hubbard Street 2's two performances at Joyce SoHo on November 6-7, marked their New York debut and an important stop in their first major U.S. tour.

Hubbard Street 2 dancers in Stand Back, choreographed by Katarzyna Skarpetowska. (Photo by Cheryl Mann)

At first glance, Hubbard Street 2 appears to be a training company for the name-recognized Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. However, this small company of six dancers has its own tremendous vitality and power, owing in part to Julie Nakagawa Böttcher and her husband and managing director, Andreas Böttcher, as well as to the dedication, skill, and persistence of the young company members: Sarah Cullen, Jason Kittelberger, Robert Knowles, Whitney Moncrief (substitute), and two Juilliard alumni, Ryan Lawrence and Banning Roberts (both B.F.A. '02).

From a musician's standpoint, the Hubbard Street 2 company is analogous to a top-notch chamber music ensemble. As the performance unfolds, each piece proves to have its own unique challenges and complexities. The full cast appeared in almost every piece, pushed to their physical and emotional limits.

In a post-performance discussion, dancer Ryan Lawrence mentioned how daunting the program felt before the second performance—and how, by a single grunt from a fellow company member in the last piece, Stand Back, he was able to gather the last bit of energy he had left. The others jokingly agreed.

Another factor in the success of Hubbard Street 2 is the great importance that they place on development of new repertory. Since 1999, emerging choreographers are selected in a national choreographic competition that provides three winners with the chance to work with the ensemble for one week, as each creates a piece for the company. Many works by winners enter the company's repertory, offering a wonderful opportunity for the chosen choreographers to gain visibility and recognition.

The first piece of the evening—Trace Fulfillment, by Alex Ketley—featured the most balletic movements on the program, fused with a strong reference to alternative "rave" culture. This was evident from a recurring gesture of someone pulling something from their mouth, and of a character alone, drawing on the floor. The obvious displays of ballet technique seem juxtaposed with introspective gestures, giving the piece an eerie, yet unique tone.

Dirti Rok, by Millicent Johnnie, is an entertaining fusion of African and hip-hop dance. The music has a nice progression in style, making coherence out of the eclectic mix. At times the dance seemed a bit superficial, but the cast made a great effort and handled the difficult physical elements of the piece with grace.

Third on the program was I, by Aszure Barton, an exploration of the individual. The piece opened in a fresh and inviting way with the cast all in suits, sheepishly raising their hands as if they were in a prep-school class. The longest piece on the program, it showed the most diversity in both music and character, meandering along in an almost Odyssey-like fashion.

After a second intermission came choreography titled 3349281, by Ayman Harper, which was nearly as confusing as its title. It involved three people and their relationships to each other, but at times their sentiments seemed vague. However, the dancers portrayed their parts faithfully. In all, there were nice moments involving various symmetries on the stage, and a strong sense of abstract unity.

Stand Back, choreographed by Juilliard alumna Katarzyna Skarpetowska (B.F.A. '99), featured fast, virtuoso passages in a upbeat style. Although midway through it became obvious the dancers were tired, they pulled together and found their last source of energy to finish the show with dramatic flair and intensity.

Spencer Stuart Topel is a second-year master's student in composition.