Montreal dancers prove fascinating

If you can imagine the smooth lyricism of Miles Davis’ music claiming every muscle in your body and mandating that you move the way it sounds, then you can begin to picture the dancing of Eric Miles of Les Ballets Jazz de Montreal, which performed Saturday at the Maine Center for the Arts. In his solo “Blue in Green,” Miles was pure imagery in motion — a newborn baby, a blossoming flower, a fidgety insect, and a cool dude easin’ on down the road. He danced with the boldness of Davis’ trumpeting, the sadness of Billie Holiday’s singing, and the glee of Zora Neale Hurston’s writing.

In “Escapade,” a pas de deux which opened the show, Miles and spitfire dancer Nathalie Huot teamed with ebullience. Sweet, sassy, and invicible as young love, they tumbled, leaped, bounced, and flew in each other’s arms while music by the Kronos Quartet set a joyful mood. Their work was sharp and sure, at times breathtaking and at times quite tender.

None of the other choreographies in the program were as astounding as these two, though artistic director Wiliam Whitener proved his work to be among the most athletically fascinating of the Canadian-based companies to visit the Maine Center.

For “Libertango,” a series of variations on the tango, the dancers lifted their hands in tense, flat lines or pushed a tight fist into the air. Sometimes they looked as frightening as cyborgs, dancing in incremental movements. Other times they looked as intriguing as characters from thriller comic strips such as “Dick Tracy.” The stylized piece was enhanced by shadowy lighting and James Bond-like music by Astor Piazzolla.

“Satin Doll” choreographed to the music of Duke Ellington, was a throwback to the glamour of 1940s film stars. Alisoun Payne, a Marilyn Monroe look-alike, was bodaciously sexy and hugely feminine. She was accompanied by two male dancers on either side of her, but they were hardly noticeable because of how completely she filled the stage with her swift, jazzy strutting and crisp, curvy movements.

In the final ensemble piece, “Recontres,” Payne was featured with Heather McFadden, and Marla Fenske for some futuristic voguing. Hip thrusts, exotic arm movements, acrobatic floor work and leaps made this large piece, by Margo Sappington, a favorite of the evening.

Although Whitener, a student of figure skating, manages to make his dancers move as airily and as sharply as if they were skating on ice, his choreography was often as repetitive as an aerobics class, and sometimes as interesting.