The Contemporary Ballet Dallas’ presentation of”Terpsichore’s World,” at McFarlin Auditorium onSaturday night was a both shocking and pleasurable tribute to theGreek goddess of dance.

The first couple of pieces, “Out of the Zone” and”Torn” seemed like ballerinas were attempting to domodern, and the same choreography was regurgitated.

It was confusing and uninteresting to watch, the corps (group)sections lacked overall energy.

That changed, however, with the third piece entitled”Source.”

The corps wore flowing white costumes that accented the point ofthe piece. Choreographed by Cynthia Anne Stanley, an SMU dancealumna, Stanley’s solo was captivating.

She seemed to emanate to the audience. It was a breath of freshair.

After intermission, the highlight was the soloist, KristenCragg, who performed in “Sin’s of Niobe.”

Her lines were impeccably clean and absolutely graceful.

At last, a piece with depth and passion was performed.

“Full Circle” had the audience sitting on the edgeof its seat. Erica Santiago’s choreography was moving. Shecreated a piece that centered on “an exploration of thecyclical nature of a woman’s existence.”

At one moment, a woman could be seen as a soft creature ofdelicacy, while at another, she possessed the anger of a ravaginglion.

The closing of the piece had every female onstage doingsomething ordinary from her daily life, such as combing her hair,washing her face, etc.

It illustrated that at the end of the day, women return to onething: simplicity.

Finally, the last piece, “Jelly Beans,” was atasteful little unexpected treat.

All of the dancers wore pastel tutus (no, not the classicalones) and gloves.

At one point, the dancers experimented with gigantic rubberballs and just bounced on them for sheer humor.

Next they were fighting and then like a “peek-a-boo”shock, they were hugging each other.

The best moment was the closing when they each came out withballoons tied to their arms and ankles.

The entire piece had the audience laughing because it was justplain cute and fun.

The Contemporary Ballet Dallas was formed almost three years agoby SMU alumni and is specifically devoted to “promotingawareness and appreciation for the arts.”