The tree keeps growing, snow keeps falling, sleds fly through the air, and all manner of dancers embody a spirit of Christmas everyone can share.
He began impressing friends with his vocal skill when he was 8. Now 34, Shodekeh accompanies all manner of dancers, records with the likes of the composer Meredith Monk and, with the Hartford Symphony, will reprise "Fujiko's Fairy Tale," a concerto by the Finnish composer Jan Mikael Vainio.
But visually alone this setting felt entirely un-South African, as did the costumes and manner of the dancers.
But throughout Mr. Quanz's "In Tandem" (2009), the manner of these dancers — unconvincing in its affected attitudes — actually distracts from the merits, which include a clever use of the stage, with bodies and body parts (legs, torsos) leaning in from the wings.
She wore pants rather than skirts when she performed, and, somewhat as a result, she developed an athletic, acrobatic style, employing mule kicks and flying splits, more in the manner of the male dancers of the time.
Ms. Rocha, who used to teach dance to 4-year-olds, stood with one foot planted firmly in front of the other, pumping her right knee in the manner of a cabaret dancer as she spoke.
The wide-ranging activities of the four central women in her new piece, "Carlisle," suggest all manner of creatures, not excluding poor dancers looking to share a taxi home to Brooklyn after the show.
Further, the waggle durations of dancers from both species increased in a linear manner with increasing distance.
No relief came from "Landscape With Visitors," by Nancy Zendora, who offered a trio of dancers, mostly standing still or gesturing in an opaquely high-priest manner.
During this half of the show, they welcomed all manner of volunteers onto the stage — aerobicists, break dancers, tappers, singers — and the wonder is that each one was good, easily becoming part of the glowing, comic musical world before us.
Amenouzume is the patron goddess of dancers.
