Momentum: New Dance Works

The second week of the Walker Art Center's annual summer series featuring up-and-coming choreographers pairs up two gutsy movers: Eddie Oroyan and Anna Marie Shogren. Oroyan, who has performed locally with Mathew Janczewski, Carl Flink, Shapiro & Smith, and Zenon, gets some serious air when he jumps and cites Bruce Lee, Gene Kelly, and comic-book hero the Flash as heroes. His new work "Brown Rocket" chronicles a wild rollercoaster ride of a relationship with a woman he met through Craigslist, set to pop and rock music by Joshua Wetjen. Oroyan's partner onstage is Laura Selle-Virtucio, one of the most versatile dancers in town and among the few who can match her choreographer's boundless energy. Shogren's "I'm a Jerk" has a similar crazy energy, although the source is what she describes as "over-the-top, cartoonish death imagery." A veteran of collaborations with Shawn McConneloug, Morgan Thorson, Karen Sherman, and Laurie van Wieren, Shogren peppers her work with quirks, but there's nothing glib or random about it. Instead, she's one of the smartest dancers in town who fills her pieces with curiosity and a winning touch of self-deprecation. For tickets call the Walker Art Center at 612.375.7600 or visit www.walkerart.org.
July 24-26, 8 p.m., 2008