Helios Delivers Knockout Show

The lean, mean, rough, tough and rousing program Helios Dance Theater presented Thursday at California Institute of the Arts is testament to Laura Gorenstein’s unshakable belief in the power of woman. As choreographer/artistic director of the five-member estrogen-charged troupe, Gorenstein creates potent, brawny works with a whiff of whimsy.

Tasha Craig seethed in “Proudface,” a stunning solo premiere, in which unabated frenzy morphs into militaristic poses and self-adoring caresses into punch-drunk fighter stances. David Shaffer performed his attractive percussive score live, matching climax after climax to Craig’s maneuvers.

Also new: “Somethings Got to Give,” a duet with Diana Mehoudar in a slinky black sheath, partnered by Lonnie Palladino-Lane playing a tuxedo-clad male. Sexy and bouncy, with a Dinah Washington song track, this romp featured lots of leaps, surprising barrel turns and well-placed handstands.

“Do’s and Don’ts,” revised from 1995 and performed with pouty panache by guest artist Nicole Harlan, is a study in techno-pointe. Harlan’s washboard-stiff scarlet tutu--by Tomas Mulrooney--spoofs ballet’s formalism, while she grinds and preens through the mechanical stops and starts of a conflicted ballerina, still giving her all to those sultry red toe shoes.

Lynne DeMarco projected organic power in the previously reviewed “Scratch Swallow Self,” while “Sisters” (the erstwhile “Woven”), danced by Craig, Mehoudar and Palladino-Lane, remains oddly cumbersome, with its unsightly Medusan velvet ropes binding the trio at their heads.

The head trip aside, Helios delivered, in under an hour, a big-time night.