Fall ‘08: Varied fare from smaller troupes

While the great dance traditions will be front and center in the area this fall, adventurous spirits seeking a different way of looking at the world — or, indeed, a different world to look at — can find local artists and visiting groups exploring the rich terrain of global dance.

Local Korean-American dance maker Dana Tai Soon Burgess is bringing “Exploring the Hyphen,” his latest take on the challenges and rewards of our multicultural differences, to George Washington University’s Lisner Auditorium Oct. 16 and 17. The fall lineup also includes five festivals and performances from Latin America, five from India and the Far East and four reflecting scenes about black America.

Several provocative pieces lie ahead for the first week in November. New Yorker David Dorfman’s “underground,” examines the tension between activism and terrorism at the Clarice Smith Center for the Arts ( Nov. 6 and 7), while Silk Road Dance Company celebrates 3,000 years of female rulers and warriors at Prince George’s Publick Playhouse (Nov. 8). Also on Nov. 6, three male soloists from the worlds of ballet, flamenco and Afro-fusion show masculine dancing in its infinite variety in “The Romance of Dance” at American University’s Greenberg Theatre — and Edgeworks Dance Theater looks at the complexities of race, gender and sexuality at Dance Place from Nov. 7 to 9.

Among the season’s other programs:

• Today: “Howard Dean’s Scream,” by Jane Franklin Dance, concludes at Woolly Mammoth.

• Saturday to Oct. 5: El Teatro de Danza Contemporanea de El Salvador at Dance Place. Also: Bowen McCauley Dance at Northern Virginia Community College’s Schlesinger Hall in Alexandria.

• Oct. 10 and 11: Song and Dance Ensemble of West Africa at George Mason’s Center for the Arts. Also: Devi Dance Theater in “Mandala, a Voyage Within,” inspired by Indian Buddhist poems, at Dance Place through Oct. 12.

• Oct. 16 and 17: The astounding Savion Glover with other dancers and musicians at the Warner Theatre.

• Oct. 18: City Dance Ensemble is including a work by former Washington Ballet dancer Jason Hartley at the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater. Also: Washington choreographer Alvin Mayes and friends in “Love Come Down” at Dance Place (through Oct. 19); and Joy of Motion’s annual concert at Atlas Performing Arts Center.

• Oct. 25: Hispanic Dance Festival featuring five local companies at Atlas Performing Arts Center. Also: Annual Fall Festival of Indian Arts featuring the Dhananjayans, performing the ancient and elegant bharata natyam form.

• Oct. 26: Mallika Sarabhai in a dance-theater work, “In Search of the Goddess,” at the Lincoln Theatre.

• Oct. 31 to Nov. 1: Jose Porcel and Ballet Flamenco at George Mason Center for the Arts.

• Nov. 1 and 2: “A Piece of Da Heart” examines dilemmas faced by black Americans. By local artist Diallo Sumbry at Dance Place.

• Nov. 8: Hubbard Street Dance Chicago at George Mason’s Center for the Arts.

• Nov. 15 and 16: “Moving Higher,” a new project at Dance Place, features performances by the area’s universities.

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