Women / Create is a dance festival in its seventh year that puts together four of the top names among women modern dance choreographers. The program presented a mix of new and tried and tested works by Karole Armitage, Jacqulyn Buglisi, Carolyn Dorfman and Jennifer Muller. With this level of choreographic talent, there was bound to be something you liked. The four of them have to be on anyone’s short list for most influential modern dance choreographers.

Jennifer Muller’s Shock Wave had no explicit political message but it was hard not to see the implication. It began with the ensemble dancing in a state of high emotionality that was anxious and angry. So very like the way we’re living now, with conservatives and progressives screaming at one another across the unbridgeable divide. It ended with a bang, the titular shock wave, and then the women of the company followed, dancing a section of lamentation. We live in challenging times and I think that reasonable people on both sides are feeling a great sense of loss and desolation. Muller seems to be saying that we’ll all be okay if we can just stick together and remain optimistic. Her dancers work through the sadness and find their way by forging new connections with one another and the work ends on a positive note. Let’s hope that she’s right!

The strongest piece on the program was Jacqulyn Buglisi’s 1991 Threshold, performed by Virginie Mécène and Kevin Predmore. It’s not just that the concept and choreography were so powerful. These are two great performers, especially Mécène. Each moment was thoroughly thought out and fully realized. Threshold opened with Mécène on the floor, underneath a translucent sheet that resembled a membrane or a chrysalis. She struggled under it eloquently before emerging to crawl along the floor, insect-like. Upon standing upright, she was approached from behind by Predmore. He looked like a predator until she leaned back slowly, molding herself to him, and took him over. She wrapped her arms and legs around him and crawled up on his back. The tone was partly erotic and partly a statement of female power. It’s a riveting work in which she alternately rides her mate, stands on his back, swivels to ride underneath, and then emerges on top again. Impressive on all counts.

Carolyn Dorfman’s Waves, from 2015, was a crowd pleaser set to a combination of beatboxing, cello, shahi baaja, vocals and recorder. To save you the time of looking it up, a shahi baaja is a hybrid electrified Indian bulbul tarang crossed with a zither. While the dance was not exceptional, it was fast paced and pleasing. The highlight of the piece was getting the audience involved in some energetic chair dancing that made for a festive atmosphere in the show closer.