Music & Dance Reviews : Repertory Dance Theatre at Inner City Center

Jon Johnson’s Repertory Dance Theatre of Los Angeles looked like a company in process of defining itself Wednesday at the Inner City Cultural Center.

The seven members of the current company--there have been personnel changes since October--have not performed together long enough to look like they are an ensemble. They also varied in technical ability, from cautious to bold and impressive.

Ralph Glenmore stood out for spectacular air turns and leaps in his solo “Soul Misfortune” (choreographed by Johnson to music by Tracy Chapman). He also was a supportive partner of Monica Tibbs--another of the strong dancers--in Johnson’s athletic battle-of-the-sexes duet “Discovery” (an excerpt from his “Graffiti”), although the final drop-catch was marred by a too-quick blackout.

Company associate director Lady Helena Walquer Vereen was notable, too, for her solo “Iya, Umi, Madre, Mere, Moma,” a fleet, theatrical chronicle of women’s personal and cultural identities, choreographed by John Pickett to music by Miriam Makeba.

Elsewhere, however, the dancers were not strong enough to redeem the choreography, which suffered from weaknesses in structure and focus. Pieces too often seemed unfinished, tentative, try-it-all and see-what-happens.

Johnson’s trio “Reaching Out” meandered through vague male-bonding images, with Johnson, Pickett and Gregory Castillian breaking momentum in stop-and-go attacks. Pickett’s “Faint Prisoners,” a holier-than-thou satire on love of money among the upwardly mobile briefcase crowd, quickly ran out of interest.

Castillian’s “Choice of Freedom” (music by Ladysmith) promisingly tackled the idea of relating the individual and the group, but got stuck merely alternating unison and explosive individual movement sequences.

Performances continue through Monday.