to 16.

*** I suspect this review will hold few surprises, since United Dance Productions under the direction of Suzette Harvey has once again graced the local audience with an absolutely superb show.

One thing that I particularly appreciate about this dance company is how you can see their development and growth from year to year -- their shows just keep getting better in terms of artistry, skill and professionalism.

This year's "Metamorphosis'' is no exception. Even the pieces that were based on performances from last year's "Fusion'' such as "Conversations'' and "Relations'' seemed like they were fined-tuned and the execution turned up a notch.

The show had its usual range of modern, tap, African dance, etc., but I think the group has definitely found its niche in the more abstract modern dances.

As far as I'm concerned, the standout piece for the entire evening was entitled "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl'', featuring Ms Harvey, Zalika Millet, Anne Foggo and guest artist Tamieca McCloud.

I love it when choreographers are able to effectively tell a story through dance, as guest choreographer Kevin Mallone (who some may remember from last year's show) did with amazing skill in this piece.

The dancers appear in loose smock dresses associated with enslaved women, striking alternate positions suggesting both strength and weakness, telling stories through their movements of escape and re-enslavement.

But the really beautiful part of this wickedly dynamic piece was during a voice-over using Maya Angelou's poetry and cultural theorist Henry Louis Gates' text, where the women (presumably fast-forwarded to semi-modern times) begin to walk in extreme slow-motion -- illustrating how we are all in a constant state of "falling and catching ourselves'' as we move through life.

Another great piece was in the second half of the programme, entitled "Unified Soul'' featuring the dance and choreography of guest artists Mikey Courtney, Rashaan Jackson and Carl Dougie Sanders.

The lovely thing about this piece is how it portrays different expressions of black maleness through the medium of dance. You switch from one dreadlocked dancer performing to Bob Marley's music to a tap dancer workin' it to some DC-style go-go.

The point in the piece where the three dancers release their bravado and decide to collaborate for some `unified soul' was absolutely breathtaking; I genuinely hope a few local men will decide to take up the gauntlet and do some serious work with UDP, since that male element really adds to the overall calibre of the show.

Overall, I think the first half of the show was more powerful than the second half -- "Relations'', which portrayed the interaction between men and women, and an earthy Suzette Harvey solo entitled "Unsaid'' were both standout pieces.

"I Was There...'', another beautiful work in the first half, was a somewhat abstract solo by Rashaan Jackson (my partner and I interpreted it as a dance in the galley of a slave ship, and the freedom that can still be claimed in the midst of captivity).

But this is not to say that the second half of the show was weak -- and especially the excellent tap finale entitled "Stolen II'' set to music by Aaliyah gave the show UDP's signature funkiness.

Once again, UDP has cranked it up a notch and moved to the next level -- and as usual, I can't wait for next year's show to see where the company's metamorphosis will lead them.

Kim Dismont Robinson Slavery undone: Suzette Harvey, artistic director of United Dance Productions, performs in a standout piece entitled "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl'' during this year's show "Metamorphosis''.

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