Young Lungs Dance Exchange’s annual showcase felt uneven, despite a few promising works

Young Lungs Dance Exchange showcased the good, the bad and the just-plain-puzzling last weekend with its annual rite of winter, No Idling.

This year’s program featured three shorter duets as well as a larger collaborative work created by the company’s members. The three shows were held at the Gas Station Theatre on Feb. 11 and 12.

Co-founded in 2004 by Natasha Torres-Garner, Jennifer Essex and Johanna Riley, Young Lungs offers a safe environment for local dancers to stretch their choreographic wings. As with any process-based venture, some results will be more satisfying than others.

The strongest piece proved to be Swallowing the Dragon. Created and wonderfully performed by Ian Mikita and Sarah Roche, the two appear as a squeaky clean, hyperkinetic couple, à la Leave it to Beaver. As the work unfolds, their veneer is gradually stripped away to reveal inner tensions further heightened by pervasive Cold War nuclear arms references. When Roche coolly whistles like a falling atomic bomb, you sense her own life about to detonate. With its ominous metaphor, the piece is gripping, theatrical and completely engaging.

On the other hand, Stylin’ I!, created by Coral Maloney in collaboration with Ian Mozdzen, is a head-scratcher. The absurd work essentially consists of the two neon-spandex-clad dancers taking turns blowing hair dryers and smearing shaving cream on their heads. Despite the audience’s guffaws, there was no emotional resonance. The last scene — in which they vacuously lie atop each other, heads in each other’s crotches, accompanied by Carmen Miranda’s I Yi Yi! — underscored the perplexity of it all.

Intima Puñnal (Intimate Daggar), choreographed by Alexandra Elliott and Renée Vandale, held more promise. An ensemble including Branwyn Bundon, Chelsea Cairnie, Spenser Halfyard, Claire Marshall, Emma Rose and Tiffany Thomas performed the 20-minute piece set to hot-blooded Argentinean tangos. As rivalrous tensions play out, individuals emerge only to become subsumed by the group. Marshall’s blowing of a kiss at the end was an intriguing resolution that felt exactly right.

It’s Gone, choreographed by Ali Robson, and performed by herself with Mozdzen, is another promising work. Depicting emotional isolation and attempts to move on after a relationship breaks apart, the two first appear separated by pools of light while Mozdzen counts down numbers and recites a litany of phrases. Choreographic details such as a recurring whirling-dervish motif add both cohesion and structure. The clever ending (with Mozdzen finally reaching one) shows Robson has a firm grasp on her craft — and something to say.

The beauty of Young Lungs is that you never quite know what to expect. However, with a few exceptions, this latest production felt uneven, idling more than its title suggests.