I reviewed Janice Garrett & Dancers’ 2005 season, closing tomorrow at the Cowell, for the Chronicle this week:

“Here was something rare for San Francisco: traditional American modern dance in the vein of Paul Taylor, dance that believes humankind speaks as eloquently through pure movement as through language. Here was a company that danced like a community. And here was a fully developed style: rapid bursts of crisp energy; complex gestures that use every body part — shoulder, knee, rib, chin — to create a sense of kinetic conversation; steps so richly suggestive you could see the lapping of water in the sweep of an arm, the flight of a bird in the raising of a leg.

All those ingredients come together to magical effect in “Ostinato,” the 2002 work that opens the company’s solid third-anniversary outing, seen last weekend and repeating through Saturday at Cowell Theater. And yet there’s something more in “Ostinato” — the spark of inspiration, the elusive quality that turns an expertly constructed series of steps into a soul-stirring statement. If that quality is missing from the three other Garrett dances now on display, this lushly performed concert still proves that the troupe belongs to the big leagues of Bay Area dance. ”

Full review here.