Equally delightful was “5 Tango’s” burst of postmodern exuberance, coming after a short intermission. The tonal shift of the music from the mellifluous Bach to the staccato marvel of Argentinian Astor Piazzolla’s five separate compositions as part of his Nuevo Tango movement, there is a mechanical edge to the passionate heartbeat of the score, ingeniously mimicked in van Manen’s choreography. The disjointed lifts and dips, the hint of the automaton in various sequences, the slyly subverted expectations of Spanish dance vocabulary all came together flawlessly in NBJ’s premiere of this work. 

The lead dancers on the night I watched, Yuri Kimura and Takafumi Watanabe, were both models of technical skill and pure entertainment. Watanabe’s power and precision, his sinuous steps, sharp turns, and edgy extensions shine during the Vayamos al diablo variation. Another highlight was Kimura’s sequence as she passed from partner to partner, van Manen’s elegantly clever transitions danced with graceful aplomb. Kimura imbued her role with a stillness perfectly juxtaposed to her explosive movements. 

Later, discordant music mimics burbling water, and the dancers' movements too mirror the cascading sounds in evocative, provocative steps, the simplest motion sharply synchronized. The end tableaux unfolded with a Dali-esque melting of the body—mesmerizing and freshly ageless. In a poignant coda to the performance, the dancers bowed to a portrait of van Manen lowered onstage, as the revered choreographer passed at the end of last year at 93 years old.