Robin Dekkers and Rex Wheeler each choreographed solos that served a different kind of playful energy. Dekkers’s “The Path Only Appears With The First Step,” had Meyerson playing Glenn Kotche’s composition on a drum kit upstage left. Jim French lit the stage with a diagonal special from behind Meyerson. The choreography started as music visualization and evolved into a blend of pugilism and ballet. Meyerson would hit the snare and Thatcher would crouch. Thatcher worked his way closer to Meyerson bobbing and weaving, his body turning towards the musician as his head whipped back. The vocabulary developed into pique balances that melted from the spine and spritely jumps that traveled out more than up. Thatcher was Gene Kelley-esque in the best way—elegant and grounded.

Wheeler, also known as drag performer Lady Camden, brought his skill in ballet and drag to “The Filthy Fifteen.” Composer Nicole Lizée created the score of the same name in 2016, and was inspired by the Parents’ Music Resource Center’s 1980s list of “offensive songs.” Snippets of news footage and pop music played recorded as Meyerson added texture with a percussive score that employed found objects. Wheeler’s choreography began with Thatcher and Meyerson walking a square-shaped screen to center stage. Purple lights hit the screen and shadow play commenced. The duo interacted before Meyerson’s focussed on the music making. Thatcher took on many personas: a prude, an exhibitionist, a dom in heels and a corset, a superhero in a mask and cape. Books were torn apart, records wielded like trophies then dropped, costumes thrown into the air like a fabric firework. “The Filthy Fifteen” highlighted the futility of censorship in the face of creativity.

Dani Rowe and Thatcher opened and closed the recital’s second half, respectively. Their solos were tonally distinct but shared a sense of searching. Rowe’s “A Noticeable Pause” began with Thatcher and Meyerson ritually uncovering a marimba. Meyerson took up the mallets and began playing Danny Clay’s “Still Cycles” (a collection of loops built from fragments of a Hayden chaconne) as Thatcher stood behind him with his hands hovering over Meyerson’s like an energetic echo. Thatcher left Meyerson in a series of triplets. His body would tighten and release as angular arm phrases accumulated. Spoking arms transitioned into port de bras; Rowe quoted the beginning of Balanchine’s “Serenade.” Rowe is a skillful narrative choreographer, and while “A Noticeable Pause” is non-narrative, her ability to bring characterization to movement is superlative. To me, this solo had the richest depth of performance quality.