From Kun-Yang Lin, a premiere of contrasts

Choreographer Kun-Yang Lin presented his spring concert run at the Mandell Theatre with the world premiere of

Be/Longing: Light/Shadow

. In this evening-length work, he creates a chiaroscuro of light and dark, movement and stillness, inhaling and exhaling, sound and silence.

Lin's world-traveling company, the Kun-Yang Lin/Dancers, trains at its South Ninth Street studio, Chi Movement Arts Center, and this current iteration is one of its best since the troupe relocated from New York in 2008. Known for choreography embracing solemnity and Eastern spirituality, Lin draws dancers who tap into a reverence for humanity while exemplifying excellent modern technique and ensemble dancing. Here he uses his full complement of nine.

With arms airplaning in slo-mo, they filled the stage, churning in quarter turns in place to a commissioned score by Cory Neale - a percussive, suspenseful pulse. They walk offstage one by one, re-entering in duets, solos, full company. Their hard, abrupt, choppy phrases dissolve into molten, fluid sensuality. From veterans Jessica Warchal-King, Eiren Shuman, and Vuthy Ou to recent members Brian Cordova, Brandi Ou, and Rachael Hart, all gave their full selves to the work's rigorous demands. But Liu Mo and Evalina Cain Carbonell could have melted the snows of the Himalayas with only the warm, gentle flow of their limbs. Only Mo wore socks, the better to spin like a skater in arabesque.

HuaHua Zhang performed her puppet dance robed in brown with a mask acting as an "other" she cleverly manipulated through a variety of emotions. And Tatiana Hassan soloed in place, her fingertips glowing in ever changing colors, ending in heartbeat. Both solos were beautiful but without much development and went on too long to hold my attention. The same was true for the overlong Aum chanting in the finale. Sometimes less really is more.