Dance: The way they move

EVA MOHN

Age: 23.

Day job: Isles Bun and Coffee.

Background: In December, Mohn graduated from the University of Minnesota with a B.A. in dance. She planned on becoming a veterinarian, but found continual inspiration in the life and work of her mother, a dance educator, and eventually acquiesced to dance's pull on her. She also studied at the School at Jacob's Pillow, in Becket, Mass., and has delved into contact improvisation with Hijack. While still a student, she became a member of TU Dance.

Description: Amid the gaggle of well-trained students during a university dance concert two years ago, Mohn shone with luminous intensity. Never an ingénue, she evidenced the flawless technique, un-self-conscious professionalism and artistic versatility of a seasoned performer. She also projected a sensibility and intelligence far beyond her years. Her movement style is long, elastic and fluid; her expressiveness evokes noir mystery, abstract rigor and smart sensuality. In Uri Sands' "Work XXI: Tones of Adney," her slim leaps, clear angles and sinuous curves lit up the group choreography. In Sands' "Truth" she conveys both the gravitas of oppression and wonder of liberation with inimitable grace.

Upcoming performances: "Truth," TU Dance, this afternoon, Ordway Theater, St. Paul; TU Dance, June 15-17 and June 22-24, Southern Theater, Mpls.; Black Label Movement, Aug. 17-20, Southern Theater, Mpls.

ERIC BOONE

Age: 37.

Day job: Clinical social worker for Ramsey County.

Background: Boone attended high school at a Benedictine monastery intending to become a priest when he took a dance class and realized the priesthood wasn't his calling. He graduated from Tulane University in New Orleans with a degree in psychology and dance, then earned a master's degree in social work from the University of Minnesota. He's been a company member of 45 Chartreuse, Zenon Dance Company, Jazzdance, Dancing People Company and Borrowed Bones Dance Theater.

Description: Boone has never read the phone book onstage, but in Morgan Thorson's "Big Room," he slowly ate his way down a row of marshmallows on the floor, becoming the mesmerizing center of the dancing around him. As the enigmatic subject of Robin Stiehm's "In a Room Gambling," he explicated that work's intricacies with muscular grace, inviting intimacy and a mysterious smile. In New York choreographer Susan Marshall's solo for him, Boone conveyed the psychological nuances of the work with economy of movement and expression. In short, Boone emanates a serenity that's always compelling, whether the choreography that he's performing is rigorous or dynamic, sensual or still.

Upcoming performances: Duet choreographed by Maria Gomez Tierney at Mounds Theater, St. Paul, March 3-4; duet with Eddie Oroyan choreographed by Maggie Bergeron at Red Eye, Mpls., June 22-24.

DENISE ARMSTEAD

Age: 46.

Day job: Riding instructor and horse trainer; teaches dance to children at Beck's Montessori in Eagan.

Background: Armstead attended St. Benedict's College in St. Joseph, Minn., intending to become a veterinarian and perform horsemanship. She left school when she became a wife and mother, and began taking jazz and modern-dance classes at the Ozone dance school in St. Paul. As Ozone morphed into Just Jazz and Rezone, and then Zenon Dance Company in 1983, Armstead was integral along the way. In 2003, she and Zenon parted ways. Since then, Armstead has performed with Hijack, Judith Howard, Shawn McConnelog, Risa Cohen, Deborah Jinza Thayer and Gerry Girouard.

Description: For 20 years, Armstead was Zenon's incandescent core, infusing whatever the choreographer du jour threw at her -- jazz, modern or theatrical postmodern work -- with feline sleekness, elegant sass and powerhouse grace. But the grit in this pearl has kicked loose since Armstead has been a dancer for hire. In Thayer's "Meet the Nation," she cavorted in metal headgear and gesticulated with gibberish in a raucous pseudo-presidential debate. As Howard's doppelganger in "Suite Goodbye," she writhed with the women, sauced up the country line-dance and delivered the blow-to-the-heart ending. She's also taken to the air, choreographing a sexy harness duet with William Gladen that was rife with mature sensuality and the adventurousness of a gamine effortlessly on the move.

Upcoming performances: Tango duet with Gerry Girouard, AIDS Benefit, April 1, Park House, Minneapolis; new work by Cade Holmseth, April 29, DMA Conducting Recital, Mann Concert Hall, Mpls.; "Crimes and Whispers," choreographed by Gerry Girouard, July 13-29, Old Arizona Studios, Mpls.; premiere of Denise Armstead Dance in 2007.

EDDIE OROYAN

Age: 27.

Day job: Substitute teacher for St. Paul public schools.

Background: After Oroyan graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point with a B.A. in dance in 2001, he received a scholarship to study with Doug Varone in New York, and then danced with the all-male Creach/Company. When he arrived in the Twin Cities, he stopped dancing while earning his M.A. in Secondary English Education from the University of Minnesota. Danial Shapiro and Joanie Smith wondered, "Where did this guy come from?" when he auditioned for their "Anytown" in summer 2004. He's been touring with Shapiro & Smith Dance ever since, and the New York Times' Jennifer Dunning called him a standout, adding that he "jumps like a flea."

Description: Oroyan is compact and muscular, intense and athletic, and attacks movement with the unblinking speed and precision of his hero, Bruce Lee. Yet, he can also dance with exquisite tenderness, emotional thoroughness and seamless fluidity. In "Anytown," one moment he's a hardworking everyman muscling his way through male camaraderie, then a slinky, attentive suitor at the beck and call of an enticing woman, and finally an integral member of a town casting off its grief. In Maggie Bergeron's "It Is Morning," Oroyan engaged two women in an enticing tangle of limbs and rigorous shaping of space. In Carl Flink's "Lost Lullabies," he evidenced fierce physicality and bold partnering.

Upcoming performances: Duet with Eric Boone choreographed by Maggie Bergeron, June 22-24, Red Eye, Mpls.; Black Label Movement, Aug. 17-20, Southern Theater, Mpls.

Camille LeFevre is a Twin Cities dance critic.