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Part of the joy of watching dance—or any athletic activity, really—is the illusion of ease conveyed by performers, whose grace and strength allow for such fluency of movement that the limitations of our physical bodies seem to dissolve before our eyes. Yes, they make it look so easy, but as Twyla Tharp once said, "Dance has never been a particularly easy life, and everybody knows that."

Well, almost everyone. A dance career requires constant dedication to be one's best, to be competitive yet work intimately with other dancers, all while knowing that only the very best of the best will have a career beyond the age of 30—especially in ballet—and more often as a choreographer than as a dancer, which demands a level of creativity and intellect and intuition beyond the pale. It is highly demanding, body and soul, but that doesn't stop critics from launching highly personal attacks—some quite irrelevant to the actual work of the dancer or choreographer—simply because dancers, by the very nature of their art, are more vulnerable than perhaps any other variety of artist.

It was an unforgettable treat to witness the dancers of Whim W'Him work with Annabelle Lopez Ochoa as she choreographed a new piece for Whim W'Him's next performance in 2011. Olivier Wevers,  founder of the boundary-breaking company, relies on talent from many backgrounds and schools. Wevers choreographed all of the works for Whim W'Him's inaugural, sold-out performances at On The Boards earlier this year, and it must have been difficult to relinquish some control and choose a choreographer to create a work for the next program. He chose wisely, though. Maverick Ochoa—who is not attached to any company—seemed to have a natural rapport with the dancers through her tactile coaching methods, her athleticism, and her compassionate but authoritative voice. The result was a complex and highly emotive 24-minute sequence inspired by an experience in Holland, when Ochoa learned in the midst of a crowd of the sudden death of a dear friend and colleague.

The dancers really shined individually and as a group, and Sarah and I had a lot to say about them after the rehearsal.

Sarah: The thing that I was immediatley struck by during this rehearsal was Olivier's embodiment of the art. He didn't look like he was rehearsing to me. I expected to see the attitude of someone learning his part, being aware of each movement, still working out the face and mood, but no—he was completely in character and appeared to know all of the choreography as if he'd been performing it forever. Of course, I could see that Ochoa was still in the process of creating much of it—he's just that good.

Trenton: It's true. Ordinarily, when it comes to memorizing patterns and movement—as in a game of Simon—the problem is simply keeping things in order. These dancers were so honed, so alert that it was never a matter of skipping a step that caused them to break. It was just part of the process of refinement: a step closer to the front, an upturned hand, a tighter turn. Olivier and company were in synch from the moment we walked in. I'm sure it helps that he's worked extensively with many of them, particularly Lucien, Victor, and Chalnessa.

Sarah: Chalnessa Eames is relentlessly beautiful. I only studied ballet for seven years and was quite young when I left it, but my imaginary idea of what a female dancer should be was so HER. I feel like I'm 9-years old anticipating the moment I would go en pointe when I watch her dance. She's that archetype I would have wanted to be. Watching her rehearse, I feel somehow connected to part of myself that never came to fruition, like I can live vicariously through her and be that fit, that beautiful, and that good by just observing her.

Trenton: The power of dance lies in the power of the perfected human form to express the ineffable. The effect should always be felt throughout the whole body . Having studied it must bring an even greater resonance. I never had that background, but seeing some of them dance makes me wish that I had. I almost begin to wonder if some of the critics simply covet the dancers and their experience and forget how much work is required to achieve that. Many of the worst literary critics are failed writers, art critics failed artists. Dance is perhaps one of the most essential, fundamental forms of human expression. I tend to think that the worst critics of dance are just failed humans. You can quote me on that.

But hush my mouth. I should focus on what's good here! There's so much to choose from.

Sarah: Lucien Postelwaite and Melody Herrera! How delightful. It looks like a honeymoon between them while they work on the piece. I love it. These two souls are well matched don't you think?

Trenton: They have been friends for some time. Melody is a Principal Dancer with the Houston Ballet and she and Lucien had their start in Santa Cruz. I think their names say it all: Light and Song. They glow as they glide.

Sarah: Speaking of light: Annabelle is a ray of light isn't she? What a treat to get to watch her process. Since my dance experience was so formal and limited, I was never exposed to her style of choreography. I especially enjoyed watching the dynamics of the dancers and choreographers working out those group sequences. There's something so satisfying about getting to see the artists who are all working to deliver the vision of the mastermind, so to speak. Here, the players are all bringing such a high level of intellegence and talent, and at the same time not getting in each other's way with ego. It's rare. It gives me hope. You know it means that the result will be amazing. The whole thing gives me goosebumps. I'm so excited for Olivier as an artist to be the one bringing this to Seattle.

Trenton: I'm excited for Olivier, for Seattle, for all of the dancers involved. To quote Twyla again: "A lot of people insisted on a wall between modern dance and ballet. I'm beginning to think that walls are very unhealthy things." Modern ballet is still evolving, and Seattle is a hotbed for innovative performance art and dance, from Ballet to Butoh. We have one of the top 3 ballet companies in the nation, hands down, and so it's no surprise that combined with Seattle's persistent, pioneer edge we are getting such fantastic work from companies such as Whim W'Him. Wevers is a visionary, and yet almost self-effacing in his humility. Artists like him never have it easy, but he has taken those traits and his intuition and it has made him highly capable of finding new and peculiarly talented individuals who thrive on collaboration, internationally and locally. Some other local talent: Andrew Bartee is a rising star in PNB's corps du ballet. We saw him breakdance in Suspension of Disbelief earlier in 2010 and I heard members of the audience gasp at moments. Vincent Michael Lopez of Spectrum Dance Theatre performed in Whim W'Him's last show, and stunned the audience in the last moments of Wevers' Fragments with a wild contortion act that was in that twilight area between mesmerizing and agonizing. Bartee's grace and precision and Lopez's strength and flexibility are almost supernatural. It's hard to believe even when seen.

On that note, I predict that I will have that feeling throughout the whole of Whim W'Him's next performance.

Sarah: To be perfectly honest, I was never a fan of modern dance. This combination of modern dance and ballet, however, is winning me over. I will go so far as to say that I enjoy it more than classical ballet on its own terms. I mean, I've heard Vivaldi's Four Seasons how many times? I think my dad played it every Sunday morning in our home as a matter of course. But when I saw Whim W'him's debut show, it was as if I was hearing it again for the first time. Something changed in me at that moment. I hope it doesn't come off as an overstatement, but it stirred up an intellectual process for me in my own creative endeavors... to see a thing from another perspective is actually hard to do, even for those of us in the habit of trying. Thank you Olivier. The discipline of the classical tradition combined with modern dance is the inverse of a heresy or sacrilege, at least in the hands of Olivier Wevers. Perhaps one could say it creates  a yin yang sort of reality... supernatural is a well placed adjective, if not transcendent...