I went to the Hattori/Walsh show at EAT last night. Wow. What a fine, sweet treasure we have here in Calgary. The dance community showed up and supported their own bright young lights. And both Deanne Walsh and Yukichi Hattori generously poured their movement chops out all over the stage for us. And they introduced us to fine tunes played live by talented Alberta musicians. Two different pieces. Two different moods. Deanne is gorgeous to watch. Statuesque, elegant, strong. Her interaction with the musicians - Cuban percussionists Raul Gomez Tabera and Toto Berriel Jiminez and Rwandan singer Frankie Joe Rukundo - was tender, fun and emotional.The music was stripped down to percussion and bass and Frankie's resonant vocals.

Each of the vignettes within Deanne's program had a personality of its own, different instrumentation, different tone, different rapport with different musicians. Sometimes playful, sometimes like a wistful sigh. Always baldly, boldly and beautifully intimate.

Then came Yukichi. I've seen him dance before and am a huge fan. After last night, I respect him even more. The space was so intimate, you really got a chance to see what this superbly talented dancer can do. The program says his piece, called Solo?, is largely improvisational. Still the dance felt confident and Yukichi has the depth of experience to follow the right instincts.

He turned us on to the Dystopians, self described as a dark yet melodic electronic duo form Edmonton. A ubercool presence in the background, Ben Goodenough and Jason Trook filled the space with their muy groovy technosound.

The whole piece was edgy and urban. It was witty and exhilarating. I'm not going to tell you about the surprise ending. You have to go to find out. And you do want to know how this totally charming evening ends.

You'll love Hattori and Walsh and their fabulous musical friends.  Good start to the Fluid Festival.