Farther along in the journey, seeing 'Relationship' anew

Jeffrey Polston and Deborah Abel in "The Reflecting Pool," from "The Perfect Relationship: A Dance Concert of Duets." (jaye r. phillips)

Choreographer Deborah Abel - part yogic philosopher, part early modern dance devotee - has all the best intentions.

In her evening-length work "The Perfect Relationship," a concert of six duets that she presented last night at the Boston University Studio Dance Theatre, she and partner Jeffrey Polston convincingly slip under and over and through each other's various body parts, now smooth as corn silk, now all jagged puzzle pieces, struggling to connect or to snap loose. Abel's grappling with the subject of intimacy is heartfelt, and her technical know-how is solid, grounded in dance truths: relevés spiral from floor to ceiling; contractions of the gut reverberate in fingertips. But for a dance that's intended as a journey, you pass too much of the same scenery from point A to point B. With a few exceptions, you feel more like you're running in place than traveling the distance.

The structure of the piece could lead you to think otherwise. Abel has cracked "The Perfect Relationship" into discrete parts: What makes a relationship "perfect," she suggests, is not that it's "happy," but that its participants struggle - to know each other, to get close yet maintain boundaries - and grow.

The work begins, as do most couplings, with a honeymoon period ("A Dream of Unknowing"), and moves through stages of revelation ("The Naming"), trust ("The Reflecting Pool"), sexuality and flirtatiousness ("The Right Touch"), and spiritual bonding ("Shiva and Shakti"). It resolves, supposedly, with mature love ("I'll Meet You There"), interestingly - in a departure from its 1991 showing - complete with child (the remarkably attuned fifth-grader Miranda Degen-Portnoy). Musical interludes, ranging from the folky to the jazzy, offset the dancing, though their relationship to the dancing is not always clear; nor are the words to the songs. Still, it's refreshing to experience the live ensemble of six musicians and vocalists, directed by Abel's husband, Lee Perlman.

For someone so earnest, Abel actually shines most when she's at play. It would be wonderful to see more of this side of her. "The Right Touch," to music by Greg Brown, is a romp and a kick. Unlike the other sections, it's full of dynamic shifts, rhythmic interplays where Polston zips into tight back rolls, and Abel spirals down his torso head first - she's a vine tracing its roots. He's got a nice jazzy umph at the core of his movements. At another point, he wraps her around his neck like a scarf, and then holds her topsy-turvy as her legs criss-cross in tiny beats.

While not as interesting rhythmically, "The Reflecting Pool," to music by Stephen Cellucci and Doug Sondak, showcases Abel's choreographic facility with bodily permutations. A case in point: She tucks her knees under her seat, Polston grasps them from underneath. The two rock: He's her swing, she's his comfort. Look quick: He's slipping over her shoulder, his head landing in her lap. Blink, and she's snaking down his back, her head pooling onto the floor.

I have to admit: The first time I saw "The Perfect Relationship," 17 years ago, I was quite smitten. My former dance teacher, Claire Mallardi, read my review and noted with a slightly sardonic smile: "Hmm. You must be in love." I begged to differ. But now I can clearly see that my impressions were significantly influenced by my new state of coupledom: I'd met my husband-to-be less than a month before the show. Yes, I was in the honeymoon stage, as Abel would phrase it, "A Dream of Unknowing."

Which just goes to show: "A Perfect Relationship" is indeed in the eyes of the beholder.