Stories of inner strength told in spirited bodily movement

Evidently there are many Circassian dance groups around the world, but they have had a low profile, especially here in the Southland, where there are only an estimated 400 people of Circassian origin. Most of this community probably came to see the accomplished New Jersey-based Narts Dance Ensemble in “Adigha Spirit” at the Irvine Barclay Theatre Saturday night. They were surely the only audience members who could locate the group’s homeland on a map without being told it’s in the Caucasus mountains of Southern Russia.

But if Circassian geography and history aren’t familiar, their dancing is; it closely resembles the fiercely elegant gliding, stamping and pivoting of the Georgian State Dance Company. The Narts Ensemble has a vastly tinier budget, and its 25 dancers are mostly college students, together for only four years. Nevertheless, they have mastered an impressive amount of the formidable precision required for their ambitious dances, as well as being sartorially splendid in long military jackets and tapered pants (for men) and flowing dresses and veils (for women). They obviously have dedication, focus and a talented choreographer in 22-year-old Sawzer Dishak, who is also the artistic director and a dancer.

Although a late start and some long pauses between dances slowed the program down, each work was concise and well-paced. Musical interludes featuring accordion, flute and singing took a back seat to dramatic, recorded scores, which underpinned the even flow of dances like “Kafa” and “Narts Dance,” and the shifting dynamism of “Abkhaz Dance,” “Quasha Ghaza” and “Widj.”

Male soloists swashbuckled a bit and pulled off tricky pirouettes that collapsed into heroic bent-knee finales. They also did some joint-crunching toe dancing in leather boots, as did the women, who traded their gold-embroidered gowns for trousers in “Girls’ Dance,” meant to evoke the bravery of women left alone on the home front.

The sweep and beauty of these dances depended greatly on the authority of the performers, who overrode an occasional glitch by focusing attention on their regal verticality, and small shifts of weight in delicate sways and sharply executed swirls. Choreographies evolved through constantly shifting lines and unison movements that evoked images of solidarity and grace.

Some Circassian history came via program notes, a welcoming speech and the succinct, melodious voice-overs before each dance. The latter could be simplistic--”in olden days, times were hard, but we were happy”--but the more verifiable information was useful. Knowing that there was a Circassian exodus from the Caucasus in 1864, for instance, when Russia took over, and that 6 million of 8 million Circassians now live in scattered locations outside their homeland explained something about the relationship between dislocation and dedication.

Like many ethnic groups, they have mapped their cultural aspirations and will to survive on the dancing bodies of their young people. Fortunately, for audiences, that survival comes in the form of beautiful dancing, full of resolve and aesthetic delight.