Dance : Jazz Dancers Inc. at Japan America

What Jazz Dancers Inc.’s Dennon and Sayhber Rawles lack in choreographic imagination, they make up for in dancing talent. Unfortunately, they seem intent on doing most what they don’t do best--as was the case at the Japan America Theatre over the weekend.

In the premiere of “It’s Alright With Us,” to music by Harry Connick Jr., the talented Rawleses started off strong, only to show an astounding lapse of artistic judgment partway through.

The first two segments of this number used eloquent gestural motifs to evoke glamorous Hollywood types. In the third section, however, Dennon Rawles sat watching his daughter Jessica go through a series of basic exercises.

The concept behind the other new work, “Anybody’s Guess,” was to combine jazz, ballet and contemporary dance by bringing in guests Rene Olivas Gubernick and Teresa and Cecelia Dangcil. In solo, duo and ensemble segments, the dancers pursued courses that seldom meshed, and when they did, seemed forced.

Rounding out the program were four works from 1989-90, including “Mambo Fantasy,” a duet in which the proficient Rawleses were at their best.