Tokyo is awash with festivals of dance this month, mostly by solo dancers, which is not surprising since the majority of performers here prefer the controlled environment of one-man shows. But what is surprising is that even with all the organization involved in planning these events, the sudden accumulation of small and more ambitious dance "festivals" in February indicates a grave lack of communication in the dance community.

The competition for audiences will be strong in the coming weeks as the level of performance, even at the fringe festivals, is high. The most ambitious of these collections of dance will expect performers to create a new piece, especially when they feature on a double or triple bill in solos of about 20 minutes apiece. The chaff and the wheat get swiftly sorted into the experienced dancers who pass off old work and up-and-coming dancers who seize the performance opportunity and exposure offered by their inclusion with better-known performers. But for most spectators, these shorter programs are perfect-sized windows into the state and status of modern dance here.

The Die Pratze space in Kagurazaka in central Tokyo features dancers through Feb. 23 who also choreograph and perform with their own groups. The month-long festival kicked off Jan. 25-26 with pieces by Nakao Ikemiya and Noriko Kumagai of the company Nomades. Kumagai is one of our strongest performers, and the total theater of "I Want to See Dance" was an auspicious beginning for the small alternative venue's first major dance collection.

Some suspect that Kumagai is one of the few in the dance community who choreographs better for others than she does for herself. And although she is a wonderful dancer, she could have shown more of her movement ideas instead of concentrating on the atmosphere produced by randomly moving lighting sources and other tricks of the stage trade.

The recommended performers in the festival, all of whose dances are followed by informal party and discussion, include Kenichi Tanno Feb. 12-13 as well as Kinya Tsuruyama and Ryuichi Arisaka Feb. 16. Arisaka has just directed and performed in "Hamletmaschine," with his company Agua Gala Jan. 28-29 at Space Zero in Shinjuku. It was based on the work of the same name immortalized by Heiner Mueller.

This work also inspired a production by the Daisan Erotica theater company earlier in the month, but the Agua Gala version was very fine. The rigorous dance included the company's first use of spoken and recorded text, and a tremendous performance from Hikako Kagami as the deranged Ophelia.

Congratulations are also due to the creative receptiveness of those operating the venue, which allowed its orchestra pit to be filled with water for Ophelia's grave and a barrage of construction machinery. With "Hamletmaschine," the prolific Arisaka takes a major position in contemporary dance.

Contact Die Pratze at (03) 3235-7074 for details about the festival.

Sphere Mex Fringe Dance Festival 2000 started Feb. 1 with performances by Eun Hee Kim, Ho Bin Park and Su Mi Yoon from South Korea, all showing a liquid plasticity in wide-spaced movement unlike the mostly stop-and-start choreography currently coming out of Japan. The event continues through Feb. 20 with a line-up of double and triple bills by new dancers, including the eight-member group Dattan in a new work.

Most of the other works featured are classified in the untaxing style of semi-improvised modern dance. They are frequently performed by small groups of female dancers who base their movement on gestures and patterns culled from workshops with more established performers. But let's hope for surprises.

The venue is opposite Tennozu Isle Station on the Tokyo Monorail headed for Haneda Airport. Call (03) 5460-9999 for information.

The big hitter at this time of the year has always been the Kanagawa Contemporary Arts Series, which usually features the top contemporary dance and performance companies, mostly from Europe, and has commissioned pieces of the stature of "S/N" by Dumb Type, the production that convinced the world Japan could offer hard-hitting social commentary on stage. But this year the series focuses on shorter, solo works, some by French dancers and some in collaboration with Japanese performers. The highlights Feb. 11-13 are expected to be Pal Frenak in "L'enfant Du Puits" and the acrobatic Vincent Dunoyer in "Dances with TV and Microphone."

Call (045) 662-5901 for information.

Not to be outdone in the craze for solo festivals, Yokohama's ST Spot Dance Series showcases an all-male line-up of top dancers from Asia this month, including Afa Chiang from Hong Kong, Takumi Harada and Taketeru Kudo from Japan, and Zai Kuning from Singapore Feb. 12-13. Call (045) 325-0411 or access www.jade.dti.ne.jp/~stspot for more information.

Ticket prices are generally getting lower in Tokyo, and are set competitively for all the smaller venues from about 2,000 yen, with bargain passes for the entire duration of the events.