THEY WATCH THEIR STEPS AT DANCE WORKSHOP

It is sunset and several young dance professionals at Scripps College in Claremont, fortified by tacos and hot-fudge sundaes, stroll across the lawn, through the elm trees, past the swimming pool and finally reach the ballet studio.

Tensely expectant, they are ready to watch the results of the day’s choreography assignments.

As part of a select group of dancers, they are here for the annual choreography conference sponsored by the National Assn. of Regional Ballet. The program provides two weeks of in-depth training (through Sunday) for 12 choreographers and 30 dancers from all over the country.

Now in its 27th year, the conference evolved out of a need for experienced choreographers to provide repertory for fledgling regional dance companies.

There are East and West Coast sessions each summer, and this year Salvatore Aiello--artistic director of North Carolina Dance Theater--heads the staff as choreography director.

“There are few places for choreographers to go for non-academic, realistic training,” Aiello said. “It’s expensive and difficult (for them) to find studio space, dancers, equipment and guidance on their own, and this conference gives them a good practice lab and a professional atmosphere. And the dancers learn a lot from being exposed to so many different choreographic styles.”

The budget for the current conference--East and West Coast editions--is $150,000. Conference director Florence Waren said most of the funds come from grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the California Arts Council, the New York State Council on the Arts, L.J. and Nancy C. Skaggs, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the Monticello College Foundation.

The conference emphasis is on process rather than finished product, and there is no time for leisurely polishing. “In the real world,” Aiello said, “time is money and many choreographers don’t have the luxury of either. They have to think and work fast, often with free-lance dancers of unknown quality. The conference is designed to help them deal with that.”

Aiello met with choreographers on opening day to discuss their abilities, weaknesses, needs and goals. Then he devised 65 to 70 choreographic assignments, many of them against type. A serious, methodical choreographer, for example, may be assigned to create a humorous piece with spontaneous movement. Everyone is required to create a “silent solo,” which Aiello describes as “movement without outside influence.”

Each day features compulsory ballet and modern-dance classes plus improvisational, repertory and music workshops, while 2 1/2 hours are reserved for rehearsals. Choreographers who work with a different group of dancers for each assignment are allowed one to three days to complete and show their work in evening performances. Most seem to relish the pressure.

Linda Graham, a Michigan dancer who’s been to more than one conference, said she finds it useful for “the chance to experiment and create a lot of seed material.”