S.D. DANCERS A HOT TICKET IN TIJUANA

Local dance companies often feel like unsung heroes on their home turf. But south of the border, they’re the hottest tickets in town.

The California Ballet, Jazz Unlimited and the American Ballet Ensemble are being touted as “standouts” in the Tijuana Cultural Center’s international dance season, a concert series that will feature 10 different dance groups before it culminates in May.

In addition, the San Diego Dance Theatre will be guest of honor at a cultural benefit at Tijuana’s newly renovated Casa de la Cultura.

“These San Diego companies are very well-liked in Tijuana,” said Jose Luis Pardo of the Tijuana Cultural Center, who selected the roster for this season. “Some of them have performed here several times, and they are always very popular with our audiences.

“This is our second international season. The first was so successful, we expanded it to include more dance companies. We started out with just a few (groups) from Tijuana and San Diego. Now we have leading dance companies from Mexico City and Baja--and, of course, from San Diego.”

Pardo perceives this bond with San Diego dance as another form of “mutual cooperation” between the two border cities.

“I think we work together to benefit both cities,” he said. “San Diego dance is very related to Tijuana’s. Many of your dancers come here and teach, and our dancers perform in San Diego. So it’s really a cooperative effort. We are happy to sponsor San Diego dance companies here.”

For local dancers, the invitation to Tijuana means a modern facility for their performances and packed houses--two things they have learned not to take for granted on their home turf.

The Tijuana tour of duty for San Diego groups will begin this weekend when dancers from San Diego State University team up with the San Diego Dance Theatre to perform at the Casa de la Cultura tonight at 6 and 8 p.m.

“Basically, it’s the Dance Theatre’s concert,” said SDSU dance professor George Willis. “Our students will perform a new piece, ‘Vernal Equinox,’ which Gregg Lizenbery choreographed for them (during a recent residency), but the rest of the program will feature the company dancers.”

One of the highlights of this mixed bag will be a staging of “Lynchtown,” a modern classic choreographed by modern dance pioneer Charles Weidman. It was snatched from oblivion only a little while ago by Willis, an ex-Weidman dancer, who researched and revived the masterwork for a concert at SDSU.

Jazz Unlimited will make its debut at the Cultural Center on April 1 and 2 with a high-voltage jazz program featuring recent repertory works, and a company classic by director Pat Rincon.

Lynda Yourth’s American Ballet Ensemble was a pioneer in Tijuana dance, so it was natural for the season to include a pair of performances by this San Diego troupe.

“We were the first ones there,” Yourth said, “and we love the theater. They’re very culturally oriented, and we like being there.”

During its visit on April 15 and 16, the American Ballet Ensemble will feature about 40 home-grown dancers and “a very contemporary program,” including three short ballets by Mieczyslaw Morawski; a revival of Yourth’s “Interplay,” which she describes as “a really contemporary abstract ballet,” and a company premiere--Yourth’s modern version of “The Firebird.”

Morawski “is doing a piece set to the music of a modern composer,” Yourth said, “and our ‘Firebird’ has Marta Keeney-Jiacoletti doing movement that is very unclassical. And she’s wonderful .”

The California Ballet will take part in this international season on April 22 and 23. There will be several Tijuana dancers among the cast, and the four-piece repertory program will feature “Western Orpheus,” a new composition designed by the company’s director, Maxine Mahon.

“ ‘Western Orpheus’ was choreographed for the San Diego Ballet years ago,” Mahon said, “but the original choreography was lost. A local composer, David Ward-Steinman, wrote the music, which was very experimental then. But now, 25 years later, it doesn’t seem so far out, and the music had enough merit to justify doing another ballet.”

Mahon’s “Western Orpheus” will be based on the Orpheus legend but, unlike its prototype, the action will take place in the Old West.

“Instead of playing instruments from Greek mythology,” said Mahon, “this time we’ll be hearing a guitar, and the costumes will be designed in the style of the old prairie people. Orpheus’ hell will be a bordello--with all the bad guys in black cowboy shirts.”

All performances at the Tijuana Cultural Center are scheduled for an 8:30 p.m. curtain time.