DANCE / EILEEN SONDAK : Batsheva Troupe Dances to Different Yule Drummer

‘Tis the season of “The Nutcracker.” But don’t look for traditional yuletide trappings on every San Diego dance stage this month. The Israel-based Batsheva Dance Company has packaged a potpourri of modern dance works for its San Diego debut at 8 p.m. Monday and Tuesday. And there won’t be a sugar plum in sight when the 18-member troupe performs at Symphony Hall.

The Batsheva dancers made their first American tour in 1986, and garnered rave reviews from the critics, including Chris Pasles of the Los Angeles Times, who praised their “exemplary theatrical power . . . and brilliant formal technique.”

Nevertheless, international audiences still seem surprised that strife-filled Israel has hatched a world-class dance troupe, as rehearsal director Shelley Sheer acknowledged in an interview from the road.

“People don’t realize we have a long dance tradition--back to folk dancing,” she said. “It’s because of the fact that we have so many problems . . . that we need all this culture in Israel. There are several fine dance companies, as well as music and other art forms. We’re very culture-oriented.”

The Batsheva Dance Company was founded in 1962 by the leading apostle of modern dance, Martha Graham. And, as Sheer noted, “we were the only other company in the world that was allowed to dance her pieces.”

The company’s repertory combines works by leading contemporary choreographers--such as postmodern wunderkind Mark Morris and former Pilobolus dancer Daniel Ezralow--and up-and-coming dance designers.

“We’re doing a piece by Doug Varone, a Bach cantata. He’s a young American choreographer we found by chance. We like to use established choreographers and to discover new ones. Sometimes it’s very successful, but sometimes it isn’t.”

Included in the company’s diverse San Diego program, is Morris’ witty sendup of contemporary dance titled “Canonic 3/4 Studies,” a lightning-quick, flamenco-style dance designed by Robert North, and two works by Ezralow.

Visiting dance troupes seldom save any world premieres for San Diego audiences, but that is just what the Batsheva company did with Ezralow’s latest work. “Eight Heads,” set to a score by Philip Glass, will bow in as the finale for Monday night’s performance. To what do we owe this honor?

“We got support from the San Diego Jewish Community Centers for this one, so it will premiere in San Diego. The piece is 28 minutes long, and it’s divided into several sections,” Sheer said. “It’s very athletic, and it uses props, but it’s not based on gimmicks” as so many Pilobolus pieces are.

“SVSPLKT,” designed by Ezralow in 1985, is worlds apart from his newest work. The subject of this dance drama is society’s fall from innocence and its attempt to regain it, and Ezralow uses an unlikely mix of Indonesian music and songs by Tom Waits to evoke the aural ambiance.

The Batsheva Dance Company’s mixed bag of modern dance styles is atypical in this age of specialization, but Sheer shuns labeling the repertory.

“We just call it dance ,” she said. “We don’t like to classify it.”

See for yourself. But you’ll have to come to both performances to sample all seven pieces. Batsheva Dance Company is preparing two completely different programs for its two-day San Diego stay.

Frank Wayne is the uncrowned king of the dinner theater circuit, with years of behind-the-scenes service to the Lawrence Welk and the now-defunct Fiesta. But Wayne is also an accomplished stage actor who made his debut in the national company of Neil Simon’s “Come Blow Your Horn” back in the 1960s.

This month, Welk’s artistic director takes to the stage again in Simon’s “I Ought to Be in Pictures.” Wayne directed the production as well.

“I’ve acted in and directed over 50 Simon shows, but I’ve never acted in this one before,” he said after a recent performance. “I did direct three productions of it before though, and Simon is what I do best.”

The show alternates with “She Loves Me” at the Escondido-based theater through Christmas Eve. By the way, Zoe DuFour, the leading lady in “She Loves Me,” is Mrs. Frank Wayne in real life.

Remember Marius Zirra? He took off for points north years ago, but the European-trained dance teacher left an indelible mark on the San Diego dance community. He was founding director of Stage Seven Dance Theater, developing it into a troupe to be reckoned with during his tenure at the helm.

Zirra also served as ballet master for the California Ballet, and enriched its repertory by staging classics such as “Giselle” and “Miraculous Mandarin,” along with his own dance designs.

Next summer, Zirra will return to San Diego to teach workshop sessions for serious dance students at the Dancer’s Workshop of San Diego. Why is director Wendy Ellen Cochran bringing Zirra back?

“Ever since Marius left, my dancing hasn’t been the same,” she said. “We’ve been wanting to offer ballet classes for a while, but we wouldn’t do it without a top-notch instructor. We want to build up a strong ballet program.

“I tracked Marius down in Boise, Idaho, and I’m so happy he was willing to come. All his old favorites from Stage Seven can’t wait to study with him again, and we expect to add an extra class while he’s here.”