DANCE REVIEW : Hubbard’s New Direction May Serve It Well : Dance: The Chicago troupe showed off its highly polished technique and versatility. The ensemble delivered the goods with a strong focus on substance.

The Chicago-based Hubbard Street Dance Company blew into town for the weekend, flaunting its highly polished technique and versatility every step of the way.

The troupe still battles an image of commercialism, despite recent additions to the repertory that project a new personality and a strong focus on substance. Perhaps that’s the reason the vivacious ensemble chose to include David Parsons’ “The Envelope”--a witty spoof about communication gone awry--for its San Diego debut at the Spreckels Theatre on Friday and Saturday night.

The delightful dance has been the signature piece of Parsons’ own dancers for years. But its tongue-in-cheek message about the frustration of crossed signals, and its clever sendup of classical dance proved even more pungent when the Hubbard Street dancers delivered the goods.

Ironically, “The Envelope” will drop out of the Hubbard Street repertory before long. Parsons wants to reserve the black comedy for his own dancers, since the two companies often perform in the same cities.

This postmodern masterwork was one of seven pieces the Hubbard troupe unveiled at the Spreckels last weekend. The pair of concerts, sponsored by the San Diego Foundation for the Performing Arts, may indeed change a few minds about the seriousness of this jazzy modern dance company. No need to convince anyone that these attractive dancers are dazzling technicians. That message has been coming through loud and clear for years.

Hubbard Street’s founding director, Lou Conte, brought three of his own works along to show off the effervescent verve that has earned Hubbard Street its “hubba-hubba” image. But most of the dances were created by guest choreographers.

The meatiest fare on the mixed bill did not show up until the concert was well under way, but those were the most exciting. “Super Straight Is Coming Down” and “Step Out of Love,” two works commissioned by Conte to enhance Hubbard Street’s “new” look, topped the list.

“Super Straight,” a deadly serious dance by ex-Pilobolus/Momix dynamo Daniel Ezralow, was strong stuff indeed. It encased a group of yuppies in plastic cocoons, then had them burst out into a surrealistic maze of twitchy maneuvers, while the eerie new-wave score screeched its accompaniment.

The enigmatic dance, executed with icy control by a company of five, seemed to suggest that the American dream was heading for a crash landing. It was a harsh and disconcerting study of alienation and angst that took the troupe light-years away from the carefree image it has earned over the years.

Likewise for Margo Sappington’s “Step Out of Love.” This hard-driving punk work put romanticism and idealized love on the back burner and portrayed the flip side of those emotions.

With the pounding rhythms of Tom Willems’ rock score and a series of jolting light flashes to energize the dancers, “Step Out” showed five love-bruised females fighting back. Their weapons were tough moves--danced with quirky virtuosity at breakneck speed.

It was machismo in reverse, and Steve Forsyth’s relentless percussive music enhanced the mood. Christian Holder’s steely gray costumes reinforced the point.

John McFall’s “Tiempo,” which entered the company’s repertory back in 1983, was only a bauble, but its sunny spirit was infectious. A kooky foursome played with Igor Stravinsky’s clarinet solo--first with the music and dance at half-speed, then with both moving at the lightning-quick tempo the composer had in mind.

The score sounded wildly comic--particularly in its slower reading--and the dancers were perfectly in tune with it. They shuddered and shook with every shifting rhythm of the music.

“Line Drive” and “Georgia” were both by Conte, although the former credits assistant director Claire Bataille (who still dances with the company) as co-choreographer.

“Line Drive” focused on the typical trademarks of jazz--the kind of upbeat show-biz style that typecast the company. The ensemble raced through its double-time movements with the well-matched precision of a drill team.

“Georgia” (1987), the last piece Conte created for his Hubbard Street gang, was more like the laid-back song that inspired it (“Georgia on My Mind”).

It began with Bataille standing center stage, bathed in a pool of misty light. After a dreamy solo section that dispersed the dancer in a series of beautiful body isolations, she was joined by Ron De Jesus, one of the most mesmerizing male dancers in this splendid troupe. The dance was full of choreographic surprises, and the pair pulled them off with plenty of aplomb.

“The ‘40s,” a quintessential Conte ensemble work, closed the curtain on the first of the Hubbard Street performances last weekend.

It borrowed big-band sounds and the jitterbug dance forms of the period. The piece was inventive in its use of the old standards, but even though the full company threw itself into the dance with a vengeance, “The ‘40s” turned out to be the least satisfying part of the program.

That brand of entertainment is an important part of Hubbard Street’s history, but the future of the company will be even brighter if it stays on its new course.