Mikhail Baryshnikov Makes Local Dance Debut : Entertainment: The ballet legend appeared in modern mode with his White Oak Dance Project in a sold-out show at the Performing Arts Center.

Legendary dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov took the stage in Orange County for the first time Thursday, but not in the role of a ballet prince.

The former Kirov Ballet principal dancer and ex-artistic director of American Ballet Theatre made his local debut as a modern dancer as a member of the White Oak Dance Project, a collaborative venture he formed in 1990 with choreographer Mark Morris.

The opening performance--in part a benefit for the American Foundation for AIDS Research and the AIDS Services Foundation of Orange County--took place at the Orange County Performing Arts Center in Costa Mesa. Among the audience for the sold-out performance was pop superstar Michael Jackson.

The engagement continues through Saturday.

“Thank you very much for your warm reception,” Baryshnikov said to about 600 people at a benefit party at the Center Club after the performance. “We had a really lovely time out there for a few hours, and we felt your response.”

Baryshnikov, 45, danced two solos--Morris’ “Three Preludes” (to music by Gershwin) and Twyla Tharp’s “Pergolesi,” a reworking of a duet danced by Tharp and Baryshnikov in February at the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts. He also danced in Morris’ “Mosaic and United” (music by Henry Cowell), with other members of the troupe.

The program also included Kevin O’Day’s “White Man Sleeps” (Kevin Volans) and Hanya Holm’s “Jacose” (Ravel), which were danced by other members of the White Oak troupe.

The company includes Rob Besserer, Nancy Colahan, John Gardner, Kate Johnson, Marianne Moore and O’Day. Music was provided by the White Oak Chamber Ensemble, led by pianist Michael Boriskin.

Baryshnikov made dance history when he defected from the Soviet Union in 1974 while on tour with a group of Soviet dancers in Canada. He subsequently electrified the dance world with appearances in classical ballets with various companies, including New York-based American Ballet Theatre, where he danced with luminaries such as Natalia Makarova--another Kirov defector--and Gelsey Kirkland.

He left ABT in 1978 to join New York City Ballet but returned to ABT as artistic director in 1980. He resigned that position abruptly in 1989.

Orange County audiences saw his staging of “The Nutcracker” in 1986 and the world premiere of his staging of “Swan Lake” in 1988, as part of ABT’s regular stints at the Center. But Baryshnikov had never danced here until Thursday.

Baryshnikov and Morris formed the White Oak Dance Project to provide an outlet for new dance ventures. They named the company after the White Oak Plantation, a private wildlife refuge of about 7,500 acres in Florida owned by one of their friends.