Moiseyev Troupe Is Alive and Kicking in 10th American Visit

Choreographer Igor Moiseyev has never been a folkloric purist, but as one Russian dance company after another trashes its heritage on tour in America, this 93-year-old founder of the Moiseyev Dance Company remains an upholder of high artistic standards and, thus, the guardian of an endangered national legacy. Even dancing to tape on the small stage of the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts, his company proved that the pride, warmth and excellence of Russian dance is no nostalgic Cold War fantasy. It still lives, and flourishes, in the form Moiseyev created more than 60 years ago: balleticized folk dance.

Indeed, in his “Jewish Suite,” Moiseyev preserves the techniques of Russian character dance and pantomime that used to enrich his nation’s ballet repertory but were minimized to near-extinction during the Soviet era. Here, elaborate expressive gesture and rhythmic walking define the personalities and interaction of the marriage celebration on view long before any actual dancing takes place. You can find the result stereotyped and dismiss it as merely Igor-on-the-Roof, but don’t take for granted the performing skills involved--or the bravery in presenting it at a time when Russian anti-Semitism is reportedly on the rise.

The sole novelties on the Sunday program came from Egypt and Sicily: the former a septet for discreetly undulating women in glittering gowns, the latter a showpiece loosely based on the tarantella involving 14 tambourine-whacking couples, several sets of whirling soloists and one capering, beribboned horse.

Of course, this 10th American visit included the Ukrainian Hopak, with its classic Moiseyev image of a man leaping over two dozen women; the no-less-celebrated “Partisans,” with its gliding, cloaked corps of freedom fighters; plus the inevitable Americana encore. Starting with the courtly Alexander Belov and Leonila Buldakova in the opening “Summer” duet, the current soloists display an exemplary lightness and elegance, never growing desperate to please, even in the evening’s frequent exhibitions of state-of-the-art squat kicks.

The only danger is cuteness--always a Moiseyev tendency in such diversions as “Yurochka,” in which indecisive womanizer Denis Baranov woos six finger-in-the-cheek village maids. During the Communist era, “Old City Quadrille” satirized the uncomprehending middle class; now it, too, sags from nostalgic cuteness, and even “Partisans” is losing its rigor as its sugar content rises. It’s a matter of aptness: Cute Belorussian village flirts, da; cute gun-toting freedom fighters, nyet.

* Moiseyev Dance Company appears Wednesday at 8 p.m. in the Fred Kavli Theatre, Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza, 2100 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd. $25-$45. (805) 449-ARTS.