Ukrainian Heritage, in Music and Movement

The pleasures of theatricalized folk dance are perhaps at their strongest when you can have your heartstrings plucked with plaintive songs about a homeland one moment and your pulse quickened with bouncy unison prancing in red boots the next.

Veriovka Ukrainian National Dance Company had all the right contrasts and a liberal amount of well-modulated charm as it returned to the Southland 3 1/2 years after its well-received first visit. On Tuesday night at Pepperdine University’s Smothers Theater in Malibu, the troupe of dancers, singers and musicians presented a focused, two-hour program that could teach local folkloric companies a thing or two about energy and pacing.

The formula was familiar--festive-flavored suites dominated by dance, alternating smoothly with songs and orchestral selections--but the feeling of Veriovka was fresh. Under the direction of Anatoly Avdyevsky, with choreography mainly from Olexiy Homon, it’s a company of polished performers who are perfect in their ballet-influenced dancing and harmonious singing, but not too picture-perfect. They also manage to re main individuals, who all seem to be thinking something interesting.

The singers, who, unlike the young dancers, are of all ages, told stories with their bodies as well as their voices. They swayed, smiled and seemed to dream idiosyncratically, caressing melodies with knitted brows or tilting heads, raising a hand to follow a thought. In quiet moments, both the women’s and men’s choruses, standing at the front of the stage, were particularly effective, sending out ribbons of sound forcefully, then letting their voices fade into thin air.

For the male dancers, there was the full-color epic mood of “Zaporozhian Cossacks,” based on the “Taras Bulba” story. They swaggered, they fought, they did soaring split leaps, two-footed hopping turns and the kicks from a squatting position that must keep knee surgeons in business.

In other numbers, whenever the testosterone level leaned toward overkill, the women would arrive to calm the waters with a garland dance or by taking tiptoe steps so tiny, the men had to stop their proud stamping to watch them float.

Yin, yang; point, counterpoint. Veriovka has its version down pat and projects it with all the glory of ethnic strength and specificity.

* Veriovka Ukrainian National Dance Company will also be at the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts, 12700 Center Court Drive, Cerritos, today and Saturday, 8 p.m. $35-$50. (800) 300-4345.