East, West meet for a night of dancing

“New digital artists, live musicians and electronica” were promised by Dis/Orient at the Skirball Cultural Center on Thursday. But the program, a significant entry in the center’s “Zeitgeist” festival, didn’t quite live up to its grandiose description.

Once past the labeling, the music had its intriguing qualities. Pianist-singer Maurice El Medioni, a veteran of the Algerian and Parisian music scenes, offered a mixed bag of musical styles, often within the same tune. Accompanied by Frank Biddulph and percussionist Jamie Papish (from the English group El-Andalus), El Medioni sang and played a group of rhythmic tunes, often shifting gears spontaneously from one piece to another. Many numbers employed a kind of rumba rhythm to support the winding, Sephardic-like melodies running through El Medioni’s piano improvisations.

It took English band Oi-Va-Voi to kick the evening up to a considerably more dynamic level. The six-piece ensemble is on a mission to combine Western pop with Eastern European and Jewish traditional music into contemporary dance music.

Starting modestly, they gradually increased the intensity. By the time they were 15 minutes into their set, the group -- with violinist Sophie Solomon and vocalist Lemez Lovas leading the way -- had transformed the Skirball’s outdoor performance venue into a do-your-own-thing dance party.

The final two elements of Dis/Orient provided contrasting degrees of support. DJ Max Reinhardt’s occasional globs of sound and between-group selections ranged from distracting to annoying. But Mia Serra’s artful Middle Eastern dance movements added an elegant traditional element to the evening’s contemporary concoction.