A concept shaped by sizzle

Illusion of Safety’s “Thermonuclear Holy War” is blasting on a CD player. Five women are popping and locking and whipping their heads around as if on crystal meth. And when hip-hop choreographer Tabitha D’umo, newsboy cap perched jauntily atop her long, curly hair, asks the girls to slide forward on one knee at an equally lightning-fast clip, they get down with it.

Welcome to “Stabbing the Classics,” a collaborative effort bowing tonight at Hollywood’s Open Fist Theater. Choreographer-dancer-fashion designer Ryan Heffington calls it a “high-style, high-concept, refreshing new look at dance and theater.”

Oh yes, and the show’s fashions, though promising no “wardrobe malfunctions,” will include a leather chastity belt. Designed by Derrick Martin, this one-of-a-kind accessory will be on view along with clothing by Heffington, Grey Ant and Battlefield Fashion.

Indeed, plenty of bare-chested men will be attired in Battlefield’s version of ballet tights. “I call it ballet erotique,” the bearded Heffington explains during a rehearsal at the Edge dance studio in Hollywood, where he also teaches. “For one of the numbers, the male dancers are in nude-colored, classic ballet tights with black dance belts underneath. The guys get to be sexy this time.”

Heffington should know: His clothing line, Rock ‘N’ Sissy, which he founded in 1998, offers specialty pieces that have adorned such rockers as Mick Jagger and Dave Navarro as well as pop temptress Britney Spears. For the hip-hop number in the show, he’s fashioned neo-flapper hats accentuated by feathers, sequins, faux animal prints and exposed zippers.

But it’s the body-is-quicker-than-the-eye moves that drive “Stabbing.” With 18 hoofers -- half of them men -- the sizzle factor is high for both sexes in the hourlong work, being presented by Heffington’s Co-LAB Dance Theater. The key element here is “co,” as Heffington is directing and choreographing the show along with a handful of dance makers.

Apart from D’umo (who works with her husband, Napoleon D’umo), Kitty McNamee of the modern troupe Hysterica Dance Theater is tweaking a couple of scenes, choreographer Cindra Che is helping with characterizations, Gustavo Vargas is contributing “punk rock” salsa gyrations, and Karim Cheikh Ali has choreographed a debke, a Lebanese folk dance that looks anything but traditional.

Heffington, 30, a founding member of Hysterica, who was nominated for a Lester Horton award for best male performance in McNamee’s 2001 work “Sticks and Stones,” is a formidable stage presence. Yet he’s sitting this piece out, preferring, he says, to see it strictly through a choreographer-director’s eye.

To that end, he created a libretto, his version of a dark modern fairy tale, in which two main characters (Hysterica dancer Lisa K. Lock and jazz dancer Ramon del Barrio) time-travel into the past.

“The element of time,” he says, “is turned on its side.”

If that sounds like typical sci-fi fare, Heffington insists it’s not. Here, tribal-like moves meet up with the decadent milieu of the 1920s and the uptight ‘50s, as Lock’s character strikes out on her own after husband Del Barrio splits to seek his fame and fortune in Hollywood.

It’s a town that Heffington, a Northern Californian who relocated to L.A. in 1991, embraces. “I’ve been doing research on old Hollywood films,” he says, “walking on this ground and noticing where old studios were built. It happened where I’m living right now. I feel connected to this area.”

The soundtrack for “Stabbing” ranges from what he calls electro-tribal-techno to vintage Cher. The dancers’ credits include tours with Jane’s Addiction, Pink and Paul McCartney, plus work in commercials, television and films.

Says Tara Nicole Hughes, who danced in last year’s Oscar-winner “Chicago” and has toured with Cher: “This is pure passion. I’m probably here five hours a day, because I want to be here. As a commercial dancer, I could be one of 24 Busby Berkeley girls fulfilling someone else’s vision. Here, dance is the integral part of storytelling, and Ryan has such a new vision -- it’s progressive and innovative.”

The D’umos have gigged with rap and pop artists such as Missy Elliott, Destiny’s Child and Toni Braxton. But they also feel at home in Heffington’s world.

Says Tabitha: “I do more of the physical stuff, and Napoleon has a good eye for staging. We’ve been wanting to work together on a piece with Ryan, and this has been great. I like to call it theatrical hip-hop, because we really put on a show.”

Now Heffington intends to premiere such an extravaganza quarterly.

“The energy here is incredible,” he says. “This is not a recital. I want the audiences to go away feeling inspired -- like they’ve seen something they’ve never seen before.”

*

‘Stabbing the Classics’

Where: Open Fist Theater,

1625 N. La Brea Ave., Hollywood

When: Today-Saturday and

Feb. 26-28, 8 p.m.

Price: $20

Info: (310) 305-9634