Some spring in the strings

It’s a good thing none of the seven violinists in the international touring show “Barrage” is using a Stradivarius. So fast and furious is their playing that they go through up to “30 good-quality student instruments” in a year, says co-creator Anthony Moore. In addition, each violinist uses up to four sets of strings per month and countless bows.

“We don’t destroy the instruments like Jimi Hendrix,” Moore adds, “but once you see the acrobatic choreography, you’ll understand.”

A high-octane fiddle-fest that’s been described as “Stomp” meets “Riverdance,” “Barrage” showcases the violin’s versatility as well as the performers who crank out tunes while high-kicking, singing and even gamboling with exercise balls. It certainly smashes the image of the violin as a stodgy instrument.

What began in Calgary in the 1980s as an outlet for classical violin teachers and their students has grown into a well-oiled, multimillion-dollar production that opens in Pasadena on Friday and moves to Long Beach, Big Bear, Glendora and Thousand Oaks over the next month. Last seen in L.A. in 2001, the show has a new incarnation, “Vagabond Tales,” which tells the story of a Gypsy band trying to choose a leader.

For Moore, one of those erstwhile violin teachers who co-created the show, it’s been an up-and-down ride, one currently on a 40-week, 17-country tour.

“Because classical music can get kind of monotonous, we were using fiddle music as a teaching aid,” Moore, 35, says of the show’s origins. “After a while we performed as a group in places like nursing homes and fairs. The seed grew, and in 1996 we decided to go professional, with young, hip violinists playing dynamic arrangements in a very physical style.”

At that point Moore gave up his fiddle-sawing duties for behind-the-scenes work, and by 2000, a PBS broadcast helped brand the show as a contender in fusion entertainment (a new PBS show will air in March).

Today “Barrage” has an international cast of 11 musicians, including seven violinists ages 18 to 26; it still features Dean Marshall’s original music plus arrangements of songs that run the gamut from “Birdland” to the Beatles’ “Eleanor Rigby.” Bluegrass, klezmer and Celtic styles also provide genre-straddling fare, and there are monster percussion solos by Bob Fenske.

Violinist Seonaid Aitken, 27, has been with “Barrage” for four years, having joined the company after graduating from London’s Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Born in Scotland, Aitken also does some fierce vocal scatting in the show.

“To sing, dance and play the violin touring the world has been a dream of mine,” she says. “Sure, I had to adopt a different technique to be able to move around and make a good sound on the violin, but this is an energetic show where we do things with the violin that not a lot of people have seen before.”

Like swing dancing while playing Louis Prima’s “Sing, Sing, Sing,” and fencing with violin bows.

Moore says the choreography has gone from being “very jittery and basic traffic-coppish stuff” to incorporating a kind of modern dance that doesn’t jeopardize the players’ musical abilities. Choreographer Brian Hansen, who also directs the show, says it took several months for the fiddlers to move like dancers.

“The styles of dance are loose, and I train them to do very pedestrian movements,” Hansen says, “but their unison work is good and we keep evolving.”

As Moore develops new territories with “Barrage,” he says he wouldn’t rule out the possibility of mounting a permanent show in Las Vegas.

“We’ve been approached by casinos before,” he says, “but we view our show as a family experience. We don’t want to make an adult show.”

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‘Barrage’

Where: Pasadena Civic Auditorium, 300 E. Green St., Pasadena

When: 8 p.m. Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, 2 and 7 p.m. Sunday

Price: $20 to $45.50

Contact: (213) 365-3500

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Also

Where: Long Beach Performing Arts Center, Terrace Theatre, 300 E. Ocean Blvd., Long Beach

When: 8 p.m. Feb. 18, 2 and 8 p.m. Feb. 19, 2 and 7 p.m. Feb. 20

Price: $15 to $45.50

Contact: (213) 365-3500