A new generation of dancers, guided by some seasoned pros

This year’s SOLA Contemporary Dance Festival will put an even heavier emphasis on all things modern than in years past, according to Torrance-based choreographer and SOLA creator Regina Klenjoski. Among offerings to the cult of newness, the one-day event will feature fresh work, edgy choreography and its very own youth movement.

“The festival always has a community component,” Klenjoski explains. “This year, we commissioned three new dance works by three local choreographers. Then, we paired the professionals with students from South Bay high schools.”

Um, did she say “students”?

For most people, the word conjures up images of pint-sized ballerinas in pink tutus or out-of-synch tap dancers tripping through “New York, New York.” But, Klenjoski promises, these visions bear no resemblance to the “pre-professionals” (as she calls them) who will take the stage at SOLA.

Hailing from intensive performing arts programs at Palos Verdes High School, West High School and Orange County High School of the Arts (think the late ‘80s TV series “Fame”), these students are on the fast track to becoming pros. Klenjoski even wagers, “These dancers will be populating the [professional dance] companies in about five years.”

For the festival, SOLA paired each school with one of the participating choreographers: L.A. Contemporary Dance Company’s artistic director Kate Hutter, Bhumn Dance choreographer Cheryl Copeland and Esther Baker-Tarpaga of the Baker and Tarpaga Dance Project. The choreographers then had two months to whip the students into stage-worthy shape.

“As a choreographer going into the process, I wanted the students to have an experience that both underlined their potential and made them rise to the occasion,” says Hutter. “I really wanted to push the students . . . and not to dilute the work in any way.”

Now in its seventh year, the SOLA Festival typically explores unchartered waters -- like last year’s public previews staged by participating troupes at local hot spots like the Central Library and the Santa Monica Pier. This year marks the first time students will get in on the action.

As Klenjoski puts it: “Everything is an experiment.”

-- Lea.Lion@latimes.com

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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

2007 SOLA CONTEMPORARY

DANCE FESTIVAL

WHERE: James Armstrong Theatre, Torrance Cultural Arts Center, 3330 Civic Center Drive,

Torrance

WHEN: 8 p.m. Sat.

PRICE: $16-18.

INFO: (310) 781-7171; www. rkdc.org