DANCE REVIEW : Kalinin Russian Gypsy Troupe Displays Style

The Russian Dance choreographed by Alexander Kalinin usually draws the loudest cheers whenever the Los Angeles Classical Ballet presents “The Nutcracker.” So a program by the Kalinin Russian Gypsy Dance Theatre promised an evening of equally kinetic, high-flying excitement.

Joined by former colleagues of the Moiseyev and Beriyozka dance companies and brother Slava from Moscow, Kalinin presented a highly polished, slickly packaged, finely danced, thoroughly choreographed and modestly budgeted variety program modeled on familiar Moiseyev formulas Saturday in Gindi Auditorium at the University of Judaism in West Los Angeles.

Nothing went deep, surfaces remained unruffled, pacing was swift, emphasis was on pure entertainment and theatrical values. A Mowers Dance, typically here too brief, for instance, led to a fantasy sequence involving three pretty water sprites. Kalinin didn’t seem to know or worry about how to end the piece, however, so he just segued into the well-known Eskimo wrestling-couple dance, which turns out to be a single person.

Still, the soloist, as with all the 12 other company members listed in a final roster but not identified in individual pieces, showed superb control and training, and elsewhere demonstrated elegance of line, extension and placement.

Moreover, the “Nutcracker” Trepak, recapitulated in abbreviated form here, retained its vitality, as did a sequence of Cossack dances and the whip-cracking finale of the otherwise dramatically contrived Gypsy Fantasy.

In breaks from the dancing, Marina Abramova sang Russian and Gypsy songs with throaty finesse. She was accompanied by guitarist Alexander Greshenko and button accordionist Nikolai Tarasov.

* The Kalinin Russian Gypsy Dance Theatre will repeat its program Saturday at 8:30 p.m. at Gindi Auditorium, University of Judaism, 15600 Mulholland Drive. $18-$23. (310) 476-9777.