A watery gray sun shines through the windows one Saturday afternoon in early April at the Robinson Ballet studio on Union Street in downtown Bangor. The dancers assembled are dressed in black and white, and several of them creep suggestively across the floor, as the sound of a mournful Hungarian violin plays in the background.

Two dancers standing off to the side exchange glances and break into grins just before they bound off into the center of the room. The tempo of the music changes from slow and evocative to fast and frenetic, but the dancers move fluidly against the jagged electronic beats.

The music is by Aaron Funk, aka Canadian electronic musician Venetian Snares, and the ballet is called “Born Under a Bad Star,” choreographed by Robinson Ballet co-artistic director Keith Robinson. It will premiere, along with three other original dances, one reworked dance, and three pieces by world-famous choreographer Aszure Barton, at the Robinson Ballet Company’s dance showcases, set for 7 p.m. April 17 and 18 at the Bangor Opera House. Additional performances are scheduled for 7 p.m. April 26 and 2 p.m. April 27 at The Grand in Ellsworth.

“Born Under a Bad Star” was inspired by the music, which was on Robinson’s son Ian’s iPod, and by an impromptu short film Ian and some of his friends made this winter.

“Ian and some friends took a movie camera and danced in the streets of Bangor, in the snow and on roofs and in all kinds of different places,” said Keith Robinson. “I loved the movie he made, so I turned it into a ballet.”

At the Bangor shows, the younger Robinson will perform three dances by Barton, a renowned figure in modern dance. Ian Robinson, a 2006 graduate of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, has worked with Barton for about two years. Most recently, he collaborated with her during her residency at the Baryshnikov Arts Center in New York City, and has traveled with her all over Europe, Africa and South America. He’ll accompany Barton to Sydney, Australia, this spring. Not bad for a local boy.

“Aszure is fantastic to work with, because she brings out the individual in everyone,” said Robinson. “She lets each dancer explore their own thing. She narrows it down to a street, and then you go your own way down it.”

The three dances he’ll perform are short, and were choreographed by Barton between 2002 and 2005. Barton is allowing Robinson to perform them free of charge, as a gift, so Bangor audiences will get a rare glimpse of the cutting edge of the modern dance world.

“They’re all completely different, and yet I think they work together in a strange way,” said Robinson. “They could all be the same character. And it’s an interesting mix of music, from Hungarian music to Vivaldi to Serge Gainsbourg.”

Those stylistic extremes run through the whole of the program, from the charming, humorous “Tennis, Anyone?” choreographed originally by Keith Robinson and reconstructed by RBC co-director Maureen Robinson, to “Something in Everything,” an energetic piece choreographed by University of Maine student Phaelon O’Donnell.

“Laren’s Waltz,” an elegant piece for five couples, was choreographed by Terry Lacy, and is the most traditional of the program – it’s a true waltz, with the men in tuxes and the women in courtly white dresses.

“Pretty girls, with pretty costumes. We like to diversify,” said Keith Robinson. “If we have the same choreographers for every event, you tend to space out. This keeps it lively and different.”

Stevie Dunham, in her first season with the Ballet, choreographed “Rigidly Yielding,” a hypnotic exploration of the laws of physics. Set against a churning, moody background of cellos and electronic beats, Dunham utilizes different levels, momentum and rhythm, and even has her dancers slapping the floor in time with the music. It’s highly effective in creating distinctive imagery, which is exactly what Dunham was going for – one specific image in particular.

“It’s about cars and telephones poles. That was my inspiration,” said Dunham. “I was driving in my car one day and thought about the idea of one solid, still force and one fast, large force.”

Whether they’re cars, telephone poles, tennis players or Bavarian ballroom dancers, each dancer in the program gets to explore many different styles of dance, and many different characters. The effect is dramatic – which is exactly what Keith Robinson wants.

“I like to see drama. I like to pull drama out of people,” said Robinson. “I like to make them be pigeons, if I want to see pigeons.”

The Robinson Ballet Company’s performances are set for 7 p.m. April 18 and 19 at the Bangor Opera House, and 7 p.m. April 26 and 2 p.m. April 27 at The Grand in Ellsworth. Tickets are $14 for adults, $10 for seniors and $8 for those 18 and under. For more information, call 989-7226, or visit www.robinsonballet.org.

eburnham@bangordailynews.net

990-8270