Time was, if you wanted cool and hip, modern dance was your thing. Ballet, in contrast, seemed home to the staid, stodgy and stiff.

Part of that's the way of the aesthetic world--the young and adventurous love experimentation over tradition--and part of it is simply size. Ballet typically involves large, lavish productions in big, establishment concert halls, hardly a natural for the atelier walk-ups and improvised theaters of the avant-garde realm.

But all that has been changing in recent decades, with ballet a darling of the postmodern set and increasingly a mode easily applied to small casts.

Though Chicago's scene of small dance companies is mostly modern, there's also the Elements Contemporary Ballet, a troupe devoted to exploring classic technique with a modest-size ensemble and an eclectic mix of young choreographers.

"When I went to my first lesson, coming from the world of gymnastics, I absolutely fell in love with ballet, with the most classical ballet, in fact," says Mike Gosney, the troupe's 32-year-old artistic director. "The direction ballet now is taking is utterly fascinating."

Launched two years ago, the company of 11 dancers and two apprentices will perform a concert of eight works by various choreographers. The others are fellow company members Audrey Leung, Amy Roby and Joseph Caruana, along with Sean Hilton, who dances with River North Chicago Dance Company.

Composers range from Bach to Danny Elfman and Arvo Part. Costuming includes basic leotards, webbing-like attire made from pantyhose and even street clothes. The idea is to inject ballet into an edgier world.

"Some of the choreography is more contemporary, more experimental than I myself might choose," says Gosney. "But we're up for feedback."

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