Hardly the capital of the cutting edge, Orange County nonetheless harbors passionate proponents of contemporary dance. Exhibit one: Molly Lynch, who showcased new choreography during her years leading Ballet Pacifica, where she built an audience that trusted her taste in dancemakers and dancers. That audience followed Lynch when she left Ballet Pacifica and established the National Choreographers Initiative. Now in its seventh year, NCI has again recruited four choreographers, who range from the known and established — Anne Marie deAngelo and San Francisco's Victor Kabaniaev, with the less familiar; Europe's Helen Heineman and Canada's Peter Quanz, who are given three weeks to explore new movement with 16 dancers. With professional ballet dancers on hiatus during the summer, NCI consistently attracts a high caliber of dancers from major U.S. ballet companies. With Lynch as moderator, the postperformance Q&A offers insights into the choreographers' process. Catch a preview of the choreographers and dancers preparing atthebarclay.org.

Sat., July 31, 8 p.m., 2010

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