Laughter and smiles is the aim of the Snappy Dance Theater. Founder and artistic director Martha Mason said that is what usually happens after people have seen her contemporary dance company?s performances.

The group will perform at the Ruth Seaton James Centre for the Performing Arts on Saturday night, beginning at 7 p.m.

Formed about a decade ago, the company has performed in Japan, Russia, France and now adds Bermuda to its list.

Around the United States, they have toured in Alabama, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee and Washington DC.

Mrs. Mason toldshe chose the company?s upbeat name for a few reasons.

?Snappy is a term from the 50s, which means intelligent wit, energetic or someone can make a snappy remark,? she said.

?And those are all things that embody what we do.?

Mrs. Mason said the company is unique in its structure.

?This is something that makes our Company very different from other companies ? it is collaborative,? Mrs. Mason said. ?Although I am the artistic director and I make all the final decisions about what goes on stage ? everybody brings in their different backgrounds.

?Some people have had much less dance and more theatre, while others have gymnastics, cheerleading, acrobatics or puppetry. We bring all of those talents into the studio and improvise together and we will improvise on this or that theme.

?Then things that stick out, we teach each other and that is how we work. It is a slower process, because the music comes later. But we want the dance to speak for itself and we usually begin in silence or just background music to give us energy, but the music comes when we are about 70 percent through.?

While in Bermuda the company has been working with children in summer day camps and has also taught a two-hour master class at Sophia Cannonier?s Pilates Studio.

?We have a special outreach programme that is focused on children and it is to expose them to the kind of dance that we do and at least in the United States, when children think of dance they think of ballet and hip hop, but they don?t think that there is something else,? Mrs. Mason said.

?But what we do is show them that the kind of style that we do and it can be funny, it doesn?t have to be sexy and it doesn?t have to be stuck up.?

She added: ?We really like to show people a different way of seeing things and we always hear people coming away saying, ?that was cool!? Especially the boys who think that dance was (mainly) for girls and they come away thinking that maybe they want to do that.?

Saturday?s performance will be enjoyable even for those who have never attended a dancer performance before, she said.

?It is a good first time try, but it is also good for dance aficionados who want to see something that is moving and spectacular, because we have all of that,? she said.

?One of the comments that we hear most of all is, ?my husband hates modern dance, but he loves you guys.??

?There is a kind of negative clich? about modern dance in it being self-indulgent, psychological, beating your head on the floor and we don?t do any of that. We are aware that there is an audience and we try to entertain them.

?But (in saying that) our work isn?t superficial either ? there is always a poetry in it.?

When they leave Bermuda, the dancers will take a short break before heading to the Jacob?s Pillow Dance Festival and then in September they will be performing in California.

Their new show will combine newest technology with a few new moves tossed into the mix.

?We are creating a new work, which will be fun to bring back next year,? Mrs. Mason said.?It is a very ambitious work involving live musicians and new movie ads. We want to do something about puppetry and social manipulation because, well for me, I feel that Americans feel very manipulated right now.?

?It is not going to be a political piece, but (explore) the dark and humorous part of social manipulation.?

Tickets are available at Community Affairs on Church Street, the Music Box or delivered directly to you for $20 adults and $10 for children.

For more information on the company visit www.snappydance.com