It was in an Iowa City bar in 1973 that Bill Evans first heard a bluegrass band play the ballad "Hard Times," which was part of the inspiration for his modern dance of the same name. It's a piece that today's audiences, burdened by their own economic woes, may well relate to.

"Hard Times" - a wrenching, but humorous piece about the Great Depression performed by Don Halquist, Jenny Showalter, and Rochester contemporary dance artist Anne Harris Wilcox - will be presented as part of the Bill Evans Dance Company's single performance this Sunday at Hochstein School of Music and Dance. This performance will, hopefully, be just the first for Evans' re-established company, one that performed to steady accolades for 30 years, both here and abroad.

As both a dancer and a choreographer, Evans is especially known for his fusion of classical modern with rhythm tap. It's a unique style that he thinks Rochester audiences will be able to appreciate.

"I'm very optimistic about the dance scene in Rochester right now," he says. "We have serious and capable dancers doing quality work, and the various groups are working to support each other and share dancers and venues."

Evans put his company on hiatus when he became a visiting professor/guest artist in the Department of Dance at SUNY Brockport in 2004. But during the 1970's, it was one of the top two most-booked companies in the country under the Dance Touring Program of the National Endowment for the Arts. Evans has also been awarded prestigious National Endowment of the Arts grants numerous times.

"After 30 years of running a company, it was nice to have a break," he says. "But then I started missing the opportunity to work with seasoned professionals on a regular basis."

Evans continues to teach at Brockport, where some of his initial students are completing their courses of study and choosing to join their mentor in this performance. Three MFA graduates - Heather Roffe, Courtney World and Jenny Showalter - along with Don Halquist, assistant director of the Evans Company, are at the crux of this production. Evans described the event as a modern dance concert featuring many of the major dance pieces that have helped to establish his work over time.

The pieces to be performed include "Three Preludes for Lila," 2007, a fusion of rhythm tap and modern dance dedicated to the choreographer's 96-year-old mother and danced by Bill Evans to music by George Gershwin; "Colony," 2001, inspired by Evans' collaboration with the Kahurangi Dance Trust in New Zealand; "Kilter," 2008, a contemporary dance solo exploring spirals and spatial pulls choreographed for Showalter by Halquist; "Alternating Current," 1982, a duet for Halquist and Roffe; "Rhythm Tap Suite," Evans' humorous 1987 signature piece danced by himself; and the aforementioned "Hard Times."

Evans attributes part of the group's choreographic style to geography. For most of the company's existence it was based in the western United States, with residencies in Seattle, Salt Lake City, and Albuquerque.

"Being out west gives you a different set of space, an expansiveness that comes from living in wide open spaces," Evans says.

He thinks, too, that the humor readily apparent in much of his work and the informality of his choreography will differentiate his company from others in the area.

"People who see my work call me a humanist," Evans says. "I encourage artists to reveal their individuality. I want them to be kinesthetically generous and share what they're experiencing with the audience."

The inclusion of "Hard Times" in the production was, coincidentally, planned months before the nation's current economic straits.

"I didn't realize how relevant the Depression piece would be now," Evans says. "But I don't think that audiences will diminish because of today's economy. During difficult times, audiences seem to appreciate more than ever what the arts can bring us. People reevaluate what's important to them."

If the concert is a success, Evans hopes to produce at least two shows annually, a contemporary dance concert in the fall and a rhythm tap/live jazz performance in the spring.

Bill Evans Dance Company

Hochstein School of Music and Dance, 50 N Plymouth Ave

Sunday, November 30

3:30 p.m. | $10-$20 | 964-9196, billevansdance@hotmail.com