There's going to be a dance at Saint Mary's this weekend. In fact, it's a weekend-long dance, and it starts tonight. There will be a handful of women, one man and a bunch of spectators watching this dance. But, surprise, surprise, it's not an SYR. Instead, it's the "20th Century Dance Retrospective," and far from the SYR mentality, the show plans to give guests a look at the evolution of dance.

"It is taking a look at dance through the 20th century," said the show's director Laura Lowry. "We tried to give an overview of what dance has done, what paths it has taken and how it's changed."

And though the "Dance Retrospective" is not a typical show one may see at O'Laughlin Auditorium or at the Little Theater of Moreau Center or even at Washington Hall, it comes during a season in which every little theater group is performing the typical Broadway-esque production. There's Shakespeare, and there's "Grease" and there's more Shakespeare.

But this, readers, this "Dance Retrospective" is not theater. It's Vegas. It's dancers, on a stage, dancing. And there is variety throughout the show, which makes it much easier to handle with a short attention span.

"The pieces are more like a kaleidoscope of different things," said Lowry. But the show isn't bogged down by an overarching theme or message. For that reason, the "Dance Retrospective" can differentiate itself from other spring productions.

"There are some pieces that have social messages — Trepidation Toward Liberty has a social message against violence — but are we trying to create one big message through the whole show? I would say it's kind of reflecting on where we've been as a country, and how we express ourselves through dance," added Lowry.

But Lowry recognizes that such a production — a "Dance Retrospective" — is not for everyone.

"There is a dance audience that is interested in dance, and has a tendency to come all the time," she said. But still, she said people who aren't particularly fanatics when it comes to dance should expect "to get a taste of many different things in one show."

These things, indeed, are many. There will be a few excerpts from "Romeo and Juliet," a longer ballet piece, a series called American Dances, which shows the progression of social dance throughout the century, the aforementioned Trepidation Toward Liberty, a combination modern dance-sculpture piece using handheld metallic boxes and, perhaps most anticipated, Helen Tamiris's "Negro Spirituals."

And behind this diverse plate of dance, there are people who simply make it happen.

"The dancers have been extremely conscientious and I'm very proud of them and what they're doing because they have a lot of demands on them. They were right there the whole way," said Lowry.

But to finish up, there is this weekend, and Lowry said they are all pretty much ready.

"Everything seems ready. The dancers are ready. The dances are ready. We're still sewing costumes, but I have confidence [it] will all be there. The lighting seems to be going well. I feel good," she said.

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