BALLET LOVERS WILL FIND OUT `WHO CARES?' DURING PERFORMANCE AT CIVIC ARTS PLAZA.

Byline: P. Catherine Shanks Daily News Staff Writer

The State Street Ballet will come to the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza on Saturday evening in an uncommonly American season opening.

Directed by Rodney Gustafson, the Santa Barbara-based company of 14 dancers will answer the musical question, ``Who Cares?''; take a sentimental journey by way of Gustafson's creation ``Caravan of Dreams''; and put a twin spin on a chubby cherub with a world-premiere performance.

``Cupid Denied,'' by American choreographer and four-time Emmy Award winner Robert Sund, is set to the music of Franz Schubert. Ballet traditionalists in the house will enjoy Act III of the Alexander Glazunov ballet ``Raymonda.''

With choreography by George Balanchine and music by George Gershwin, ``Who Cares?'' is an American classic and treasure. Carefully tending to every detail of the choreography is The George Balanchine Trust ballet mistress Victoria Simon.

``This is his fun ballet,'' Simon said. ``Balanchine was very aware of entertaining. He was not out to do something for himself.'' Simon commented on the Balanchine influence and the result of his melding of dance and music. ``His ballets have added a third dimension - like another sense, because of his great musicality.''

Simon has staged more than 25 of the master's ballets for more than 80 dance companies throughout the world.

Nine Gershwin songs constitute ``Who Cares?'' Fronted by selected soloists, the full company will take to the Forum Theatre stage.

``A professional company dancing in the Forum Theatre makes for a more intimate experience,'' said city of Thousand Oaks Theaters Director Tom Mitze. ``The Balanchine and Gershwin work is very popular. This is accessible dance designed to please an audience.''

Mitze said he is pleased that the Civic Arts Plaza can provide a platform for professional dancers within the area, though the theater complex will continue to present well-known Russian and American ballet companies.

``You don't have to be from New York or Europe to be great,'' Mitze said. ``The Kirov and some of the European companies are hallowed names, but the dancers are no better than the dancers we have right here.''

In fact, many of the dancers hail from all over the world. According to Gustafson, his 14 company members come from cities throughout the United States and from more exotic locales, including Armenia and Italy.

Recognizing that there is no established geographical center for dance in Southern California and no locally based ballet company composed solely of local professional artists, Gustafson plans to fill the ballet void with performances from Santa Barbara to San Diego.

Going far beyond basic ballet, the State Street Ballet strives to present the unexpected - new and nontraditional performances geared toward an educated, critical and culturally diverse audience. ``We don't wear tutus a lot,'' Gustafson laughed.

``Caravan of Dreams,'' created and choreographed by Gustafson, is a prime example of some of the unusual repertoire performed by State Street. The music is a Philip Glass composition and interpretation of the work of David Bowie. The ballet depicts a young girl's fascination with the darker complexities of an adult underworld, which she transforms with her pure innocence. The characters are gamblers, rogues, an urchin, a lady of the evening, a diva and the young girl's mother.

``Cupid Denied,'' the world premiere ballet by Robert Sund, opens the second half of the evening. The emotional material features petite dancers in roles depicting love's archer and perhaps, archenemy. A child of deaf parents, Sund is keenly aware of expression through mood and movement. His choreography transcends classical form and emerges with a distinctly creative American contemporary flavor.

The dancing begins at 7:30 p.m. Saturday. Tickets are priced from $15 to $25. For tickets and information, call the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza box office at [phone]. The Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza is located at 2100 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd.

Gustafson started State Street Ballet in 1994. The director has performed with American Ballet Theatre and has worked with numerous renowned artists.

Sund received three Emmy Awards for ``Womensong,'' a collection of dances set to the music of the Bulgarian State Women's Choir. The work premiered nationally on PBS in 1990. The choreographer's fourth Emmy was for a ballet about battling illness titled ``Blue Lair.''

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PHOTO (Color) The State Street Ballet will perform March 7 at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza.