MARK FOEHRINGER MUST like running against the wind. He founded his Mark Foehringer Dance Project in 1996, just as arts funding went south. He didn't start small by only creating on his own body. He dove right into choreographing theatrically savvy works for a respectably sized ensemble. It may have something to do with his being raised and trained in Brazil, where dancers are comfortable with imagistic dance. He also knows how to attract excellent dancers who moonlight for him from other companies. They currently include, among others, Maurya Kerr (Alonzo King's Lines Ballet), Brian Fisher and Private Freeman (ODC/San Francisco), Ramon Moreno (Ballet San Jose Silicon Valley), Katherine Wells (Robert Moses' Kin), and Carlo Sierras (Oakland Ballet). The music for this concert includes works by Gaetano Donizetti (for world premiere Loose Translations), Prokofiev, Rachmaninoff, and Michael Nyman, plus a collection of pop songs. Foehringer bases his choreography on ballet, though you probably won't see pointe shoes – nor will you encounter fluttering sylphs. He makes dances for and about contemporary urban dwellers who don't mind letting their well-coiffed hair down and sometimes being the silly kids they once were. 8 p.m., 701 Mission, S.F. $17-$20. (415) 978-ARTS, www.mfdpsf.org. (Rita Felciano)