Click here to view video of the rehearsal.

When it roils together - this slam of energy, cracks of thunder drums, light show and tribal dance - the spectacle mesmerizes, and can leave people at a loss for words, some say.

"There are no words to describe it. Just wait to see it,"professional ballet dancer Hollis Mackintosh was told by another dancer before she moved to Bismarck.

Mackintosh, who danced for the Augusta Company in Georgia before joining Bismarck's professional company, moved up here specifically to see "Elements," and to dance in it. It's an original ballet by Anthony Noa, artistic director for Northern Plains Ballet Company, that combines tribal-like modern ballet dancing with the martial arts movements and sounds of a Winnipeg, Manitoba-based Japanese drum group.

Tonight begins the third remount of the ballet - this time, with new choreography by Noa and guest artist Roy Gann, and performed by a group of 11 of the most talented dancers the company has assembled so far, Noa says.

"It's incredible. It's incredible,"Mackintosh said.

When she's not dancing, she's watching from the wings the art form that is Fubuki Daiko, a taiko drumming ensemble that includes Hiroshi Koshiyama, 41, who learned the art form first in Japan and then under a teacher in San Francisco.

"It's a mixture of martial arts as well as rhythm and movement,"Koshiyama said.

His wife, Naomi Guilbert, another drummer in the group, describes it as "moving meditation." The drums are the heartbeat.

Guilbert said that people who don't like ballet or drums will still like it.

"If they can get past (preconceived notions), it's really about them, their lives, their world and universe," she said.

Guilbert said everyone is trying to find in their lives that place where they can experience effortlessness, pure joy. And that's what the audience will see. She's hoping that people in the audience who hate their jobs, or what they're doing with their lives, might be inspired by what they see.

She said the dancers aren't dancing because of the horrible pay. Or because dancing wrecks their bodies. It's for the joy, she contends.

"I never wanted to do anything else," said Mackintosh, who started training at age 3.

The drummers also are passionate about what they do - most of whom do this as a full-time job. The drum group's most recent CD is the 2004 "Zanshin."The group has been seen in such things as a past car commercial and Sean Connery's movie, "Rising Sun."

"It's mind-blowing moments, one after another,"Guilbert said about this year's production of "Elements." "The quality of the dancers is so good."

Seven of the 11 dancers haven't danced "Elements" before.

Dancer Robert Greer, one of those who has, says that, in his 12 years of professional ballet dancing, this ballet ranks as the hardest - as far as the amount of stamina needed. "It's like running a marathon," he said. "It's pretty hard-core."

And with the limited space, dancers have to watch for the big moving drummers' sticks, and sometimes haven't watched closely enough. "The other day, someone got hit,"he said.

Another dancer has a black eye from a sort of collision with another dancer.

The ballet fuses western and eastern art forms into a theatrical experience that uses drums, flutes and percussive melodies to fill the auditorium with jazzy, rock-like rhythms and sounds.

Three performances are planned: 7:30 p.m. today and Saturday, and at 2:30 p.m. Sunday at the Belle Mehus City Auditorium.

For ticket information, call 530-0986.