Whenever I see modern dance, I can always spot the yoga inside the dance. I'll nudge the friend sitting next to me and say, "Did you see that? That was scorpion pose!" Or dolphin pose. Or some variation of downward facing dog. Depending on the friend, they'll either say, "Yeah! Sweet!" or "Shhhh!" Still, I can't help but get excited when I see yoga on stage.

Enter: Tripsichore. I have only seen this London-based yoga dance company perform once before, when they came, in 2002, to the Cowell Theatre at Fort Mason. Led by choreographer Edward Clark, Tripsichore's sequences and movements are not just yoga-influenced, they are yoga-based. It's amazing to watch the intersection of the dancers' bodies as they tell a non-traditional story with the shapes of traditional asana.

Tripsichore is performing its show Merely Total Risk at Yoga Tree Castro on Saturday night, at 8pm. The show is about the creation of the universe, and also about one's personal experience with mortality.

Want a taste? The above is a clip from the other show that Tripsichore is currently touring, Insects.

Want to learn from the yogacrobats, themselves? Take one of the company's workshops this weekend: "Tripsichore Sun Salutations & Beyond" (on Saturday) or The Tripsichore 12-year Course Condensed Into One Workshop" (on Sunday) at Yoga Tree Stanyan. Or, if you can't make the training, check out the company's DVD.