Over the many years that Sarasota Contemporary Dance has joined with musicians playing live on stage, there are certain things you’ve come to expect: The music will be lively, loud and excellently executed. There will be props — many. And the dancing will be high-energy, athletic and free from any deep messaging or modern dance angst.

These are performances meant simply to entertain and uplift, and that was the case once again this weekend, when SCD opened its 21^st season by reuniting with bassist Johnnie Barker for “SCD + The Barker Project,” a 70-minute performance designed to feed the ears and eyes and fuel the heart.

This was the second collaboration for the two groups, which first joined forces almost four years ago for a program that included some of the same pieces as the current show, albeit in slightly different forms. And it will go down in the books as another in SCD’s growing history of feel-good alliances that underscore the wealth of our local talent and the uncomplicated pleasure of people coming together to move to music.

With an improvisational spirit that matches SCD’s own, the band ran the gamut of their trademark “gumbo” of jazz, funk, blues, rock and gospel, beginning with “In the Stone,” a musical mélange that immediately gave the six musicians and two vocalists, bathed in brightly colored light at the rear of the stage. an opportunity to show their chops. It also gave the audience a chance to adjust to the sheer decibel level of an amped up sound system that was at times overpowering; you could literally feel the buzz of the bass through your seat at the Manatee Performing Arts Center.

The first notes were the cue for 10 SCD dancers to enter in metallic silver unitards (looking like a cross between astronauts and aliens) and utilize the first of their props — gray parasols with silver Christmas tree tinsel hanging from their circumference, giving the effect of a shower of sparkling rain as they spun, twirled and swooped. And then we were off to the races, with different numbers providing alternating opportunities for members of the band or individual dancers to be spotlighted

In “Feeling Good” (written for the musical “The Roar of the Greasepaint, The Smell of the Crowd” but more recently popularized by Canadian singer/songwriter Michael Bublé), Monessa Salley writhed and lunged behind a backlit folding screen (prop No. 2) that made her shadow the focus, while violinist Jonathan DeWitty, the newest member of The Barker Project, stepped to the front of the stage.

At this point the dancers changed outfits to sleeveless, fuchsia turtlenecks and slit-to-the-thigh skirts that became the base for the rest of their costumes for the evening, as they added, subtracted and exchanged shoes, pants, skirts, glasses or other apparel to alter their look and the mood.

In the Dionne Warwick favorite “I Say a Little Prayer,” a bench positioned perpendicular to the front edge of the stage, gave the dancers a raised platform on which to perform movement sequentially, leap over or lean against while Jocelyn Corbert, the female vocalist crooned from stage left.

"Pégate,” (“Get Closer”) from Ricky Martin’s first live album, featured percussionist Dr. Rande Sanderbeck, playing the popular Puerto Rican plena rhythm with handheld drums or tambourines. The dancers, now with primary-colored tassled streamers hanging from their waists, adapted to the Afro-Caribbean beat with Cuban hip motion and rhythmic foot stomping.

Miles Davis’ “Tutu” was written as a tribute to Archbishop Desmond Tutu, but the four dancers in the piece – Juliana Cristina, Xiao-xuan Yang Dancigers, Samantha Miller and Amber Osipov – took the title literally, donning floor length, gauzy Romantic era tutus that lit up on cue with tiny white lights like a holiday decoration. They writhed in and around the musicians as trumpeter Robert Carmichael, trombonist James Johnes and then Barker on bass, each took a turn with a traditional jazz improv segment.

In the only more subdued number of the program, Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah,” soloist Jessica Obiedzinski donned a giant gossamer “cape” of white lights with boning or stays that allowed her to manipulate the material like giant wings. Eric Zabala on the vibraphone leant a reverent tone as Cristina, Makayla Lane, Jordan Leonard and Miller, crouched beneath her sheltering arms.

There was a brief break to allow Barker to introduce the musicians and vocalists (Mark A. Dorch was the male singer) and pay tribute to the dancers (“This is the only dance crew that can be the peanut butter to the jelly of my band.”) Then the band launched into a version of “Bustin’ Loose,” a hit song for Chuck Brown and the Soul Searchers that segued into the familiar jazz standard “Harlem Nocturne.”

Six of the dancers, now in short red sequined jackets, sparkly beige pants and patent leather, hard-soled tap shoes added an extra percussive beat. Of special note was the appearance of SCD director Leymis Bolanos Wilmott’s son, Charles – who had yet to be born when SCD was founded – taking his turn with an improv solo on the tenor saxophone.

Prince’s “I Feel for You” (best known from Chaka Kahn’s recording) gave the band a final chance to shine and allowed the dancers one last costume change – into metallic silver running shorts and matching tennis shoes – before a concluding round of curtain calls, as the dancers returned with their spinning parasols and the audience took to their feet.

Sometimes what you need in an evening out is just an escape from the worries of the world and a feast for the senses. “SCD + The Barker Project” provided just that.

“SCD + The Barker Project,” at the Manatee  Center for the Performing Arts, 502 Third Ave. W., Bradenton. Additional performances October 3 at 2 and 7:30 p.m. Tickets $20-$55. Sarasotacontemporarydance.org.