Ronald K. Brown and Evidence at Joyce Theater Bessie Schonberg, the beloved German dance educator and mentor to many in the field, once challenged the choreographer Ronald K. Brown to make a work set to music by one composer. Mr. Brown's usual method is to layer a collection of songs and then pair them with his rousing blend of African and modern dance. From left, Maresa D'Amore-Morrison, Ronald K. Brown and Shayla Alayre Caldwell of Mr. Brown's Evidence company performing in a program of his choreography at the Joyce Theater. He took the challenge. Since last year Mr. Brown has been choreographing a dance for his company, Evidence, set to the music of Stevie Wonder, and on Monday evening at the Joyce Theater he unveiled the results: "On Earth Together/Everybody at the Table." "On Earth Together" features nine songs, four of which are new additions to this 2011 work in progress, including "Living for the City," "As," "They Won't Go When I Go" and "Higher Ground." That the piece is still in a growing phase is obvious, but it's becoming something; Mr. Brown and Mr. Wonder prove to be a formidable combination. Like Mr. Wonder's melodies, Mr. Brown's movement is catchy yet unpredictable: If a dancer suddenly kicks a leg forward, it's the slow descent rather than the forceful rise that indicates power. While arms create intricate shapes - twisting, crossing in front of the torso or extending to the back - the earthiness of the lower body gives a movement phrase its plush sense of groove. The mixed program, the first of two, began with "Gatekeepers," a poignant 1999 work originally commissioned by Philadanco and set to a soundscape of funk music by Wunmi (as Omotayo Wunmi Olaiya, she is also Mr. Brown's frequent costume designer.) For "On Earth Together" the music is performed live in all but two numbers. Monday's program included three cast members from the Broadway show "The Gershwins" Porgy and Bess," which Mr. Brown also choreographed. The addition of live music adds an obvious vibrancy - Andrea Jones-Sojola's rendition of "You and I" was incredible, for one - but "On Earth Together" is no jukebox musical. It's less predictable and less tangible, all in good ways. In "As" the dancers, wearing Ms. Olaiya's casual, attractive street wear - there are rompers, hoodies, jumpsuits and halters - incorporate a toe pivot into their walks, then lift one arm at a time with an upward gaze. Mr. Brown, something of a throwback, embraces the spiritual side of modern dance and of life. In "On Earth Together" he loosely touches on the themes of compassion and how the individual fits in with the rest of the world. It's no coincidence that the work begins with "Living for the City," which, in keeping with that hit song's gritty subject matter, includes a drug deal and an arrest, and concludes with the uplifting "Jesus Children of America." Here a beaming Mr. Brown leads the dancing, moving with a spontaneous, supple air as he crosses the stage on a diagonal, his shoulders and hips swaying gently. The other dancers slip from the wings to join him in brief, joyful duets, until Mr. Brown lures them all back for a group finale, which makes it seem as if he had brought back faith to the masses. How, time after time in his work, does he get away with such a spiritual infusion? For some reason, it's not hokey. Mr. Brown must be a modern-dance savior. Ronald K. Brown and Evidence perform through Saturday at the Joyce Theater, 175 Eighth Avenue, at 19th Street, Chelsea; (212) 242-0800, joyce.org.