It's going to get hot and steamy in Eisenhower Auditorium tonight, when the exotic dance stylings of Ballet Flamenco José Porcel take the stage at 7:30 p.m.

Porcel, a native of Seville, Spain, founded the company in 2001. Tonight's audience will see Porcel and seven other flamenco dancers in "Pies en la Tierra," a two-act show the company premiered in 2003.

Center for the Performing Arts spokeswoman Laura Sullivan said she thinks State College is ready for an infusion of Spanish culture.

"Our dance audiences over the past two seasons have been growing in size," Sullivan said. "There seems to be more interest in dance, especially international dance."

That dedication to tradition is what drives Porcel, who serves as artistic director, choreographer and principal dancer; he will dance two solos and one duet tonight, according to the program. As a young dancer, he studied with some of Spain's most famous dancers and choreographers.

"The strongest influence while I was studying full time was [flamenco master] Martin Vargas," Porcel wrote in an e-mail message. "His style of dance and his view of traditional flamenco is most clear in my style."

While some might associate flamenco with just one dance, it is actually a Spanish folk art that incorporates song, dance and instrumentals, such as guitar, equally. True to that tradition, there will be flamenco singers and live music in tonight's show.

Keeping today's audiences in mind, Porcel's company has modernized the costumes -- for example, women wear bright red or blue flowing dresses with dramatic white touches.

"The only element that is truly contemporary is the costumes," Porcel wrote. "The music has a touch of the contemporary but focuses on the traditional. Fortunately, there are so many people interested in preserving traditional flamenco and there are so many dancers interested in fusing flamenco with other types of music and elements that we are able to have a place for both traditional and modern."

Puja Gandhi (senior-marketing), president of the Penn State International Dance En-semble, will see Porcel's work for the second time tonight. She said she saw the company's first show when she was studying in Spain.

"They incorporated modern elements, and I really liked that mix," Gandhi said. "The music was more upbeat, and it was more aesthetically pleasing."

Though most Americans may not be familiar with flamenco, Porcel said he believes the State College audience can connect with his work.

"I think that the American audiences know how to appreciate the quality of a good flamenco company," Porcel said. "They are able to pick out the honesty of a company, the raw feelings that are shown in the dances and relate to them. America has the luxury of having many opportunities to see many different kinds of productions in varying degrees of experience. This, I think, helps them to watch a performance and connect well with the dancers."