Choreographer Maria Caruso was born in 1980, the beginning of a decade of playful discovery. Bright colors. Layers upon layers of clothing for excessive effect. Shoulder pads. Big hair. Anything goes.

	'THE '80S ROCK BALLET' Bodiography Contemporary Dance Company When: 8 p.m. tonight Where: Byham Theater, Downtown Tickets: $26-38; 412-456-6666.

Then she began a career in ballet. Black and pink. Layers upon layers to keep warm. Bunhead. Unwavering discipline.

"I was always stuck in the '80s," Caruso confesses.

In between barres at Florida State University, she sandwiched in the likes of "Pretty in Pink" and "Sixteen Candles," Molly Ringwald and John Cusack.

Fast forward to the present.

All of a sudden, Caruso has started seeing small signs of the '80s -- not only on retro radio stations, but in her own ballet classroom at the Bodiography studio in Squirrel Hill. "My students were wearing frilly skirts, ponytails off to the side and hoop earrings," she says.

And bright colors.

Caruso found herself in familiar territory, something that served to inspire "The '80s Rock Ballet," set to premiere at the Byham Theater tonight.

With a cast of 23 on hand, Caruso set about designing a story around six best friends, at a time when "Love Is A Battlefield" and Madonna, Stevie Nicks, Robert Palmer and Duran Duran are playing on the radio. One of the girls, Laura, is leaving, so the stage is set for that staple of girlhood -- a farewell sleep-over.

But those "wild and crazy" years of the '80s meant time to make a change. The five left behind opt for clubs where they can dance the night away. Then Laura returns with her new fiance in tow, triggering a series of reactions, including an unwelcome love triangle.

"It's very '80s dramatic," Caruso says.

She didn't want to leave the dancers to their own devices in plumbing this excellent ballet adventure. She hired acting coach Henry Frazee to "help the dancers with their acting and help awaken the characters. They're sometimes afraid to invest in the acting because they want to be technically perfect," she says.

And by being accomplished dramatically, the dancers could have fun in this "Mach 10" ballet, always in motion, speeding headlong into the past.