The folks over at North Carolina Dance Theatre had us sold with muscles (well, "athleticism") and electronic music, but the Japanese twist in their latest performances sealed the deal for another year of Innovative Works excellence. Annually, choreographers from the dance school lead their dancers on a toe-touching journey through new and reworked ballets. This go-round, Mark Diamond presents a new ballet, titled Alternate Paths (here's where the muscles come in), and Zokusuru (Japanese for "to belong to"), a ballet with a heartfelt story line about the struggle between free will and duty in marriage. Also included in the program are two new works, At First Sight and Queen, by Sasha Janes and Dwight Rhoden's new ballet Gateways, set to electronic music by Frank Bretschneider, Erdem Helvacioglu, and Deepchord, in addition to music from indie-folk songwriter Bon Iver (not to be confused — please — with Bon Jovi). It's a talented mix that makes this show so compelling. Not to forget, there's also a post-performance reception with dessert and coffee and a chance to mingle with dancers, choreographers and the artistic staff behind the performance.