Since Ballet Memphis started its annual $300-a-plate fundraising banquet "Connections: Food" five years ago, the company's choreographers have slaved over dances inspired by a four-course meal served up by a phalanx of top local chefs.

It was refreshing, in a way, to see an artistic disconnect at this year's feast, held Saturday at BRIDGES, Inc. Only one of the four dances seemed cooked up specifically for the occasion, and the show avoided looking like the "Sweet" suites from a postmodern "Nutcracker."

The menu was dangerously ripe for dancing bunnies: Rabbit Confit Raviolo created by chefs Andy Ticer and Michael Hudman, and frolicking sheep: Saddle of Lamb with Creole Andouille Flan and Truffled Gumbo by chef Kelly English. Woe to any choreographer who'd dare personify Karen Blockman Carrier's 11 different appetizers (seriously, what would rustic bread covered in dark chocolate and bacon bits dance like?)

First-time guest choreographer Petr Zahradnicek held to the assignment. His classically-based dessert dance, "Cake Love," began with, almost literally, the icing on the cake. Six dancers, dressed in creamy white costumes, moved with delicate showiness until, halfway through, they shed their outer clothing layers to reveal an explosion of color. One had to laugh at the sugar-sweet joy on their faces as they twirled scarves reminiscent of the smooth line of icing running through chef Jenny Dempsey's thick cake wedges.

The other choreographers looked to local flavor. Former company dancer Nicole Corea's appetizing piece, "Children of the River," was steeped in blues music. Her women are soft, supple and also tough. They flick their shins at too-forward suitors.

Celebrating her 10th anniversary with Ballet Memphis, ballerina Stephanie Mei Hom performed a quirky solo by Steven McMahon. Hom's small frame and classical technique always packs a punch, and in this dance, she performed alongside a metal sculpture from the National Ornamental Metal Museum that inevitably enveloped her.

Former company star Garrett Ammon, now of Ballet Nouveau Colorado, brought his signature style to the evening's entrée. His couples connect through intimate gestures -- fingers raking through hair, a face rubbed into another's back as if leaving a scent -- and his piece, "Ramble," reminded us that contemporary dance can indeed have a southern accent. Dancer Jane Rehm's sensual movement embodies the "gris-gris gumbo" that New Orleans great Dr. John sings about when her classical poise melts into a gritty blues swing that makes everyone hungry for more.