Ludwig van Beethoven is not the composer that springs to mind when trawling the classics for a composition to accompany dance, but in "The Ninth Symphony" choreographed by Maurice Bejart, the doughty chords are given a vivid and fresh life with mid-century choreography.

Possibly the best-known piece of classical music in Japan, "Daiku," as the symphony is called, is performed ad infinitum, and possibly ad nauseum, every December in Japan in a national outpouring of classical extravagance. Beethoven first conducted the work May 7, 1824, so there may be some significance in the current tour of Bejart's dance piece by the Ballet de l'Opera National de Paris through May 9.

There is also the significance of the celebration of the promoting firm's 20 years in the business. The Paris company, which recently changed artistic director from Patrick Dupont to Brigitte Lefevre, is not dancing any other works on this short tour of Yokohama and Tokyo.

"The Ninth Symphony" premiered in 1964 when Bejart was producing radically different ballets for his company the 20th Century Ballet, resident at Thea^tre de la Monnaie in Brussels. The company is now resident in Lausanne.

Bejart told a recent press conference in Tokyo that although the piece was revived by the Paris Opera three years ago, it had been absent from the regular repertory since 1978. At that time, the work was considered revolutionary in its placing of a full orchestra, choir and solo singers behind the stage and the dancers, as Bejart said he did not set out to create another ballet, but to make "a concert with dance."

The sets are simple -- a flat stage extending over the orchestra pit which is tattooed with circles and lines resembling latitude, longitude and various voyages of the drafting pen. This geometrical mapping of a connected world keeps the dancers in strict placing and aids Bejart's concept of the global harmony through the dance. The simple costumes of leotards and tights come in browns, red, white and yellow in the four movements to represent earth, fire, water and wind.

Kanagawa Kenmin Hall was packed May 2 for the premiere, with the dancers moving like chess pieces across a distant board, representing, according to Bejart's original choreography, the races and peoples of the world. When a neighbor muttered how impressive and "international" it was to have dancers of so many ethnic backgrounds on stage, I didn't have the heart to tell him that the company had co-opted the services of about 20 black Tokyo residents to give the required effect. As dancers with about one week's training in the background and circling choreography, their presentation was conscientious, with the work by the female dancers occasionally inspired.

Although the lyrics in the "Ode to Joy" last movement of the symphony are originally taken from Schiller, Bejart starts off the production with a piece from the texts of Nietzsche, spoken and danced by Laurent Hilaire. In four movements to match the music, the star dancers of the company perform intricate group pieces and pas de deux against a background of fairly stilted choreography for the corps de ballet.

It is remarkable, however, that even in this early piece, the choreographer knew how to excite the corps into strong, unison movement, especially for the male dancers, and how to touch a common emotive nerve with his "manifestation" of music, words and dance.

Carole Arbo and Jose Martinez were particularly fine in the second act, or movement, as were Isabelle Guerin and Kader Belarbi in the following Adagio, the key to the work. And premier danseur Jean-Guillaume Bart, just one step from the etoile level, seems ready to take over the star position vacated some time ago by Patrick Dupont in terms of dancing ability, if not in outrageous stage presence and charm. This is a new company from Paris, with many of the recognizable dancers either not included on this tour, not in this choreography or not currently with the company.

The finale of the "Ode to Joy" always makes for a great occasion, and this may have been what drew Bejart to the music more than three decades ago, when the choreographer was busy knitting together his rigorous modernity and sense of the grand spectacle. The monumentality of the work is somewhat lost as the sound from the orchestra and singers is blunted by their distance from the audience and expectations of concert-level quality suffer in this placing. Sebastian Lang-Lessing is the conductor who pulls together the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra and the Fujiwara Opera Chorus Group, with soloists soprano Taemi Kohama, mezzo soprano Kyoko Moriyama, tenor Toshiro Gorobe and baritone Masato Makino.