The Bowery Dancers enjoy strong homegrown roots in Lawrence — the eight-member company is made up of friends who bonded while studying dance at Kansas University, and several members teach and perform frequently at the Lawrence Arts Center and other area dance studios. But having a ready-made audience of enthusiastic supporters doesn’t deter the dancers from pushing themselves and breaking new ground. If Friday night’s spring concert at Liberty Hall is any indication, this group is really developing professionally and has a knack for quirky moments of innovation infused with strong technique and wildly imaginative content.

There were lots of highlights in Friday’s performance, which included works choreographed by five of the company’s members, a testimony to the Bowery Dancers’ efforts to encourage individual style and creative development while maintaining dynamic synergy. Things got off to a somewhat sloppy start with “Whatdeheckisda Polka?,” an opener that lacked focus and precision at key moments, but quickly improved. “Chasing Butterflies,” choreographed by Jeff Potter, was a hypnotic depiction of the grieving process, with dancers rhythmically pulsing their clasped palms together to convey fluttering wings, and Potter capturing the torment and sadness of death with taut, floor-based movements.

“Ma Mere l’Oye,” a lovely fairy tale medley by Ellie Goudie-Averill that featured live piano music by Rebecca Mergen and Sarah Geske, took a lighter turn, with a charming rendition of “Beauty and the Beast” between Potter and Christine Scott that recreated the back-and-forth courtship of the two characters. Beauty finally gave in to her love of the Beast by adopting his twitching, stiff-legged, downtrodden gestures in a heartwarming duet.

“Nodes of Love” by Beau Hancock was another amusing infatuation, with Goudie-Averill and Hancock sitting side by side on chairs trying to win one another over with flirtatious banter. Goudie-Averill and Hancock are particularly fun to watch because they dance with their faces as much as their bodies — raised eyebrows, giggles and bright smiles make their movements highly theatrical in whatever piece they perform and add a warmth to their precise technique and muscular athleticism.

The second half of the show had more serious emotional undertones, with a gorgeous duet between Goudie-Averill and Kathleen O’Connor in “(felt),” set to Yann Tiersen’s lonely, wandering piano music from the film “Amelie.” Here, Goudie-Averill and O’Connor created a deep sense of contemplation, with hands moving over their bodies as if trying to remember something, and lots of beautifully formed leg extensions held for long periods of time that added to the longing and uncertainty of the music.

Scott’s “Lux Aeterna” was another particularly notable work, with six dancers creating lots of interesting formations, grouping and ungrouping in startling ways. The company also got to show off its creative chemistry during a spur-of-the-moment improvisation to David Bowie’s “Under Pressure,” the song audience members selected by voting with their ticket stubs upon entering the show.

The Bowery Dancers aren’t afraid of having fun — or taking creative risks — which increasingly takes their talent to new heights.

Becca Ramspott, a freelance writer who covers the arts, can be reached at bramspott@sunflower.com.