I have to admit that I'm really not a big fan of musical revues... and for me, that's a pretty broad definition. In general, I believe that if you're going to sing, sing; if you're going to dance, dance; and if you're going to act, act. But please, please, pleeeaaaase don't try to do all three at the same time! So I tend not to get much enjoyment out of Broadway musicals, vaudeville shows, or things like Riverdance.

Call me weird.

Also, call me surprised, because I enjoyed the heck out of John Tesh's latest project.

There's not a lot to explain here, or any plot to synopsize. The basic idea is that Tesh conceived a live concert that would bring together disparate elements of dance, lyrics, and music for a unique fusion of styles. The two central elements are classic balletic dance and hip hop—with orchestral music, vocal soloists, drum lines, and (of course) Tesh's keyboards thrown in for good measure. Tesh also serves as a kind of concertmaster/cheerleader, too.

The strength of this live-recorded (if over-edited) concert is the infectiousness of its joy.

So much of what drives art and its consumption is a sense of tragedy and darkness. Witness, for instance, the slate of winners at the most recent Oscars. But from the get-go—an opening arrangement of Bach's "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring"—this DVD is an out-and-out celebration of being alive. No sorrow and darkness here.

Particularly moving for me was the dance-slam duet performed by Julliard ballerina Julia Eichten and stepper Breeze Lee. The full breadth of physical expression is on exhibit, and in a way that makes you feel hope for a world of disparate tastes, values, and backgrounds.

There are some downsides to this production, however. The action is presented in panoply of shifting video insets, with many of the shots so wide (and changing so rapidly) that it's hard to get a full impression of the choreography much less capture the nuance of its details. And I watched this DVD on a 52-inch screen: so buyer beware.

I also could have done without the "making of" interviews scattered between the segments. This kind of material is best left to a bonus feature, not the main show.

But one thing that does not detract from this production at all is its unabashed Christian emphasis. Ordinarily, that kind of thing is a death-knell for any arts production. The usually justified knock on Protestant Christianity is that its art sucks.

Well, Tesh does not. And neither does Alive: Music and Dance. If you've got an axe to grind with Christianity, just lay it aside for a bit and get back to the battle later. Bach, Beethoven, Handel, Mozart and countless others were pretty proud of their faith, and it seemed to inform the power of their music. We'd be much poorer artistically without the beliefs that inspired them.

So give Tesh a chance, and let the music and dance move your soul.