Sarah Carlson is an Allentown-based dancer and choreographer who dreams of making dance an accessible and therapeutic form of expression for all.

That's the impetus for the unscripted performance event, "The Unbelievable Beauty of Being Human" (UBBH), 8 p.m. Oct. 25, as part of the "IceHouse Tonight Series," Charles A Brown IceHouse, Sand Island, 56 River St., Bethlehem.

For the piece, Carlson employs "InterPlay," an improvisation structure in which participants create music, song, dance and story on the spot.

Carlson, a Natick, Mass., native who danced professionally with the Metropolitan Opera Ballet, received a Fulbright to complete graduate work in dance in Africa. She has been on the dance faculty at Muhlenberg College, Cedar Crest College, DeSales University and Lehigh University, and is the founder and artistic director of DanceLink.

She works to promote the art of dance as an authentic form of self- expression.

"I like to show how the body can be used as a vessel to express the spirit," she says. "Dance is a way to connect with the divine, however you define that."

The UBBH format was first produced by Interplay co-founders, Cynthia Winton-Henry and Phil Porter in San Francisco in 1997 and has debuted in Seattle, Minneapolis Chicago, Raleigh and Sydney, Australia.

With "InterPlay," Carlson employs creative practice as play.

"Anyone can practice," she says. "It's a true form of play. It harkens back to the creative play we all did as children. The dancers all feed off of one another's energy.

"It's a very diverse group from all walks of life. The dancers range in age from 17 to 65. Some are professionals and some have no training.

"I love the idea of mixing the trained and untrained. People without training often have a lot of raw expression. It creates this lovely conversation of dance between the two."

The "Unbelievable Beauty of Being Human" features the work of several Lehigh Valley artists: Marco Calderon, photographer, Jessi Lee Ross, singer-songwriter, and Tiffany Kent, percussionist.

Carlson is happy to bring "InterPlay" to the Lehigh Valley and to cultivate a community to explore the expression of art and dance in a new way.

"It's been my dream to start an 'InterPlay' performance group," she says. "Nothing of comparison exists today in the Lehigh Valley to my knowledge. It's impromptu, informal and exploratory.

"This is just 'Take One' in the first chapter of what is possible. I want to see the group grow. 'InterPlay' is for everyone."