In its final concert at Toad's Place before moving to The National next season for its Kicked Back Classics series, the Richmond Symphony had something for everyone Thursday night.

A sparse crowd was there to lend an ear, which was unfortunate because associate conductor Erin Freeman had put together an excellent program titled "Save the Last Dance."

Spanning more than three centuries of music history and creativity, Freeman and the orchestra focused on dances. Whether all the composers meant them as such, there is really no arguing point.

Kicking off with a lively reading of Aaron Copland's "Hoe-Down" from his incredibly popular "Rodeo," a ballet originally choreographed by Agnes de Mille in 1942, Freeman set the stage for the evening. It's something everyone has heard at least a part of at one time or another, given its commercial branding for a certain red meat. Americana at its best.

The orchestra shifted to another dance, the finale from Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky's Serenade for Strings, which was inspired by Russian folk songs.

Greek composer Andreas Makris, who made a name for himself as a violinist with the Dallas, St. Louis and National symphony orchestras and as a writer, provided the next dance -- the allegro from "Amamnesis." It's an almost whimsical piece with definitively Greek roots; the orchestra actually "tunes" itself twice during the presentation.

And kudos to Freeman for adding a movement from "Danzas de Panama" by American composer William Grant Still.

Still was the first African-American conductor of a major symphony (the Los Angeles Philharmonic). He achieved acclaim in the early part of the 20th century for his works -- in particular the "Afro-American Symphony" -- that included many facets of American music such as jazz and blues.

With principal harpist Lynette Wardle leading the way, the orchestra then played Claude Debussy's "Danse sacrée et dance profane."

Wardle is an extremely talented harpist, and the orchestra's strings allowed her to show off her abilities on what is probably one of the most difficult instruments to play, with music created by a composer who utilized the harp probably better than any other orchestrator.

Argentinian composer Astor Piazzolla's "Cantengue" represented what one would think would be a true tango yet isn't. Though his works reflected his tanguero past, Piazzolla was also influenced heavily by Igor Stravinsky and Béla Bart?k.

Bart?k's "Rumanian Folk Dances" provided an excellent penultimate presentation that led to the final movement of Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 7.

It was a perfect topping by another dance-like piece to usher out the last Kicked Back Classics concerts of the season.

Music review

In: Kicked Back Classics
At: Toad's Place on Thursday
Repeats: 5 p.m. tomorrow at Science Museum of Virginia, 2500 W. Broad St.; $17
Info: (804) 788-1212