"Raw Dance" conjures images of your favorite Boston Ballet dancer stripped practically naked, hot, sweaty, so close you can almost touch her . . . or him. Okay, so maybe what’s scheduled for next weekend at the Boston Center for the Arts’ Cyclorama won’t be that raw, but we’re sure at least some of the dancers won’t be overdressed, and we know they’ll be almost close enough to touch, as they perform contemporary works choreographed by members of Boston Ballet and Boston Ballet II on a low stage that will be encircled by three rows of seats. Even an $80 front-row seat at the Wang Theatre doesn’t get you as close as you’ll be anywhere at the Cyclorama for $18. And it won’t be just corps dancers and BB II members performing; the previous "Raw Dance," last November, saw principals Larissa Ponomarenko and Yury Yanowsky, new principal Sarah Lamb, soloist Christopher Budzynski, and new soloist Romi Beppu in action. Not that the BB II members are chopped liver: Andrea Schermoly, for one, will be joining Jirí Kylián’s Nederlands Dans Theater next season.

So how did "Raw Dance" come about? "The idea originated in the spring of 2001," corps member Gianni Di Marco explains. "The name was a fluke! We started to call it ‘Raw Dance’ because that is what it is . . . and then it stuck." And in fact it was Di Marco who had the idea to move the event from the company’s Grand Studio around the corner to the Cyclorama last November, where it was presented twice. "It has grown from two nights to three," company principal Viktor Plotnikov continues, "because we had standing room only in November. More than 900 people saw those performances. This time we’re hoping for 1500 audience members."

So how are the choreographers chosen? "The dancers come to us to let us know they’re interested in choreographing," Plotnikov says. "We basically know the talents of one another, so we haven’t had to have proper ‘auditions.’ Each choreographer is extremely talented." That might be a partisan view, but it’s confirmed by the favorable reviews the previous event received from Christine Temin in the Globe and Marcia B. Siegel in this paper. What’s more, you’re seeing works that are created for the dancers who perform them. And Plotnikov assures us that the dancers love being so close to the audience. "It feels very different, which is what makes it unique. Dancers and audiences become so close in such an intimate setting."

Plotnikov adds that this year, not only are dancers creating the steps, they’re writing the music. "There’ll be new compositions by Miguel Picker, myself, Yury Yanowsky, and Nicholas Mishoe. It’s incredible to have dancers creating both works and music compositions." And the box-office receipts? "They pay for the show itself, but they also go to the Dancers Resource Fund, a fund that aids former dancers in their transitions after their careers."

Plotnikov concludes, "This is all about dance at its purest. We are opening the doors for people to get to know Boston Ballet dancers in a different environment."