"I miss Hawai'i immensely. If I could do what I'm doing in New York in Hawai'i, I'd be there in an instant."

These wistful words, spoken by award-winning dancer Eddie Taketa, a leading member of the Doug Varone dance company, concluded a recent telephone interview — an interview that was periodically interrupted by his need to tend to his 16-month-old daughters. "I'm at the mercy of my twin girls," he admitted.

Asked how he finds time to work out and stay fit with two young children, Taketa said, "Now my body does take a back seat. The twins set the schedule. Just finding time to stretch before rehearsal is a luxury."

The Hilo native and the rest of the Varone troupe can be seen in concert tomorrow at Leeward Community College Theatre.

Taketa first recognized his passion for dance while attending University of Hawai'i-Manoa.

"It was my fourth semester in college. Having entered as an engineering major, I realized that wasn't the direction I wanted to go. I took a semester off to explore other possibilities. Looking through a schedule of classes, I came upon something called 'modern dance.' So I signed up for both modern dance and ballet."

He credits his career largely to the intervention of Carl Wolz, founder of the UH dance program. In the days before computerized class registration, students were allowed into classes on a first-come, first-served basis.

"When I got to the dance desk, there were no spaces left. It so happens that Carl was sitting there. The third time I returned to inquire about openings, he asked me if I was interested in becoming a dance major. Without hesitating, I said yes."

After graduating, Taketa moved to New York and was accepted into the Murray Louis company. Eventually, he joined the company of Lar Lubovich and then freelanced for several years.

In addition to dance, he has studied other disciplines. Though he may not be able to take many classes these days, Taketa occasionally fits in a surfing session on Long Island. Thanks to the new technologies in wetsuit material, he says, surfing is possible even during cold winter months.

He has been with Varone since 1994, and enthusiastically so. "I feel incredibly at home, both physically and philosophically, in Doug's work," Taketa said.

In a telephone interview from his studio in New York, Varone echoed the admiration. "It's an extraordinary commitment we've made to each other," he said.

"Eddie is a great inspiration to all the dancers and myself. He has the capacity to be enormously lyrical and tremendously nimble at the same time. It's very rare to see both silkiness and speed in a dancer."

A featured work on tomorrow's program will be "Beyond the Break (6 Dances for Ukulele)," which Varone choreographed to music by Jake Shimabukuro. "What drew me to the score was the speed," Varone confesses. He only regrets that, because of his busy schedule, Shimabukuro was not able to perform live with the company.