Dance of the Decade

he dancers work together in a way that you usually only see with people who are related," says Ann Halligan Donahue, the founder of Memphis' only major modern-dance company, Project: Motion. "I have never seen a company of dancers who can look so good together no matter what they're doing."

Artistic director Jay Rapp adds, "We're so family-oriented, our style of movement is very connected -- I guess because of our past."

To celebrate their first 10 years of kinetic unison, the members of Project: Motion will present Past (Ten)se: A Decade of Project: Motion at TheatreWorks from August 20th through August 24th.

Donahue founded Project: Motion while she was teaching dance at the University of Memphis. Co-founder Judy Wombwell was taking classes, and both wanted a venue for their work outside the university.

"At first we thought we might start a collective of choreographers and give it a name, but both of us -- we always joke about this -- we were both too bossy to let anyone else be in charge," says Donahue. "So we gave ourselves a name and turned it into a company for us.

"It was a situation where you didn't know it couldn't be done --you did it. If I were to do something like this now, I would be very focused on a direction for the company. Then we didn't have one. It was about having the freedom to explore our own work," she says.

"We were so unusual, our concerts sold out," says Donahue. "We had two weekends with full houses."

Though Donahue left the company in 1993 to teach at American University in Washington, D.C., the original dancers are still keeping the company alive. Laura Marsh Kirby and Jay Rapp both serve as artistic directors, but the company is increasingly operated as a collaborative enterprise.

"All the dancers are mature choreographers, so we are all able to do work and keep it fresh," says Rapp. "I think when it was Ann and Judy's company, they did primarily their work. ... We've changed, I think, just because it's a progressive company. We're always trying to find new approaches to choreography and dance techniques. We grow together so we don't get stuck in a niche."

"One of our main goals is, since we're the only modern-dance company that's professional in this city, is to be able to share this art form in Memphis and the Mid-South area," says Rapp. "We want to give this form a voice."

In addition to gaining recognition for modern dance within the artistic community at large, Project: Motion also hopes to educate young people about what they do by touring area schools. The company also gives public lessons to students of all ages.

"I think modern is an acquired taste," says Donahue. "It's not always as accessible as ballet. Because modern is so dependent on each choreographer's vision for the way it looks, it's not always everyone's cup of tea."

Rapp adds, "It's still hard to get recognition, even though we're 10 years old. It's just a matter of education."

One of the challenges of working within a less traditional style of dance, as Rapp suggests, is economics. The seven dancers who form the core of the company, as well as the artistic directors, all supplement their income through other jobs, some within the theatre and dance community, some through entirely unrelated professions.

"That's hard. If we were just able to dive in and be funded, and have that money...," says Rapp. "That's the struggle, but we enjoy it and it is our life and we will continue to do it in any way possible. And that's why this has stayed in Memphis. This area is a fertile ground, accepting to new ideas."

The show will be a retrospective, featuring 10 pieces from 1987 to the present. Six of the works will be Donahue's, reconstructed from videorecordings.

"The dancers decided which ones they most wanted to do," says Donahue. "There are pieces I have to change a little bit now. That brought up an interesting issue for all of us. [One of the dancers] said to me, `This is just supposed to be a retrospective, we're not supposed to change anything.' And I told her that I felt that if the piece wasn't clear enough in the beginning, if I could make it clearer now, then I'm supposed to do that."

"We as dancers have not stayed in the same place," explains Donahue. "We are not the same as we were five years ago; therefore, the piece must come along for the ride if it can be better."

Past (Ten)se: A Decade of Project: Motion
TheatreWorks
2085 Monroe Avenue (272-0344)
8 p.m. Wednesday-Sunday, August 20th-24th
$10 adults, $7 students/seniors
$20 fund-raiser for the company August 20th