Rebecca Davis had studied it all. Ballet. Jazz. Modern. Even a little Polynesian and tap. But there was one thing she needed to make her dream of the ideal dance company—not a pick-up ensemble that would do a show and then float away—come true.

A business degree.

"The goal is to have a lasting impact. … It has to be a long-standing institution to really make a difference," says Davis, a Vancouver native who's been choreographing her own pieces since the age of 12. Her decision, while it may seem unusual, made sense to her. She explains, "I came up with this idea of going to business school to figure out how to structure an organization to produce a series of works."

Her concept is to create a dance-theater company dedicated to presenting stories from history and classical literature featuring themes that resonate with what's happening in current society. "It sort of bothers me that we're not taking dance into a more contemporary context to make it relevant to so many people, not just people who studied dance when they were kids, and to make it interesting on all levels," she says. "I think dance has to be pushed into new directions to continue its prominence."

Intent on turning her vision into reality, Davis attended the business school of Toronto's York University, where she crunched numbers for a couple of years, until she felt it more important to "focus on entrepreneurship than financial statements. I needed to know how to write a business plan and how to implement it." That led to her enrolling at Temple University, which had programs in both entrepreneurship and dance, which in turn led to much more. In her final year there, Davis won an annual business plan competition, with a proposal to develop a Philly-based preprofessional dance-theater training program for 12- through 18-year-olds. The prize, which included $6,000 cash plus the use of services from Temple's Small Business Development Center, enabled Davis to meet influential people, some of whom have since joined her nascent company's board of trustees, including Richard Bendis, president and CEO of Innovation Philadelphia, and Neil Kleinman, dean of the College of Media & Communications at the University of the Arts. Subsequent networking around the city led Davis to encounter Janice Price (a fellow native Canadian), president of the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, who now sits on Davis' advisory board and whom Davis fondly refers to as "an important mentor." "What she has done is combine her personality, persistence and communications skills for use within the creative economy," says Bendis. "A lot of people who come from the creative economy do not have her business talent and acumen."

On top of her winning business plan, she scored a Fulbright scholarship to study dance in Russia, where she trained at the St. Petersburg Conservatory and collaborated with the Mussorgsky Ballet. It was Davis' fourth time in Russia—she's fascinated by the country's history and believes it's "still the king of ballet." She grew so enamored of its people and culture that she became fluent in the language. She marvels at the intensity with which the Russians train and is in awe of their acute musicality. "If they are doing an exercise in class and the pianist is off, even just a little bit, they stop," she observes. "Their ears are very fine-tuned."

The trip facilitated by the Fulbright laid the groundwork for the upcoming debut production of Antigone by the Rebecca Davis Dance Company. Featuring choreography by Davis and music by Timofey Buzina, of the St. Petersburg Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra, it's an original interpretation of the classic play by Sophocles concerning a woman who disobeys the orders of a king for the sake of family honor. Davis chose the Greek tragedy to launch her company because "I have to pick something that is close to me right now. And Antigone, which is about being young and very strong in your actions, is something I faced. … I can identify with the central character."

As may be expected from someone of such formidable drive and ambition, Davis looks to go large-scale with the project. Its cast of 23 features ballet dancers from Russia, Canada, New York and Philadelphia. She's rented the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts' Perelman Theater. There are less expensive venues in the city, but Davis has certain standards she will not compromise. "The atmosphere of the Perelman is perfect for Antigone," she asserts. "The story will be conveyed more effectively in a theater like that." As opposed to, say, the Arts Bank, which according to Davis "does not have the proper emotional tone and its stage is quite small."

Davis is hoping to tour Antigone, though her main efforts for the next few years will go toward training aspiring dancers. With the demands of running a new business she reckons her performing days are likely over at the ripe age of 23. "I have a need to dance, which I do in the studio, but to me the most exciting thing is working with the young talent and bringing out these performances in my dancers and my creative team and pulling together my artistic vision. At this point in my life, that's more rewarding than being on stage."

Antigone, Rebecca Davis Dance Company, March 16-17, 7:30 p.m., $34-$64, Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, 300 S. Broad St., 215-893-1999.