Joan Myers Brown, artistic director of Philadanco, enjoys introducing her ensemble's fans as well as her dancers to new choreographers, or older ones that don't get a lot of play these days. That's the deal with Carmen de Lavallade. A giant of modern dance who helped bring the Lester Horton technique to the East Coast, de Lavallade played a key role in the formulation of Alvin Ailey's company and went on to star in Broadway and Hollywood productions. As Brown notes, "She's an African-American pioneer ... who made significant contributions to the field." In setting "Love Stories," composed of a series of vignettes done to Billie Holiday tunes, on Philadanco, de Lavallade took the group in new directions. Brown explains, "My dancers are used to a choreographer coming in and saying, 'Kick, jump turn, now go over there.' But Carmen is more theatrical. She would say, 'You have to kick this way because what I'm trying to say with these steps is more than just a kick.' It was hard for them to learn the nuance."

More forceful is "Cottonwool," by Christopher Huggins, who also created the full-throttle "Enemy Behind the Gates" for 'Danco. "I like the innovations that he has. It's 21st-century stuff," says Brown of Huggins. A remounting of Milton Myers' "Pacing," created for Philadanco 20 years ago, and Ronald K. Brown's "For Mother," complete the slate.

"The program is so eclectic," comments Brown. "'Pacing' is so polished. There's Ron and then Carmen comes along with her acting and Christopher is really going to make 'em dance."