Thom Lewis didn't know what to do with himself after leaving his position as co-director for the Funhouse Movement Theater dance company in late 2006.
Lewis had a long history in Tucson as a dancer and choreographer. He graduated with a Master of Fine Arts degree in dance from the University of Arizona, helped start O-T-O Dance and Tenth Street Danceworks and had been with Funhouse for six years before parting ways.
For the first time, Lewis found himself without a company and he didn't like it.
"Telling these dance stories is what I do," said Lewis, 57. "Kerouac called it an imponderable. We don't know why we do it. We just do it."
With that mantra in mind, Lewis decided to start his own company. He wrote a couple of grant proposals and shipped them off to the Tucson-Pima Arts Council, gathered longtime friends and associates from the dance world and bartered for practice space within Odaiko Sonora's workspace and the Flor de Liz dance studio.
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By the end of the year, Thom Lewis Dance was up and running, and ready to take on the world.
"The image is contemporary dance, not modern," Lewis said. "It is a little bit different term. Contemporary dance is not afraid to rely on ballet or some jazz. It is a more eclectic term. We'll pull from anywhere."
His company will hold its first full-scale production, the "Premier Concert," at the Stevie Eller Dance Theatre tonight and Saturday.
Rather than pull out an evening of entirely new material, Lewis is putting his best foot forward with a number of well-received Tucson-created works choreographed by Lewis and some of his closest pals.
Among the six pieces will be two Lewis duets, both dealing with the anatomy of a messy breakup. The duet "Not About You" earned Lewis his first choreographic fellowship in 1991. The University of Arizona dance department chose the other duet, "Everlast," for the American College Dance Festival in 1997.
"Creating works about breakups is cathartic," Lewis said. "Revenge is a dish best served choreographically."
UA graduate student Katie Rutterer will present her comedic piece "Fall Ball," and Amy Barr-Holm examines transformation and growth through her work, "Changing Lanes."
Lewis' debut piece of the evening will be "Motion Sickness," a dance that matches up professional performers with 15 handpicked third-, fourth- and fifth-graders from Hudlow Elementary School.
Lewis said he has a special relationship with the children and principal at Hudlow. Lewis is on the design team of the Tucson Unified School District's Opening Minds through the Arts project. He also teaches for the program.
"When you look at a child onstage, if you do it right, you can be looking at the future and the past at the same time," Lewis said. "This is a dance of childhood remembrance. It is a chance dance, putting kids together with adults. How do you fix it so it meshes? That's tricky, artistically and logistically."
Lewis decided to bring back "Cat's Cradle" as the performance closer, an elaborate, elastic sextet first created to be a part of the Tenth Street Danceworks' repertory.
Lewis' Tenth Street associate, Laura Rosenfeld Spiri, is the choreographer behind "Cat's Cradle." Spiri was the resident choreographer for Tenth Street for more than a decade.
After Tenth Street disbanded, Spiri put the dancing on hold to have a child, become a real estate agent and open a granite business with her husband.
"It is a piece that a lot of people have wanted to do over the years," Spiri, 50, said. "I have been holding it close to my chest. But when Thom wanted it, I said 'OK.' He is just wonderful."
Carolyn Minor, another longtime Lewis associate and former dancer with the modern companies Momix and Pilobolus Dance Theatre, is serving as rehearsal director for "Cat's Cradle."
A self-proclaimed member of the Thom Lewis Fan Club, Minor was happy to help Lewis get his company off the ground.
"He has utilized his resources well," Minor, 50, said. "He has the community support. I think that is one of Thom's strengths. He brings a lot of great resources together. He is really giving a great gift back to the community."
Lewis hopes this performance is the start of a fruitful run for the company. He wants to hold two full-scale dance events a year and has dreams of Thom Lewis Dance becoming a major player in the Tucson arts scene.
"It is impressive what Ballet Tucson has done with their company," Lewis said. "It is not easy. But maybe they've made the road a little smoother for a resident contemporary company. If I were to look at the economic situation and what the future of Tucson might look like, I am less positive. I try to ignore certain things I see on the horizon. Money is tight, but even in bad times, people can thrive."
Preview
Thom Lewis Dance "Premier Concert"
• When: 8 p.m. today and Saturday.
• Where: Stevie Eller Dance Theatre on the UA campus.
• Tickets: $10-$13 in advance through Antigone Books. $13-$15 at the door. 798-1113.
