Big Byrd flies west. (News).

When Donald Byrd became artistic director of Seattle's Spectrum Dance Theater on December 1, 2002, the news took some people by surprise. Byrd, whose choreography is often considered edgy and volatile, seemed ready to continue his freelance work with modern and ballet ensembles after dissolving his own company in June 2002. And while Spectrum aspires to a national profile, it had been following a careful and conservative path since its creation twenty years ago. The combination of company and director seemed as unusual as it was unexpected.

Spectrum was founded by a small group of dancers and performed in a mixture of styles with choreography primarily by company members until the mid-1990s. At that time, they decided to specialize in jazz dance, commissioning new work and mounting pieces by guest artists such as Claire Bataille, Andre George, and Ann Reinking. Since then, the company has continued to develop, with some regional touring and appearances at jazz-dance congresses, but the policy of the board has been to limit financial risk even though it also limits the speed of their growth.

Byrd's career has moved further and faster. With a movement style that is both beautiful and occasionally brutal, he created a repertoire that examined domestic abuse, violence, and racial stereotypes as much as it pursued more hopeful themes. He frequently has been an intrepid risk taker, both artistically and financially; and though the experiments have usually been aesthetically successful, they've not always paid for themselves. The deficits incurred by his recent Harlem Nutcracker were part of the decision to fold Donald Byrd/ The Group.

Spectrum's board was surprised at first that someone of Byrd's reputation had submitted his resume, but it was excited by the experience and touring contacts he brings with him. Byrd was drawn to Spectrum's ideals.

"When I closed my company, I was afraid my idealism had died. When I met Spectrum I fell in love with their sense of idealism--I got excited about the arts again, and what dance might do," Byrd said. "[I was offered] other places in larger organizations that were very seductive, but I think my soul will probably be satisfied here."

The idealism to which Byrd responded comes from Spectrum's commitment to access, making dance available to the widest possible audience. The board hopes that Byrd will extend the company's connections to Seattle's African American community, while the artist says he would like to use dance to open a series of discussions on a variety of issues.

"October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. I'd like to see The Beast [a work dealing with abuse] start some dialogue," commented Byrd.

He would also like to reexamine Spectrum's definition of jazz dance and what a jazz dance company might be. "Looking at their mission statement, what they really mean is an American aesthetic. What do we value or identify, what do we look at and say, `That's American dance'? It's very athletic, highly energized movement invention.... I'm looking at how can we bring those elements to the forefront."