Dancing at their own risk.

Margo Sappington puts it this way: "If we'd waited until the future looked secure, we'd never have got this far." The bouncy, enthusiastic choreographer was talking about the Daring Project, her aptly named joint venture with Valentina Kozlova, who recently retired as a principal with New York City Ballet. It's the name of their chamber ballet company, which may or may not have. a future despite the high caliber of its dancers, among them Victoria Bustamante, Cornel Crabtree, Deborah Dawn, Christina Fagundes, Lindsay Fischer, Robin Hoffman, Alex Lapshin, Serge Lavoie, Rebecca Metzger, and Lissette Salgado. "Right now we're just so happy to be doing one gig at a time," says Sappington, who has choreographed most of the work for the troupe.

Launching a ballet company at any time is a stressful, risky undertaking, but particularly in this climate of retrenchment, when choreographers such as Lar Lubovitch and Bella Lewitzky--to cite just two examples--are curtailing their plans and Ralph Lemon has decided to fold his troupe. Yet following a chance introduction a couple of years ago, Kozlova and Sappington decided to expand the former's dream of an evening of dance tracing her career from ballet to Broadway. She had been looking for a choreographer to create a modern dance solo to perform in Moscow, where she was determined to dance something different and new.

Sappington choreographed Gershwin's Prelude for Piano No. 2 and it went down well. "Something wonderful happened when I met Margo," says Kozlova. "Her style of work opened up so much for me." Declares Sappington: "I knew nothing of her personality, yet once we got to know each other I realized her talents offered a myriad of possibilities. Valentina must be seen. She and I agree there are many people who are good but don't want good people around them. But the more beautiful the jewel, the more beautiful the setting. We decided we had to have really fabulous dancers who're happy to surround her and show themselves off too."

In 1992 they decided to start a small company called, at first, "From Bolshoi to Broadway." Both have ballet and Broadway in common. When Natalia Makarova left the revival of Rodgers and Hart's On Your Toes (choreography by Balanchine and Peter Martins), Kozlova stepped into her role on Broadway and on tour. Sappington first gained success--and notoriety--when she choreographed a nude pas de deux for the sexy 1969 revue Oh! Calcutta! and danced in it. Dancing and choreographing off Broadway followed. A break came in 1971 when Robert Joffrey commissioned Weewis. Continuing her association over the years, Sappington's most recent effort for Joffrey was the "Slide" section Billboards. She's choreographed for Pacific Northwest, Milwaukee, Houston, and Pennsylvania ballets, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, and Netherlands Dance Theater, and also keeps a toe in musical theater, opera, movies, and commercials. Kozlova, though she excelled in Balanchine roles such as the Swan Queen, Firebird, and Titania in A Midsummer Night's Dream, danced works of other choreographers--Robbins, Martins, Richard Tanner--while at NYCB. But after twelve years, a divorce from fellow Soviet emigre dancer Leonid Kozlov, remarriage to French journalist Carlo Montali, and a baby (Celia now two and a half), she says, "I want to branch out artistically again."

She recruited Lindsay Fischer, who had no regrets about leaving NYCB. "I guess I felt my time there had come to an end after eight years," he says. "The first six and a half were great. I danced everything I wanted. Then I had a back injury. I thought it would end my career. It didn't. But when I came back they'd gotten interested in other people.1 wasn't cast in Raymonda or Apollo any more. Valentina had spoken to me about her project. Although we hadn't danced together much, we'd always enjoyed it when we did. At first I didn't think Daring would get off the ground. I hadn't realized Valentina had so many organizational skills. I have a family, two kids--Neil, four, and Hannah, one--and I think City Ballet was shocked when I terminated my contract and walked away from all that security."

Fischer's wife, ex-dancer Mandy Jane Richardson, late of Birmingham Royal Ballet, was supportive. She knew that the resourceful Fischer, when he sustained his back injury, had explored teaching possibilities and was already in touch with Mavis Staines in Toronto regarding joining the faculty of the National Ballet School. "So I was prepared for the risk of quitting and for not having a job," Fischer continues. "But I felt it was a better risk than staying at City Ballet and being unhappy. I didn't know Margo, yet right off I was thrilled. People had always seen me in these romantic, classical, poetic things; Margo created this street-smart, swinging guy for me that pulled something different out of my character. So now I believe I can work around a teaching career and dance with Valentina's troupe whenever we have a gig--which is wonderful."

For Alex Lapshin, who some say resembles a young Baryshnikov, the opportunity to dance, especially with Kozlova, whom he first met in New York, offers an exciting turn in his career. A Bolshoi school graduate who went on to dance with the company for five years, he took a risk, quitting "because I was weary of dancing only choreography by Grigorovich." After a quick trip to New York City, he landed a job dancing with the Vienna State Opera, and for a time shuttled between here and Europe. But now, with prospects of having a ballet choreographed especially for him, Lapshin feels that his main risks are already taken, even though the future of the Daring troupe is speculative. "I never did this contemporary jazzy stuff Margo choreographs so well," he says, "but I'm going to Peridance and Steps [studios] and learning it." In Don't Bring Lulu, Sappington's Jazz Age pastiche, he lets go in inspired thirties kickups. In Jazzmania he and the rest of the troupe, all strictly classically trained, bump and grind to Ray Charles, Dave Brubeck, and other greats. "Working with a small company," says Lapshin, "it's a much friendlier environment and you have more fun." Still, he adds, if he was offered a really good position with a big company he'd probably consider it--and try to meet Daring's dates, too.

Charles Askegard and Christina Fagundes are already contracted to American Ballet Theatre, but the chance to dance the Don Quixote Pas de Deux and other classical showpieces is irresistible, since they believe that they would never be offered these roles on home turf. "With the way things are now with isolated performances," says Fagundes, "you can arrange to guest with Daring. It usually works out." Comments Deborah Dawn, "Even though I was a principal with the Joffrey and essentially we're backing up Valentina here, I still feel I'm a soloist and I'm really enjoying it." NYCB's Rebecca Metzger agrees: "The attraction is the many different things one can do here."

Facing up to the future of the company, Sappington says, "We just had to jump on and go. If we'd started by asking people for money, the enthusiasm would have evaporated and things wouldn't happen. Right now we can only pay the dancers for performances. Valentina and I have sunk our own money into the company, and we don't have much to spare. People are being very supportive. They say, 'Oh, don't worry; pay us back a hundred bucks a month.' Our one big problem so far was with Lincoln Center's Rose Building, where we rehearsed on the sly and wanted to give an audience-attended run-through. The financial manager of City Ballet said, 'We have to have insurance,' and outlined other objections. 'I really hate to do this, it's the fault of Lincoln Center.' Then he added, I'm afraid dance is dying.' And I said, 'No, it's not--not while I'm alive!' We're not thinking in a twenty-five-year perspective. Okay, we'll have a revolving-door setup with different dancers if our current people aren't always available. As long as we get the high caliber, it's fine. Maybe it's the way new ballet companies should go these days. The more maneuverable, the better its chances."

That small groups of top artists can appear together in a pick-up situation is enterprising but not entirely new. After all, jazz musicians have been operating that way for years. Says Kozlova, "Our main strength, which we've been told over and over again, is how good all our dancers are. We're determined to keep it that way."

Daring Project's gala appearance at East Hampton's Newport Festival last August was a roaring success. With two different programs prepared, they're already penciling in dates for next summer. Currently Columbia Artists Management Inc. is presenting them, which will ensure future tours. Single dates in Europe include Strasbourg, with a visit to Russia a possibility.

"I'm dying to go back to Russia with my own company!" exclaims Kozlova.

Sappington nods and says, "It could happen."