MIAMI'S MAXIMUM DANCE COMMISSIONS MORRIS PREMIERE.

MIAMI--Credit compact but spunky Maximum Dance Company for bringing variety to ballet in Miami. Since their 1997 debut, thrice-yearly programs have featured up-to-the-minute choreographies with a sprinkling of classical jewels. Funny or soulful, novel or academic, these works have spun at full force thanks to a solid core of local dancers ringed by bright guests, including such beguiling ballerinas as Tina LeBlanc and Evelyn Cisneros.

The company's show, June 10 to 12 at Miami's historic Coconut Grove Playhouse, now promises a piece de resistance: Silhouettes, a premiere by Mark Morris set on MD's artistic directors, Yanis Pikieris and David Palmer. "I asked Mark about doing a piece for the company before our first performance, and he was interested. But with his schedule, which is kind of crazy, it took a while," says Palmer, who continues a career as a principal with San Francisco Ballet.

Last fall, Pikieris joined Palmer on the West Coast, where Morris designed their duet to a composition by Richard Cumming. "It's in five small sections," explains Palmer. "To me, each creates a different mood, directly linked to the composition--at times light, at times somewhat somber. One thing I like very much is the texture, the intimacy of it."

According to Palmer, Morris drew from the dancers' symbiosis. "Interesting for Mark were the similarities Yanis and I have. We've worked together for so many years! We've been mistaken for brothers." This relationship goes back to their tenure as principals at Miami City Ballet, starting in the late 1980s.

"It was very exciting to work with [Morris] and share his energy, good humor, wit," says Pikieris. "To collaborate with the wonderful artists who believe in us ... we feel very thankful for that."

The open door to diverse creativity at Maximum Dance suits its current six members (eight are slated for contract next year). "We are not a company of soldiers," asserts Pikieris, "but of individuals who complement each other."

That should show in the range of dances on the June program, which includes Bach de Trois from Diablo Ballet's Nicolai Kabaniaev, a contribution from Luis Armando Castillo, artistic director of Venezuela's Rajatabladanza, and a fresh collaboration by Palmer and Pikieris.

"Fantastic" is how Morris describes these men's efforts to build up a company. "It's so unusual," he feels. "I admire them and the passion they have for making something new and beautiful."