Richmond Ballet Studio 1 series runs through Sunday

The choreographer Jessica Lang sees movement where most wouldn't bother to look.

For the past decade, she has transformed those spurts of creativity into ballets for companies across the country.

She's back in Richmond this week for her fifth commission here, a full-length performance based on the art of Piet Mondrian.

"Lines Squared" is paired with a revival of George Balanchine's Lang"Apollo" for the Richmond Ballet Studio 1 series that runs through Sunday.

"I love his work," she said of Mondrian, the Dutch painter best known for straight lines, cubes and primary colors.

Her ballet follows rigid lines and grids, with dancers draped in the stark primary colors of Mondrian's paintings. From all the formality, a fluid, lively performance emerges.

It's not the first time Lang has taken to the stage with Mondrian in mind. When she was at Juilliard, she and a fellow student danced a compare-and-contrast "paper" on Mondrian and Picasso.

She danced straight while her friend took an abstract approach.

"Juilliard is all about creativity," she said of taking a nontraditional approach to a term paper.

The latest incarnation of Lang's Mondrian movement began taking shape in August, when she spent parts of two weeks intown creating "Lines Squared."

"I did it all here," she said. "I could see it in my mind. I just started dancing, and they followed me.

"It was the quickest I've ever created" an entire ballet.

Sitting in the studio after a rehearsal last week, Lang said she was happy to cede center stage to the dancers.

"I am not one of those choreographers who looks at the stage and thinks, 'I could do that.' I'm quite happy here," she said. "Now if I see a dancer who looks beautiful, I will say, 'I'm happy I could make her look like that.'"

The New York-based Lang said familiarity with the Richmond company made creating the piece easier and harder.

"It's easier, because I know what I'm getting. I know these dancers," she said. "But it's harder, because I want to challenge them. You want to deliver."

Aaron Sutten, the ballet's director of marketing and communication, said delivery won't be a problem.

"We're lucky to have her," he said.

Contact Zachary Reid at (804) 775-8179 or .