Complexions Contemporary Ballet celebrates its 15th anniversary this year with a program called Love, Sweat & Tears. I spoke to Dwight Rhoden, who co-founded Complexions with Desmond Richardson, shortly before the company’s season at The Joyce in November. Below are some excerpts from our interview.

When you started out in 1994, did you envision sticking around for 15 years?

Dwight Rhoden: Desmond and I didn’t necessarily set out to start a dance company. We were both leaving Ailey at that point, and Desmond was going to dance in Frankfurt with Billy Forsythe and I was going to concentrate on choreographing and directing. Then I decided to choreograph a show, and we brought together a bunch of people we respected and found inspiring. We brought them from all different places, from the major companies in New York to dancers who might not even have formal training—modern, ballet, street, you name it. Once we saw all of that great energy and curiosity all in one room, we decided that we had something really special here and that’s when the company was born. It was really out of a love for dance and an appreciation for all those differences and contrasts.

Why did you decide to call this year’s program Love, Sweat and Tears?

DR: Because it’s the truth. It’s a lot of hard work to start a company from the ground up and maintain it. I think it defines everything we’ve been through to bring the company to where it is, but in a very positive way. It also sort of mirrors the programming for this season.

Tell me about the two new pieces you choreographed this year.

DR: Mercy deals with the human condition, with compassion. It’s inspired by many things that are happening around the world. It deals with being at a place where you’re looking for answers, trying to find a way to handle all that’s sent your way. Dirty Wire looks at relationships and connections. It’s about how people meet and communicate these days, with everything from e-mail to Facebook.

What’s your personal take on how technology has influenced the way we connect with one another?

DR: There’s an upside to it, because there’s an immediacy to it and it gives you the ability to connect quickly. I think there’s also a disadvantage in that there’s sometimes a bit of a disconnect or lack of people skills. You can become removed and not really know how to communicate one-on-one as easily as before we had all of this stuff, back when you had to know how to be able to carry on a conversation in person.

You and Desmond have been doing quite a bit of work with So You Think You Can Dance over the past couple of years. What do you like about being a part of the show?

DR: First of all, to be able to reach so many people is great. A lot of times concert dance doesn’t get to be seen but So You Think You Can Dance has done a lot for dance in general. I’m not one of those choreographers who is prejudiced against doing something a little bit more on the commercial side because it’s all great, it’s all dancing. And we’re bringing it into people’s homes where you are instantly seen and heard, and that is invaluable.

Rhoden and Richardson choregraphed a contemporary routine for Jakob Karr and Kathryn McCormick for the Season 6 finale. Check it out here:

The critics can be harsh on you guys. Do you read reviews, and do they have any impact on your work?

DR: I think some critics are more responsible than others, but responsible criticism seems to be waning.  I don’t really listen to critics in terms of it directing what I do next. I think that would be a big mistake—you have to really follow your vision and it can’t be affected by what one person writes. I think criticism is a good thing to have, but it has to be responsible and respectful and not try to tear down the artist at hand. The main thing I care about is connecting with my audience, and one thing I am really proud of is that Complexions has always connected with audiences. We’ve had a major reception whether in Topeka Kansas or New York or Australia. As long as I’m connecting with my audience, then I feel that I’m doing my job.

And why do you think Complexions is so good at connecting with audiences?

DR: The work itself is very eclectic. You may have a performance that begins with Chopin and ends with U2. The movement itself is a mélange of all different types of stuff—there are influences of street dance, but you’ll also see the classicism. The dancers dance on pointe and they dance barefoot. There’s that diversity in almost every aspect of the organization. Then to top that off you have a very multicultural cast with people from all different parts of the world and all types of bodies and looks. The typical, skinny ballerina look isn’t what we go for. I think the company is accessible in so many ways. And that’s what Desmond and I try to make sure remains as the company continues to grow.

You talk a lot about dance as a means of expression, of using the body to communicate in as many different ways as possible. How do you coax this out of your dancers?

DR: We’re always pushing the dancers to do more, to really connect with what the work is about. We have a company full of amazing dancers who can do just about anything with their bodies. Physicality is really not the issue. Really, the most important part is being able to connect with it so that people in the audience aren’t just looking at a physical display, but they actually feel something. Hopefully we are able to grab you and bring you into the middle of whatever it is we’re dancing about so that in some ways it should be that you almost forget that they’re dancing.

What are your plans for the next 15 years?

DR: We hope to have our own space. We would love to have a training ground, because we have a very specific way we like dancers to work. There’s a huge educational side to Complexions, and we have crazy enrollment in our intensives, so we see the need to have a training ground for future generations of dancers. Certainly we want Complexions to be out there more and more, and for everyone to know who we are and what we are. It’s really about unity, and we think the message is so universal, so now—it’s very Obama. We think we’re the perfect company at the perfect time, and we’re hoping we can play a part in continuing to do some good in the world.