If every journey begins with a single step then every dance troupe may debut with a journey.

Winnipeg’s newest contemporary dance company The Lime Project sprang into life last week with its inaugural production, JURN.E, held Jan. 11 to 14 at the Rachel Browne Theatre. The abstract show, choreographed by founding artistic director Nina Jane Patel, featured an A-list of Winnipeg’s finest contemporary dancers including, Natasha Torres-Garner, Arlo Baskier-Nabess, Claire Marshall, Ming Hon, Johanna Riley, Branwyn Bundon, Rachelle Bourget and Patel. Photography/videography by Vince Pahkala with Steve Hunnie’s lighting provided a naturalistic backdrop for the 55-minute production.

Patel performed with Winnipeg’s Contemporary Dancers for four years after graduating from The Professional Program of The School of Contemporary Dancers in 2000. The Lime Project was created as a way to unite contemporary dance with movement-based outreach projects for those marginalized in society.

Structured as 17 seamless movements, JURN.E unfolded as a meditation on life, death, love and loss. Dancers performed individual short solos as unique as a set of fingerprints, revealing (presumably) their own autobiographical lives as told through movement.

Patel’s suitcase image — with each dancer dressed in tunics and leggings first arriving onstage with white cardboard tote in hand — became a leitmotif for the entire show. As each one paused to gaze into a full-length mirror — preparing for the journey within— the viewers were invited along for the ride, and by extension, an examination of their own lives.

The show included several arresting images, with Hon’s solo particularly strong. Her simple act of slowly pouring water from a jar over her head evoked either her own baptism or drowning. It was also a joy to see so many fine dancers onstage, whose rapport and mutual respect for each other was palpable. As her first major work of choreography, Patel successfully balances smaller ensembles with larger company movement.

However, despite these strengths, the show’s overly cryptic nature fought against itself. As dancers finally unpacked their cases to reveal jars filled with water, feathers and other personal artifacts, the meaning of these objects — and how they ultimately fit into Patel’s overall vision — was not clear. And never a good sign, the audience also inadvertently began to applaud as dancers silently watched a stream of photographic images at the close; this false ending uprooted any sense of destination that may have been reached through the journey.

Still, it’s not every day dance fans get to see the birth of a new company. While the Lime Project is in its formative stage, Patel has set the bar high for herself while providing a wonderful new venue for this city’s great dance artists to perform.