Miriam Barbosa of South Carolina Contemporary Dance Company and Josh Alexander. From the moment Miriam Barbosa and Marcelo Novo first met they knew they both spoke the same language - literally and artistically.

"All of our conversations were in Spanish," Brazilian dancer and choreographer Barbosa said. "We found in each other a lot of similarities."

About five years ago, she and Novo, an artist from Argentina, began developing "Catharsis," a melding of Barbosa's choreography and emotion with Novo's artwork and storyline. It premiered in 2005 at the Patriot Hall Performing Arts Center in Sumter and was performed twice at the Koger Center by the USC Dance Company.

But this upcoming Koger Center show on September 17 is special for Barbosa as it will be the first time her masterpiece is performed by her own dancers of the South Carolina Contemporary Dance Company.

"The whole evening will be like a baptism for the company," Barbosa said.

The plot for the three- act "Catharsis" is scrawled across several small, white beverage napkins from a local Barnes and Noble. Novo keeps them pressed between the pages of an artist's sketch book that also contains many drawings of the characters.

Dancers from the South Carolina Contemporary Dance Company "We didn't really know what it was going to be at first," Novo said.

Based loosely on the romantic relationship of a couple danced by Miriam Barbosa and Serguei Chtyrkov, "Catharsis" is described as "a sensorial contemporary experience through the journey of love, passion, chaos, war, and purification."

In the second act, an emotional rendering of turmoil and violence, the character of Mr. V emerges, a villain that Novo compares to the Joker from Batman. Not content to keep the action on the stage, Barbosa chose to incorporate the space above it as well with an aerial upside down tango originally designed by friend and Cirque du Soleil technician Eric Rouse.

The third act is a cleansing of all the bad events that plagued the second act. Novo recommended employing a bathtub as the central focus to represent a healing between the couple. This also meshed well with the three images in his Catharsis series that depict people showering.

Miriam Babosa and Josh Alexander practice "Maple Leaf Rag," a ballet by Martha Graham. "It was an interesting concept," Barbosa said. "I said 'Ok! I'll dance in a bathtub!"

Formed in 2007, the South Carolina Contemporary Dance Company is not only the embodiment of Barbosa's artistic dreams but also her gift to the community. "I thought it was time to do my own productions," she said. "I'm not trying to do something that already exists."

Currently, the ballet is housed in the Vista in Gyrontonic Vista, Barbosa's specialty exercise business. Sunlight pours through the skylights of the modestly- sized studio where her dancers have been rehearsing the updated "Catharsis" as well as "Maple Leaf Rag," a ballet by modern choreographer Martha Graham. The company received a special grant from the SC Arts Commission in order to secure rights to the piece and host original cast member and rehearsal director Denise Vale.

Miriam Barbosa with dancer Columbia ballet fans will notice some familiar faces among the dancers in Barbosa's company. Columbia City Ballet artistic director William Starrett recommended five of his company's dancers to perform in the show, which is outside his normal season that begins in October.

"I know it's going to help stretch the dancers," Starrett said. "I gave her names of those dancers who I knew would enjoy experimenting with a different form of dance. It will help them to be working on a new style of dance. There is this notion that the dance community doesn't partner with each other, and that just isn't true."

Barbosa continues to develop her school and plans to teach classes in the evenings following rehearsals. Her eye is on the future with a production

of the "Divine Comedy" in fall 2010 and a possible expansion of the studio.

"Catharsis" will be September 17 at 7 pm at the Koger Center. Tickets are $8- $31. For more information call (803) 251-2222 or http://koger.sc.edu/.