Catellier Dance Projects presents a locavore’s artisanal approach to dance

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• “TEMPO” on-stage at Emory this weekend May 20-22 takes an artisinal approach to dance.

If the Atlanta dining scene has the farm-to-table movement, couldn’t the dance scene have its own equivalent? That’s the philosophy behind Emory professor Greg Catellier’s approach to dance. “I’m kind of working with the idea of artisanal dance-making,” he says. “I’m making dances in small batches with local dancers for a discerning local community. I like to think of myself as a farmer’s market. You’ll come, and you’ll get good-quality, local dance.”

Catellier has put this idea into practice in his latest work “TEMPO: A Non-fiction Dance Performance,” taking place at Emory’s Schwartz Center this weekend. The evening-length work examines different ideas about time, using a cast comprised of Catellier and six local professional dancers, including several members of Decatur-based Core Performance Company and several former students. “Usually I decide after I have a cast what the show is going to be,” says Catellier. “It’s about the people I’m working with. All these folks are really smart, really creative and wonderful dancers.”