MARIDETH WANAT, 28, came to Buffalo as a founding member of Jon Lehrer’s well-regarded young company, LehrerDance. Earlier this year, Dance magazine named Wanat, a Pennsylvania native, one of 2009’s “25 Dancers to Watch.”

LehrerDance debuts several new pieces at 8 p. m. next Friday in a performance at Artpark. This date marks a notable return of dance to the venue’s slate of offerings. Tickets are $20 to $30; the company will offer a meet-and-greet in the Terrace Lounge after the show for an additional $20, which includes food. More information is available by calling 754-4375 or visiting www.lehrerdance.org or www.artpark.net.

What is innovative about the LehrerDance style?

Our steps aren’t necessarily different, but our attack is innovative. It blends a modern dance attack with the “wow” factor of jazz, its intensity and athleticism.

You have said that you“like throwing yourself around with abandon.” Did that get you into trouble as a child?

No, but I have always been fearless, never afraid. I was the girl who was too young to go on the biggest roller coaster—and when I did, I was freaked out, but wouldn’t say so because I loved the sense of taking chances.

How did you become a Lehrer dancer?

I met Jon when I was right out of college. We worked together in Chicago. I loved his [choreography], how it felt on my body. He was a mentor professionally. I’ve been dancing his style for six years. When he decided to start his company in Buffalo, he wanted me to dance for him. I’m grateful and humble about being the rehearsal director; I understand how to teach his choreographies, and how to move with them.

All the members of LehrerDance live in Buffalo, though none are from here. How is that working out?

I moved here from Chicago, and we’ve got members from Missouri, Maryland, and closer by, like Rochester and Syracuse. We all love it. Jon began dancing at UB, and he wanted his company here. We want to draw dancers into Buffalo, to show that they don’t have to leave to find work.

When I tell people that I’ve moved to Buffalo, they are always surprised at first— they think that when you find a successful major dance company, it’s in a city like New York or Los Angeles.

What do you like about Buffalo? The city embraces the arts. It helps that

I’m part of something I believe in and enjoy. That made the transition for all of us very easy. The people in Buffalo love the fact that we are here.

—Jana Eisenberg, Special to The News