Growing up in Princeton, Brian Sanders was captivated by two things: ballet and gymnastics. The 1984 graduate of Princeton High School divided his time between Princeton Ballet School and Alt’s Gym.

Initially, ballet won out. Mr. Sanders spent several years studying at Princeton Ballet with the late Alexei Yudenich, who was a principal dancer with The Pennsylvania Ballet. So there is something gratifying about the fact that a piece by Mr. Sanders, now a choreographer with his own company, is being performed by the Pennsylvania Ballet next weekend. Chicken Bone Brain shares a program with works by George Balanchine and British choreographer David Dawson at Philadelphia’s Merriam Theatre November 10-13.

“The fact that it’s The Pennsylvania Ballet is one of the things that has been wonderful about this experience,” said Mr. Sanders during a telephone conversation. His own style, honed by a decade dancing with the inventive company MOMIX, makes use of gymnastic movement, giant props, found objects, and an element of daring — not exactly what ballet dancers are used to. Chicken Bone Brain has been a challenge for them, he admits.

“The dancers have been great. The first day or two of rehearsal they all loved it, but the next day they were covered in bruises,” Mr. Sanders said. “It’s all very new for them. But they defy logic dancing on their toes all day, so the idea of figuring out how to make something physically challenging look weightless transfers, no matter what.”

Chicken Bone Brain was inspired by “Look What They’ve Done To My Song, Ma,” a song Mr. Sanders knew as a child. The dancers climb up on giant, 12-foot bones that are suspended in the air. “Some want to do it, some don’t,” he said. The music is a mix of electronics and soundscape. “I tried to get the orchestra to play the song, but it didn’t work out,” he continued. “The piece has a little bit to do with my struggle as a creative artist. I feel like I have a chicken bone brain, and it’s about how I deal with that in this world.”

Mr. Sanders, who lives in Philadelphia, still has family members in the Princeton area. “My father founded The Institute of Philosophy in Princeton many years ago,” he said. “My sister is in Trenton and my mother is in Lawrenceville. My father had six kids between my mom and stepmom. There’s a 20-year span between my oldest brother and youngest sister.”

Back when he was first studying dance, Mr. Sanders was inspired by the choreography of showman Bob Fosse. He also became enamored of Pilobolus, the unusual dance company that was the forerunner of MOMIX. He joined MOMIX after college and worked closely with one of its founders, Moses Pendleton.

“It was a unique and dynamic fit,” Mr. Sanders said. “I was athletic and acrobatic and loved
classical ballet, and those are his primary aesthetics The two of us loved the blend of classical line and high caliber athletic prowess, and we hit it off creatively. I’m one of the few choreographers who has repertory in MOMIX that they still perform today.”

Mr. Sanders founded his own company, JUNK, in 1997. The company is based in Philadelphia and has become a favorite of the annual FringeArts Festival mounted each fall. The troupe’s name reflects its focus on found objects that are turned into props.

“After living in New York, I had become a kind of dumpster diver,” Mr. Sanders said. “Part of it is my practical nature. In one of my first shows, I used a lot of found objects. I decided to do a show called ‘JUNK,’ and I ended up keeping the name and making it the name of my company. It’s been known as JUNK ever since.

Mr. Sanders recently finished a show called Urban Scuba, which “encapsulates all of my found junk,” he said. “It’s basically 20 years of JUNK. Inside all of this stuff, although it has a sort of grungy, urban feel, there is an aesthetic grace and beauty. I still maintain this found object aesthetic but I try not to think of it as stuff somebody would find in a dumpster.”

Gravity-defying aerial work often figures into Mr. Sanders’ work. “That comes from my background with gymnastics and MOMIX,” he said. “I also did some work with a circus and a lot of
performing in nightclubs when I was younger. I’d be hanging over the dance floor, suspending myself in any way that I could. It became one of my creative expressions.”

Pennsylvania Ballet’s artistic director Angel Corella is looking forward to seeing how audiences react to Mr. Sanders’ work. “I met him less than a year ago,” Mr. Corella recently recalled. “I went to see his company and when I walked in, I was shocked. There were boxes of hay everywhere. Dancers were doing the most incredible things, flying, on ropes. I had never seen anything like it. This will be something very different for us.”