When the dancers let loose, this performance flowed more smoothly

The pleasures of improv proved the saving grace of Chamber Dance Project, a plucky pickup group in performance through the weekend at the Lansburgh Theatre. While the dancers hail from various companies, including a few from the Washington Ballet, a sense of play unites them. They were far more comfortable coming up with their own moves in a "structured improvisation" than in the more formal choreography that filled out the program Thursday night.