Red solo cups, animalistic movements, spoken words, death, identity and time are all themes in the University of Idaho Dance Theatre’s upcoming show “Colliding Contrasts.” Belle Baggs, the UI Dance Theatre director said the title comes from the diversity of the show.
“I feel like it’s so diverse in styles and themes,” Baggs said. “There is ballet against hip hop, contemporary gesture against jazz.”
Each choreographer put together a piece that shows an audience what is being explored and researched through movement. Choreographers are not given many boundaries so they have freedom to explore whatever approach to movement they are interested in, Baggs said.
She said the audience can expect to see many explorations occurring within each dance, as well as, differing choreography from one piece to another.
Shaundralyn Parry, a dancer in the show, said the casts are different sizes and the length of each piece varies. She said with such variety, the show is well rounded.
Some routines have primal and animalistic themes. One piece addresses jungle creatures in an abstract way while another deals with the idea of beauty through pigeons, Baggs said. Other themes explored include partying and the use of red solo cups, reactions to death, support of strangers and the theme of time and identity.
Baggs said her piece presents relationships and spoken words in a duet. The dancers wrote about what they remembered from relationships they had.
“I was interested in memory and how it is connected to relationships,” Baggs said.
She said some of the words used in her piece came from inside the rehearsal process and became part of the dance. Baggs said the words make the movement more dynamic.
Shane Brown, a dancer in the show, said Baggs’ choreography is very different than what he is used to.
“This dance is continually evolving,” Brown said. “I’ve never worked on that before so that’s exciting.”
Dancers have been rehearsing 4-6 hours a week since the beginning of the semester. Choreographers have been meeting regularly with an adjudication panel who gives them feedback on their work, Baggs said.
Baggs said choreographers talk to the panel about what they are exploring and researching in movement.
“This is where we ask what they want the audience to see,” Baggs said.
Melanie Meenan, a clinical assistant professor in dance, said she explores the idea of identity in her piece. She plays with the idea of being different, time and situations where people feel they stand out. Meenan said all eight of her dancers have been involved in the process.
“There are sections where they have to move fast and be clear with their movement choices and then parts where they have to go as slow as they possibly can,” Meenan said.
Meenan said people bring their own viewpoints to the performance so the audience will always experience it differently than others sitting in the same theatre.
“Everybody will walk away with something they enjoy or something they don’t,” Meenan said.
Dance styles including hip hop, ballet, jazz and contemporary will be featured in the show.
The show will start at 7 p.m., Nov. 7-9 at the Hartung Theatre.
Kelsey Hart can be reached at [email protected]