Repertory Dance Theatre

Two thrilling season openers: Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company’s Act I, Repertory Dance Theatre’s Legend & Lore

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RIRIE-WOODBURY DANCE COMPANY: ACT 1 Expanding the possibilities of dance theater, Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company’s 63rd season opener, Act 1 was as spiritually entertaining and satisfying as it was artistically successful. With two new works by eminent New York choreographers, the production rose upon the company’s legacy of innovative artistic directions that its founders Shirley Ririe … Read more

Repertory Dance Theatre’s 61st season set to open with Legend & Lore, featuring world premiere commission, three other historical works

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The world premiere of Penny Saunders’ Legend Has It will fit perfectly into Repertory Dance Theatre’s (RDT) 61st season opener, Legend & Lore.  It’s a smart segue from the company’s exceptional 60th anniversary season celebration of its own history.  Saunders’ commission is the inaugural offering in RDT’s Living Landscapes initiative. Legend & Lore also features … Read more

Two late summer dance performances: RDT Link Series’ This Will Destroy You, Nava Dance Theatre’s Rogue Gestures/Foreign Bodies

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REPERTORY DANCE THEATRE LINK SERIES: THIS WILL DESTROY YOU If one needed a forceful example of dance’s capacity to convey intense emotions, This Will Destroy You, an evening-length work directed by Molly Heller, was presented recently by RDT’s Link Series. The cycles of grief, labor, care, and unresolved voids were evoked in ways that superseded … Read more

Nevermore: once again, annual Performing Arts Coalition show at The Rose set to raise the bar with comedic riff on Poe’s The Raven

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Only a literary figure with stature such as Edgar Allan Poe has an NFL team honoring his creative legacy. When the Baltimore Ravens won its first Super Bowl in 2001, playing perfect defense and winning by a score of 34-7 against the New York Giants, game announcer Chris Berman proclaimed, “Quoth the Ravens, never score!”  … Read more

Spring Dance Roundup: Ballet West’s Choreographic Fest VII: Spotlight Utah, Repertory Dance Theatre’s Anthology, Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company’s Vantage Point, RDT Link Series’ Of Each OtHER, Nitya Nritya Foundation

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This spring produced an overflowing bounty of great programs in dance, which enjoys imperial status among the performing arts in Utah. The following five exemplify this distinction. Ballet West: Choregraphic Fest VII: Spotlight Utah  Donald Byrd’s Processional world premiere capped a distinguished choreographic valedictory in the history-making closing production of Ballet West’s 2025-26 season. The … Read more

Putting the spotlight on the Utah dance ecosystem, Ballet West’s Choreographic Fest VII set for Donald Byrd world premiere, works by guests Repertory Dance Theatre, Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company, SALT Contemporary Dance

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In Utah, dance wears the empress crown in the performing arts. Choreographers and guest dance artists from around the world know well just how broad and deep the dance ecosystem in Utah is, as evidenced by the numerous commissions that have been set on local companies in ballet and contemporary dance over many decades. For … Read more

Two excellent dance productions: Repertory Dance Theatre’s Link Series, Thayer Jonutz, Out of the Ashes; Samba Fogo’s Chama Do Coração (The Burning Call Of The Heart) 

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The first part of spring has brought numerous dance productions of note. The Utah Review features two recent examples. REPERTORY DANCE THEATRE’S LINK SERIES: THAYER JONUTZ, OUT OF THE ASHES It always is an audacious enterprise for modern dance artists to perform truly as their authentic selves in works choreographed by others, but that sense … Read more

Capping a blockbuster 60th anniversary season, Repertory Dance Theatre’s Anthology set to be dramatic tribute to history, farewell to dancers Ursula Perry, Caleb Daly

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Capping a blockbuster 60th anniversary season, Repertory Dance Theatre’s Anthology takes on the challenge of curating a handful of works from a catalog approaching 450 in number to emphasize the historical significance of modern dance that is more than 125 years old. With 40% percent of works of historical significance that have been restaged on … Read more

Always revolutionary: Repertory Dance Theatre at 60– Special anniversary feature

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EDITOR’S NOTE: Repertory Dance Theatre’s 60th anniversary season is in full swing. This includes the 60 Years In Motion: RDT’s Archival Exhibition, on view March 2–7, 2026, at the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center in the West Studio. On March 6 at 7:30 p.m, audiences are invited to a special guided experience through the exhibition … Read more

With 75 dancers joining from the community, Repertory Dance Theatre’s Emerge achieves ideal milestone for its diamond anniversary season

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The time for the 10th edition of Emerge, Repertory Dance Theatre’s annual showcase of original choreography by company dancers and staff, coincided beautifully with the company’s season-long celebration of its 60th anniversary. When RDT was founded with a Rockefeller Foundation grant in 1966, it included a commitment that the company’s artists would develop choreography. Emerge … Read more