There were many fine moments this year for the Utah Enlightenment. In compiling the list of what I believe were the 10 best defining moments of Utah’s cultural awakening for 2016, the pool of choices was more than satisfying in breadth and depth. There has been a great deal of recent press, for example, about … Read more
In the 20-year relationship that choreographer Joanie Smith of Shapiro and Smith Dance has had with the Repertory Dance Theatre (RDT), dancers have performed many works that bear her company’s distinctive joyous, witty, uninhibited, physically demanding artistic brand. Smith and her husband, Danial Shapiro (who died in 2006), came to Salt Lake City in the … Read more
Still justifiably radiant after a spectacular golden anniversary season, the Repertory Dance Theatre continues the revolution in in modern dance with two premieres – one focusing on the recently developed Gaga movement language and the other on the complicated blurring of the constructed and real body representation in digitized technology – along with two other … Read more
In addition to the premiere of a dance composition by Ballet West’s Adrian Fry and performances by Christopher Ruud’s Stars of Ballet West (watch for a preview next week), three historically significant Utah dance companies will present performances to help commemorate the festival’s 40th anniversary. Many of the works were given either world or Utah … Read more
Choreographer Francisco Gella sees the upcoming Regalia event to celebrate the Repertory Dance Theatre’s 50th anniversary as the dance version of Project Runway, Chopped or Top Chef. On Feb. 20, Gella and three other choreographers – Marina Harris, David Marchant, Andy Noble, all alumni of RDT – will have four hours to create their own … Read more
Three world premieres – all embracing celebration in various forms of dance movement and music – will mark Revel, one of the concerts marking the Repertory Dance Theatre’s 50th anniversary. The program includes a new work by Bill Evans, a nationally known dance artist and choreographer who was one of the earliest dancers in RDT’s … Read more
At 75, Bill Evans is eternally youthful in his artistic energy and passion. Returning this summer to Utah’s Repertory Dance Theatre (RDT), where he danced and choreographed new works during the early years of RDT’s revolutionary experiment as an ‘artistic democracy’ shortly after it was formed in 1966, he is enjoying the homecoming immensely. “I … Read more
In addition to the premieres of two new dance works by Ballet West’s Christopher Ruud, four local pillars of Utah’s expansive dance community will present a variety of works encompassing the breadth and depth of dance movement vocabularies at this year’s Utah Arts Festival. Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company, June 26, 6 p.m., Festival Stage For the … Read more
In the midst of an exceptional season for Salt Lake City’s dance and ballet companies, this week’s forthcoming ‘Reunion’ concert (April 23-25) by the Repertory Dance Theatre (RDT) will remind the community of why dance enjoys an amazingly diverse and nationally recognized presence in the Utah arts scene. In 1966, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater … Read more
Going for a three-peat in Repertory Dance Theatre’s Iron Choreographer competition, Nathan Shaw, a full-time dance teacher at Judge Memorial High School in Salt Lake City, follows a few simple rules. Lay off the abstract. Tap into the humor vault. Be courageous, knowing the weakest link could be the strongest. In last year’s competition at … Read more