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When Repertory Dance Theatre holds its annual fundraiser and gala next weekend, patrons will get more than drinks, dinner and dessert with their ticket.

They will get a chance to vote on RDT's next commission.

"Regalia," in its second year, returns to the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center on Saturday, Feb. 11, with a choreographic competition. Four local choreographers will create dances in "record-breaking" time over a four-hour period earlier that day, then stage the works at the benefit. The choreographer receiving the most votes from the audience will receive a fully funded commission for RDT's next season.

"Audience members are given a wonderful opportunity to actually be involved in RDT's programming by choosing the choreographer they would like to see again," said Nicholas Cendese, RDT's artistic associate/administrative assistant.

Last year, in honor of RDT's 50th anniversary, only company alumni were given the chance to compete as choreographers. The winner was Andy Nobel, who danced with RDT from 1998-2004 and is co-founder of NobelMotion Dance. His commissioned work, "Filament," turned out to be a favorite among the general audience in RDT's fall program.

Nobel recalled a somber moment during the creative process at the 2016 "Regalia" competition when "two hours into the four-hour time period I decided to scrap what we were working on and start over — you could hear all eight dancers' jaws hit the floor."

This year, choreographers from the Salt Lake Valley will be competing. Each of the four dancemakers will work with a group of eight dancers, also chosen from the community and RDT company members.

For many audience members, the process of choreography is a mystery. How to even start?

Eric Handman, associate professor of dance at the University of Utah, is the most experienced of the four contestants at this Saturday's gala. He cautions that given the time constraints, "you should bite off only as much as you can chew."

"I don't know who I'm going to work with, so I can bring in my music, ideas, some methods, but it will really be a concentrated discovery time," Handman said. "My process is always about finding the dance that we can make together, and I am really interested in what that dance would be."

With only four hours to work, Handman said he would need to rely on choreographic tools that are "direct and easy to process so we can start moving." One example is as easy as rolling dice to decide factors quickly.

"The goal of every process for me is to encounter something new — it's not about transcribing what's in my imagination out into the real world," Handman said. "I try to facilitate a collaboration with everyone in the room, so there is something I can respond to. I never know what I'm going to make, but I know that if I'm triggered to respond, then something is going to emerge."

In 2009, RDT commissioned Handman to create a work he titled "Ghost Ship," but since that time the company has an entirely new set of dancers.

"I am really excited to get to work with RDT because I think these are some of the best dancers in the city," Handman said. "I really like the diversity of the company and want to develop a professional relationship with them."

He knows he'll have to compete against three other respected choreographers to get a chance at the commission and spend more than an afternoon with RDT next season. —

'Regalia'

RDT's annual fundraiser and gala includes dancing with The Joe Muscolino Band and a choreographer competition for an RDT commission. Here are the four competitors: Eric Handman, associate professor at the University of Utah's department of modern dance; Nichele Van Portfleet, a graduate student at the University of Utah; Nick Blaylock, an emerging regional and national choreographer; and Aubry Dalley adjunct faculty at Brigham Young University and dance faculty at Mountain View High School in Orem.

When • Saturday, Feb. 11, 7:30 p.m.; VIP cocktail party at 5:30 p.m.; dinner at 6:30 p.m.

Where • Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center, 138 W. 300 South, Salt Lake City

Tickets • $50-$150; artsaltlake.org; more information at http://www.rdtutah.org/shows/regalia