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This summer, dance lovers can visit the Marriott Center for Dance for a ringside seat to some of the most respected dance makers in the nation.
The University of Utah's Department of Modern Dance will launch its inaugural SaltDanceFest June 1—10. Then on June 13-24, the department will host Repertory Dance Theater's Summerdance Intensive, making June dance month in Salt Lake City.
It's perfect timing, too, as summer is a time when dance students across the country vie for spots in prestigious dance programs, looking to broaden their training and hone their aesthetic.
As a new festival, SaltDanceFest is starting small and hoping to get on the radar for next year. The U. is accepting a maximum of 40 dancers, while inviting guest teachers for a intense, 10-day exploration of the creative process.
But U. dance students won't be the only ones who can benefit. The community is invited to a free artists' panel discussion, two free performances, and two ticketed performances in the casual, come-as-you-are atmosphere of the Marriott Center for Dance.
Stephen Koester, the recently named chairman of the U.'s modern dance department, is co-coordinating the festival with faculty members Pamela Gerber and Satu Hummasti. He invites dance lovers to see work by national and internationally known choreographers, promising each artist will be "wildly different from the others."
By focusing on the creative process, the SaltDanceFest hopes to distinguish itself from more established festivals — such as Jacobs Pillow in Beckett, Mass., or American Dance Festival in Durham, N.C. "So, it's not about learning how to dance, it's about learning how to create and be an artist," Koester said.
While student-participants might feel eager to be challenged by new ideas, audiences shouldn't worry about feeling intimidated by new work. A panel discussion and performances will offer everyone a chance to be a dance insider and learn about the festival's meta-theme of "collaborative pairs."
"The guest artists work in couples," Koester said. "They are partners in life and artistically. It's a different process working with other people, whether linked romantically or not. It forces you to let go of some of your ideas. You can't be so precious because you have to give and take. People become so tied to their ideas it can be detrimental. You have to be able to get over yourself."
This is familiar ground for Koester, who was co-artistic director of the celebrated Creach/Koester dance company from 1986-1996 with his then-partner Terry Creach. The company was highly successful in international tours, awards and funding.
"I worked in a couple, too, and it was — interesting," Koester joked. "We knew how to push each other's buttons. I think we got more jobs because people were entertained watching us argue more than for our artistry."
But don't expect that kind of drama from the U.'s invited guests. They are all leaders in their genre, "and are secure enough in their own work to give and take and also stand up for what they believe in," Koester said.
The festival is part of Koester's plan for the future of the U.'s modern dance department, which he hopes will emphasize the creative process as much as technical skill. "I want our department to be a cauldron of creative activity," he said.
But that doesn't mean that Koester's department will focus only on cutting-edge dance-making. "I don't know that the charge of every artist is to be innovative and move the field forward," he said. "The charge is to make the best work you know how to make that interests you."
The creative juices will keep flowing on campus as SaltDanceFest ends and Repertory Dance Theatre's SummerDance 2011 Merce Cunningham Intensive begins in mid-June. RDT's move from the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center to campus provides a seamless transition for students who want to study with Cunnningham master teachers Patricia Lent and Neil Greenberg.
Students will study the technique, repertory and compositional theory of the late postmodern choreographer and artistic giant Merce Cunningham, as they prepare to perform a section of his 1967 work, "Scramble." The in-depth training is an integral part of acquiring the skill to dance a master work such as "Scramble," which RDT will perform in concert in October.
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SaltDanceFest
What • The University of Utah modern dance department launches its SaltDanceFest June 1-10, and then will host Repertory Dance Theater's Summerdance Intensive June 13-24.
Where • Events will be at the Marriott Center for Dance's Christensen Theatre, 330 S. 1500 East, (west of Marriott Library), U. campus, Salt Lake City
June 3, 8 p.m. • Premiere of evening-length work by Chris Aiken and Angie Hauser
June 4, 8 p.m. • Eiko & Koma, and STEELEDANCE
Tickets • $12, $8 students/U. faculty and staff/seniors; at 801-581-7100
For SaltDanceFest information • Email info@dance.utah.edu, or contact Tyler Kunz at 801-581-7327
June 8, 8 p.m. • Panel discussion by guest choreographers. Free to the public.
June 10, 8 p.m. • SaltDanceFestival participants perform new works created by guest artists, and selected works by workshop participants. Free.
June 24, 4 p.m. • Student and RDT company members perform Merce Cunningham's "Scramble." Cunningham master teachers Patricia Lent and Neil Greenberg will discuss Cunningham's method and compositional theory. Free. —
Watching new dance
Not sure how to look at investigative work? Stephen Koester suggests:
A new dance piece doesn't have to have a message — instead, consider choreography as the answer to a question. The question can be physical, psychological or philosophical, as long as a question has been posed.
So the message is: What is the question that has been investigated? If there's no question asked, then the choreography is probably in trouble.
Viewers shouldn't expect to "get" exactly what the choreographer was thinking. Instead, good choreography should give viewers enough information to spark interest in what's going on.
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SaltDanceFest guest artists
Chris Aiken and Angie Hauser • will preview their newest work, "Sign of the Sparrow." Chris Aiken is a leading international dance maker, performer and teacher of improvisation and contact improvisation. Hauser is a dance maker, performer and teacher. Her work reflects the influences of improvisation, postmodern choreography, contact improvisation, ballet and Butoh. Hauser received a Bessie Award (dance equivalent of an Academy Award) in 2006, and has been a member of the Bebe Miller Company since 2000.
Eiko & Koma • will perform "A Mesmerizing Stillness: Dances from New York." This pair of internationally renowned Japanese-born choreographers/dancers have been creating a unique form of theater since 1972. Their movement aesthetic is pure and raw, creating movement out of stillness, shape, light and sound. Their subjects are elemental, and their message compassionate.
STEELEDANCE • Four company members will perform their 2002 work "Still Waters Run." The company was founded in 1995 to support and showcase the original choreography of Teri Lee and Oliver Steele, who utilize fluidity and athleticism to focus a new lens on contemporary culture.
Cunningham master teachers
Patricia Lent • Danced with the Merce Cunningham company from 1984 to 2003, and White Oak Dance Project from 1994 to 1996. She has been on the faculty of the Merce Cunningham Studio for more than 20 years, teaching technique classes and workshops, and staging work from the repertory.
Neil Greenberg • Danced with the Merce Cunningham company from 1979-1986. Greenberg is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and two Bessie Awards for choreography and has been creating dances since 1979. He currently holds the position of associate professor of choreography at Eugene Lang College, The New York School of Liberal Arts in New York City.