By David G. Pace “Dancing in our heads… We dance for laughter, we dance for tears, we dance for madness, we dance for fears, we dance for hopes, we dance for screams, we are the dancers, we create the dreams.” ~Albert Einstein One of the great pleasures for me while working at Repertory Dance Theatre was its studio. I was a
The story is now iconic. It has the quality of an urban legend, but it is indubitably true. Repertory Dance Theatre's original home in the army barracks at the University of Utah was being demolished. RDT was homeless. Going here, going there . . . at one point "squatting" at the old Salt Palace. That they ended up in
Can you believe it's been 20 years since the Rose Wagner opened its doors? A Rose is a Rose. . . but there’s only one Rose Wagner, the arts complex of dance studios and small to mid-sized theaters in Salt Lake City, home of Repertory Dance Theatre. Affectionately known as “The Rose,” the brainchild of the Performing Arts Coalition formed
Repertory Dance Theatre has always been a revolutionary dance company, ever since a group of Salt Lake City dancers beat out the big city stalwarts and were awarded a Rockefeller Foundation grant to establish the first repertory dance company in the nation. The same can be said of of its innovative approach to fundraising galas. Thirteen years ago, RDT dancer
by David G. Pace Pilar Davis admits to being an adrenaline junkie. She loves art and she loves live art, and you can tell. In a planning meeting late last year for RDT's annual choreographer competition and fundraiser, she talked fast, expressively, and yet somehow maintained a gracious coherency as she factored in the needs and opinions of others. Still,
by Stephen Trimble The leaders of the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition use the word “healing” whenever they define their relationship with the redrock of Utah's public lands. Eric Descheenie says, “By protecting these sacred ancestral lands we can take an important step towards healing.” Descheenie, a Navajo, emphasizes this “indigenous truth” as the foundation for all discussions about why
Repertory Dance Theatre believes that each of us has a unique “sense of place” that can be explored through movement and art. RDT’s newest commission by Zvi Gotheiner, Sacred Lands/Sacred Waters, is the Company’s latest exploration, this time, linked to the newly-proclaimed Bears Ears National Monument in south-eastern Utah. This new work will be a tribute to Bears Ears, to
Many countries have a national dance. The Polish have the polka, the Catalans have the Sardana, the Greeks have the Kalamatianos dance. Jordan and much of the Arab world refer to their ritual line dance as the dabke, while the Chinese are perhaps best known for the dragon and lion dances which stem from the Han Dynasty. But what is the
Repertory Dance Theatre is the only dance company to receive a grant from the (currently) embattled Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and at the time (2011) the Company took some hard hits from Utah's congressional delegation, two of whom argued that, especially during a recession, funding from the Federal Government to a modern dance company--even one as celebrated as
Dance Classes Every dancer knows that the only way to get better is to take class! Even our professional dancers take class EVERY DAY to get better, hone their skills and progress. But you don't have to be a professional dancer to take class. At RDT's Dance Center on Broadway, we offer classes for every skill level (even if you've