Utah Dance articles published in 15 Bytes, Utah’s Art Magazine.
When I invited Lauren Wightman to collaborate with me on Mine we were both in the process of letting things die inside of us. I was deep in the throes of heartbreak after ending a long-term partnership and Lauren had just had a chronic illness flare up that […]
Kara Komarnitsky met with Molly Heller and Jorge Rojas after the opening of their co-curated gallery, Grief Work. They talked about the emotional experience of the opening reception, the vulnerability of the curation process, and the joys of being in community when surrounded by grief. Kara Komarnitsky What […]
Mitsu Salmon speaks with choreographer and interdisciplinary artist Stephanie García about her creative process, collaboration, and the questions shaping her new work, What Have We Lost? García speaks about a practice grounded in inquiry, where meaning develops gradually through the process of making. Our conversation touches on injustice, […]
On Friday, Aug. 22, the seats of UMOCA’s auditorium filled up to witness an evening of dance films curated by Irishia Hubbard Romaine, a dancer-filmmaker who lived in Salt Lake City for 3 years. “Strands of Identity: Excerpt and Guest Artist Screening” presented five works exploring the Black […]
For 15 years, loveDANCEmore has served as a catalyst for Utah’s experimental dance community, presenting performances, publishing criticism and sustaining a dialogue about what it means to make and witness dance in Utah. Founded by choreographer and educator Ashley Anderson, the organization has evolved from a grassroots effort […]
I had the opportunity to chat with Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company’s newest Artistic Director, Leslie Kraus, amidst her first concert, REVERBERATION. Leslie’s appointment as Artistic Director comes at a time when both founders of the organization have recently passed—Shirley Ririe this past August and Joan Woodbury in 2023. Leslie […]
Two men appear, one after another, dressed in work suits. They take turns pushing a plastic garbage pail through a field of discarded objects—broken cups and clamshells, eerily white. jo Blake leans on the can, then back onto two feet; he proposes something with the slap of a […]
“Birds are really reliant on the Great Salt Lake,” says Mitsu Salmon, director of immersive dance experience Feathered Tides. Centered around native birds and bringing awareness to the drying of the Great Salt Lake, Feathered Tides takes viewers on a journey into all levels of emotion through varying […]
This profile was originally published in our 2019 publication Utah’s 15: The State’s Most Influential Artists. With the announcement that Linda C. Smith will step down as Executive/Artistic Director of Repertory Dance Theatre at the close of its 59th season and transition to Director Emerita in July 2025, […]
Natosha Washington’s words begin the monologue which opens RDT’s I AM: “This is a story of a Black woman…” She asks the audience, as we pause to witness the person next to us, if we are part of the problem, or stand with the solution? A warning: no […]
Daniel Charon, artistic director of Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company, has announced that he will step down at the end of the company’s 12th season in the spring of 2025. After a transformative 12-year tenure, Charon shared his decision, citing it as a deeply personal choice made in pursuit of […]
Mythili Prakash and her ensemble performed She is Auspicious on the evening of September 8 at the Jeanne Wagner Theatre, under the auspices of Utah Presents and Nitya Nritya Foundation. To the terms “avant-garde,” “bold,” and “original” used to describe Mythili Prakash’s production, I would add “candid” and […]
Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company opened its 2024-2025 season with an evening full of tension, humor, elegance, and exuberance, featuring two world premieres and a dynamic exploration of human emotion. The evening begins with The Bunker, choreographed by Laja Field and Martin Durov. Set against an original score by Durov, […]
Bené Arnold, a seminal figure in Utah’s dance community and Ballet West’s first Ballet Mistress, passed away on January 25, 2024, at the age of 88. Arnold’s legacy is marked by her significant influence in shaping the careers of countless dancers at Ballet West and the University of […]
Ririe-Woodbury recently celebrated sixty years with Groundworks, a show that honors the company’s long standing relationship with Alwin Nikolais, its founders, Shirley Ririe and Joan Woodbury, and the current artistic director, Daniel Charon. The opener was Tensile Involvement, an iconic Nikolais piece that uses elastics coupled with movement to […]
In April, Utah’s two flagship modern dance companies respond to the environment. With To See Beyond Our Time, Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company joins the swelling number of artistic voices calling for dramatic change to save Great Salt Lake. Co-created by Ririe-Woodbury artistic director Daniel Charon and theatre director Alexandra […]
I continue to be struck by the quantity and quality of work being made week-to-week in our community in small spaces and on shoestring budgets. A couple weekends ago I took in Anhad: Beyond Limitations at the Regent Street Black Box. The evening was the latest offering of […]
Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company’s show HERE TODAY played January 12-14 at the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center in downtown Salt Lake. The performance featured an engaging, diverse program of work from three choreographers – Raja Feather Kelly, Molly Heller, and Charles O. Anderson. The evening opened with a premiere […]
For their October Digest, loveDANCEmore editor Arin Lynn spoke with Joshua “Text” Perkins, executive director of 1520 Arts, a nonprofit dance organization. The organization’s They Reminisce was performed at the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center Sept. 16 & 17. Answers have been edited for clarity. Can you tell […]
