IDT Dance Chat

Sunday Event

2009-08-26T21:55:00.001-06:00

A new season starts on Monday and we are ready to go! Don't miss us at the Curb Cup this Sunday from 2-4pm We will be in Boise Center on the Grove near the fountain. Cast your votes for IDT!

Spring show is coming soon

2009-03-28T15:30:00.005-06:00

Full Throttle is completed - one more week of rehearsals and then it's in the theatre we go. It's a great close to our 20th Anniversary Season. Our newest collaboration sounds phenomenal....the original score was written by David Alan Earnest...it will be performed live by the Verde Percussion Group accompanied by Del Parkinson on piano. The dancing is amazing and showcases the entire company - choreography was done by artistic director Marla Hansen. Other works in the show are by guest choreographers and former alumni daners, Kelli Brown and Lauren Edson...as well as Carl Rowe artistic director. Special pricing for our final show on Sunday - bring you family and share in a fun activity on Easter Sunday. Saturday night is a tribute to our alumni dancers...another great night to be part of IDT.

So don't miss the final show of the season! It promises to be a great show. Season tickets go on sale at the show...don't miss the early bird prices good only at the show. Season tickets will go on sale on-line after April 12.

Looking ahead

2009-02-05T22:29:00.003-07:00

Well - the winter show is in the books...so they say. The company was fabulous - strong and athletic throughout the show run. The crowds...well they could certainly have been larger - we all need to share with our friends how exciting these shows are...not enough folks know about us!

Looking ahead - we have our 20th Anniversary Gala coming up on March 14. It's an event you really don't want to miss. There's something for everyone....dinner, no-host bar, auction - both live and silent - with our friend Laryr Gebert as auctioneer....some great competitions - dancing and costumes....speaking of which - you should dress in clothes from your favorite decade...after all it's Dancing Thru the Decades! And best of all from 9-midnight - there will be music and dancing by High Street. Check it all out on the website. I'll get a list of auction items up as soon as I can...there's some really cool stuff...hot air balloon ride, fly-fishing trip, lots of dinner and entertainment ideas...great artwork too! Clear the date and join us to raise money for IDT - so we can continue to create and share our performance art with you. Help IDT survive for another 20 years! And have a great time too! Auction items being collected - have something to donate - please let me know!

Thanks to all our friends and supporters. Without you all we could not have successfully completed the first 20 years! We really do appreciate all of you!

December

2008-12-06T11:56:00.003-07:00

IDT is busy working on the January show...while performing some educational outreach in between rehearsals....It's keeping everyone busy for sure! I hope you are all having a great Holiday season. I know that I am enjoying this one. Just wish everyone around my house could stay healthy!

IDT is having an "In Your Face" Open Rehearsal on Friday at noon at the Morrison Center. I can hardly wait to see what's new for this show...since both Carl and Marla are creating new works. Some great stuff I hear. I hope that you have an hour to spare on Friday and will join us in the studio for the rehearsal. Let me know if you can make it and I'll save you a spot. Bring a new friend and get tickets to opening night! Now - that's worth it, eh?

We are hoping to sell out the January show...so buy your tickets early, bring new friends, tell others how much you enjoy having a contemporary company in Boise...and that they should support the arts too by attending these great dance performances...they will be pleasantly surprised at how much fun it is to be in the theater watching a live performance! And at a very affordable price. Tickets would make great Christmas gifts too - especially for those hard to buy for people...like bosses, and parents...and co-workers...and friends who already have everything...call me and I'll send the tickets in a Christmas card from you...What a great deal.

Hope you have a safe and happy holiday. My family and I are going to Hawaii for Christmas break...to celebrate Brandi and her senior year. (That means she's going to college next year - doesn't seem possible) And go Broncos...wherever you end up!

Thanks to all of you

2008-11-24T11:35:00.002-07:00

Thanksgiving is always a time for reflection and thanks. I am grateful for all of our loyal fans and supporters at IDT. Without you, the company would not be in its 20th Season...and for me personally, Brandi would have likely had to go away at an even younger age to get anything similar to IDT elsewhere...so I'm very thankful for all of you...and for Carl and Marla who continue to create great works for us to see. And for IDT for nurturing such great Idaho talent. Without you, there would be lots of homeless Idaho dancers, lots of young dancers who have to go elsewhere for the opportunity to train at a professional level. Thanks again!

The beginning....again

2008-11-12T18:37:00.003-07:00

IDT returns to the studio to begin creating the next show - wow! What amazing work that our choreographers accomplish. Look for some great new work at this show including new choreography from Jennifer Freeman, IDT alumni and now NYC resident....It will be exciting to see what is created for our company to perform in January.

We are hoping to get a couple of sponsorships for our upcoming projects...We need a little more money to complete funding of Jennifer's work for the January show...and we need some additional funding for a collaboration that we have planned for the April show. If you or someone you know - or the company that you work for - would like to sponsor one of these projects, please let me know. You can always reach me via email through our website (www.idahodancetheatre.org). Help is vital to our continued successes. Become part of IDT....experience the unexpected!

Hope you will all plan to be at the January show and see what is created....It will be incredible I'm sure!

2008-11-08T00:32:00.003-07:00

Wow - I'm completely blown away by the show! What a great performance...fun choreography...great dancers...tons of fun...You should see the show yourself to appreciate the artistry that Boise has to offer. It's really a great show.
See you at the theatre...two performances left....Saturday night and Sunday matinee.

One week til show!

2008-10-31T10:43:00.000-06:00

I'm so excited to see the show! I can feel the electricity in the air as we get ready to perform "Ricky Business". We had our early morning appearance on Larry Gebert yesterday - that's when you know it's getting close! The company is healthy and strong...should be a fabulous show.

Ticket sales could be better - so tell everyone you know about the upcoming show and get them to buy their tickets. Season tickets are the cheapest they will be if you buy them prior to Thurs when the show opens. You will be able to upgrade at the show...but not at such a good discount as the current season ticket price. It's worth the money - what a great value for live performance!

Just a note that we have minor parking issues this time with Disney on Ice being performed at Taco Bell Arena during our show run. So they have moved our parking to the Admin Lot - it's the light on University just before you get to the Special Events Center if you are coming from Capital. It will cost you $2 to park there for the show...same as the garage..but just as close - maybe closer. All of the other parking has been reserved by Disney on Ice.

See you at the theatre. Stop and say hi and let me know you are reading my blog!

two weeks to showtime

2008-10-25T07:55:00.000-06:00

We had a great open rehearsal yesterday at the studio! If you were there, you were treated to a close look at the athleticism and hard work it takes to perform these pieces. We were only given ticklers to what the whole show will be like! And I was totally wowed! (Is that a word?) Anyway - I'm in awe of the work that has been created for this show. Gonzalo's piece is so upbeat and fun...Carl's is filled with passion of all sorts...and Marla's is just plain beautiful. If you are new to dance - don't miss this show. You will be blown away with the dancers talents!

See you at the show.

You don't want to miss this....

2008-10-21T23:55:00.001-06:00

Hey Everyone - Jennifer Colson has designed the greatest 20th Anniversary Program! It's full of cool stuff - like all the dancers who have performed with the company over the years- and all the Repertory that has been performed...it will blow your mind! The graphics are beautiful...I can't for the first show so you can all see it!

I'm so excited for the first show...there's still a lot to do - but You can help! Tell everyone you know about IDT - most people in Boise don't know about us - have never heard of us - or think we are Ballet Idaho. Invite them to come along with you to a show! Just think how many tickets we would sell if everyone just brought one new friend with them....what a cool thing! And we'd have even more dance fans in Boise. I'm excited to see all our friends in the theatre...see you soon!

2008-10-17T23:39:00.000-06:00

How many people love dance and football - Well a few of us at IDT do - The Broncos rock this year and we are having fun supporting them! BSU is a great supporter of Idaho Dance Theatre so we all should support them too! While they don't give us any cashola - they do lots of stuff - like give us space to rehearse. It would be tough to survive without our residency agreement! We love BSU! Go Broncos!

Open Rehearsals

2008-10-12T20:38:00.000-06:00

Hey Everyone - If you haven't been to an open rehearsal for IDT - you are missing a great opportunity to get a look at the upcoming show - meet the dancers - hear their stories - learn all about Idaho Dance Theatre. They are tons of fun too! We love having people in the studio with the dancers - and they love performing for you. So don't miss them! The next one is October 24 - in the studio at the Morrison Center Room B111. They start at noon and last one hour. Email me if you want to join us for a great event!

October news

2008-10-11T11:06:00.000-06:00

Hey Everyone! What a great month October is around the Boise area! The Seasons have definitely changed and we have cooler temperatures - the leaves will be dropping and winter is approaching. In the studio, Idaho Dance Theatre (IDT) is preparing a fabulous show for November to kick off the season. With all experienced dancers, the choreographers are enjoying the work - both Carl and Gonzalo are creating new works for the November show. We are also bringing back a couple of favorites from the past. I know that you will not want to miss these shows! Tell everyone you know about the athleticism and excitement that the dancers bring to the stage. The only way more people will know about us is if you help us spread the word!

I hope to see all of you at the show. If you are interested in volunteering or working with the company in some way, please email me (see the website) - and let me know - we are always looking for help.

See you at the show!

Fall is here and so is the new season!

2008-08-29T10:15:00.000-06:00

This week brought the first day of school at Boise State and most of the valley schools - and the first day of IDT rehearsal. We are back in the saddle already preparing for our first performance - which is tomorrow! Wow! We are performing at the City Harvest Festival at 1:40pm on Saturday, August 30 - Boise Center on the Grove! You won't want to miss it! It will be fun - the weather will be good - get a glimpse of the company doing repertory from last year to showcase the company in the community. What a great way to showcase our talented dancers to the community!

In other news - we have almost our entire company returning from last year - and we welcome back Kaelen O'Shea and Laurie Evans as well. We have invited all of the alumni back to celebrate our season with us - You will see them at the shows, helping us to celebrate our 20th anniversary. Hear their successes and their memories of IDT. Our gala event is March 14 - Dancing thru the Decades! We have a great band lined up to play music from a variety of eras. Costuming is suggested in your favorite decades attire...Larry Gebert will join us as auctioneer - we are planning a live and silent auction this year! It will be the largest, most fun event IDT hAS ever thrown. Tickets will be available in the near future...watch the website for all the info.

Season tickets are on sale now. It's the last chance to buy tickets for the entire season at a small savings. Our tickets are still priced quite reasonably despite the economy, so don't miss out on the best value you can have for Boise entertainment. There are still tickets available for each evening, so buy your tickets soon to insure you get the nights you want. Season ticket brochures will be mailed to the mailing list again in September. And don't forget to renew your memberships and be a supporter of IDT.

Hope you all had a great summer. Email me and let me know what we can do to enlist your help and advice...and get you more involved in IDT!

Becky

New York Trip

2008-07-08T09:16:00.000-06:00

Hey Everyone! New York is fabulous! I love the energy of this city. We saw Mary Poppins on Broadway and loved the story. It's not quite like the movie...but so uplifting and fun - I highly recommend it especially if you are bringing younger ones with you. There was some great tap dancing you don't want to miss by the chimney sweeps...and Burt.

Brandi is dancing here in New York this summer - she will be a fourth year company member this year - she's studying a variety of modern styles this summer. Cassee studied for a week in New York earlier this summer - Alia is spending much of the summer here (New York) - and Jean is in Austin, Texas studying at a ballet intensive. Yurek headed up to Seattle so I'll be anxious to hear what he found up there. Sarah is retiring to be a housewife. Caelen, Gonzalo and Jem are hanging out - working for the summer and taking advantage of every opportunity to dance that they can find in the summer. All of them took classes at BSU Dancefest in June.

So as you can see, the dancers continue to train in the off season, expanding their abilities all the time. It's the driving force behind a quality company....always working on technique, learning new things and working hard. The proof will be seen on stage for our greatest season ever - so buy your season tickets now and see the company perform.

Hope you are all having a wonderful summer!

Summer News

2008-06-30T17:50:00.000-06:00

We had a fantastic summer kickoff event. Hopefully you will all purchase your memberships for the new year (see our website for all the information). It's our 20th Anniversary season and we are busy planning events and raising money to make them successful. If you would like to help in some way please let us know. We have many returning dancers and some alumni performances planned for you as well. It will be the best performance season ever! Don't miss a single show...and don't forget to save March 14, 2009 for our 20th Anniversary Gala - Dancing Through the Decades - music, dinner, wine, drinks, dancing, - wear a costume from your favorite decade...Silent and live auctions...it's an event to celebrate 20 years and look ahead for at least another 20! Join us - tickets and information will be available soon.

The first show is in November...off to plan some more!!!!

Check this out...

2008-06-06T17:03:00.000-06:00

http://www.worldwidedanceuk.com/content.asp?CategoryID=1397

Here's a link to another great article on Contemporary Dance

2008-06-06T16:55:00.000-06:00

1. What is contemporary dance?

Contemporary dance is a term* that is usually applied to a diversity of practices and forms of ‘concert’ dance that emerged around the 1960’s breaking away from the traditional composition modes and more formal and expressive modern dance styles.

The term contemporary refers to the present time, it reflects a wide range of individual expression, and so it keeps evolving and transforming, inspired by everyday movements, modern dance techniques, studies of the human body, street and urban influences, experimental and improvisation processes... Works created in contemporary dance often involve interdisciplinary approaches (theatre, music, visual and media arts, literature...). It is often throwing open the definitions of dance, dancer and performance values.

Training in contemporary dance is usually not confined to one style, as was modern dance (Graham, Limon, Hawkins techniques, for example). Rather, it encompasses aspects of different styles, from classical, to modern to urban, and will often include alternative techniques in body/mind, postural integration and imagery. This reflects the need to expose dancers to a wide spectrum of movement experience they will encounter with individual choreographers and companies that have developed their own style of movement research and choreography.

Contemporary dance is staged or presented in all types of settings, from the more formal concert dance to site specific events, to technology-driven media.

* other terms are used such in different countries (New Dance, Tanz Aktuell, danse actuelle)

Useful links about contemporary dance :
http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Contemporary-dance
http://www.cam.ac.uk/societies/dance/explain.htm

Summer Solstice entertainment

2008-06-04T13:13:00.000-06:00

Summer Solstice is June 21, 2008 - see www.idahodancetheatre.org for all the information!

Here's some of the lastest news!

There will be live music by The Tracy Underwood Connection. Formally with Score The Floor, Tracy is now touring with Americana On Tour , along with drummer Troy Nickell. We are joined by most of the members of Pilot Error. She promises that everyone will have a blast - they play everything across the map! Here's some links to check out the band and Tracy Underwood!

http://tunnellinternational.com/Artists.html (look for Tracy Underwood and click on the video link)
www.americanaontour.com
www.piloterror.net
www.myspace.com/tracyunderwoodmusic

At 10:00 pm t here will be an exciting performance by stilters and fire dancers (even some IDT company members) - The show begins around dusk! Don't miss this exciting event!

20th Anniversary Season for Idaho Dance Theatre kicks off on June 21, 2008

2008-06-01T21:20:00.000-06:00

Idaho Dance Theatre will kick off its 20th Anniversary Season with a fund raiser on June 21, 2008. Our membership drive kicks off with Summer Solstice - hosted by Becky Breshears. Entertainment will be live - the MoJo Works Fire Dancers and Stilters will provide some great entertainment at dark. Bring your favorite bottle of wine (or enjoy some of ours) - and spend an evening of fun and relaxation with Idaho Dance Theatre's Artistic Directors, staff and Board Members. See our website for all the information including prices and directions. Please RSVP if you are planning to attend. Happy Summer!

Welcome to IDT Dance Chat

2008-06-01T17:56:00.000-06:00

Welcome to IDT Dance Chat! Here you can find out all the latest happenings with Idaho Dance Theatre. We are of course located in Boise, Idaho - but don't let that fool you - there are some of the most talented artists in the world located in Idaho! Our company is one of the premiere contemporary companies in the NW. Founded in 1989 by Fred and Marla Hansen, then soon joined by Carl Rowe - the company has performed new works for the last 19 years. As we embark upon our 20th Anniversary Season, I invite all of you to experience Idaho Dance Theatre. Become a friend and supporter of Idaho Dance Theatre. As with all non-profit corporations, our livelihood depends upon you...Yes - that means YOU! You have no idea how much you mean to us...both with your attendance at our shows and events, as well as your donations which help to support the dancers and staff of the company.

How can you become more involved in performing art in our community? And especially with Idaho Dance Theatre? We are always looking for volunteers. Any ideas? Share your thoughts on community involvement in the performing arts! I'll keep you posted on all the latest news.