The beginning....again

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!

two weeks to showtime

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....

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!

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!

October news

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!

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

Check this out...

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

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

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

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

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!