Body, action, space, time, energy and music. These are the elements of a good dance performance, where it all comes together in a beautiful synergy of movement to tell a story, evoke emotion and take one’s breath away. The eighteen pre-professional dancers and guests of Whidbey Island Dance Theatre Company (WIDT) bring all of it to their annual Celebration of Dance concert at Whidbey Island Center for the Arts at 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 3 and at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 4.
Guest performing artists include Meander Dance Collective, Backstage Dance Foundation, Robbi Moore and Sierra Muller joining the company to present the full spectrum of dance styles in fourteen original pieces, including jazz, contemporary, tap, hip-hop, lyrical, modern ballet and an aerialist silks performance. Artistic Directors Jamee Pitts and Mark Thrapp encourage WIDT dancers to stretch the bounds of what Whidbey Island audiences see by welcoming exciting choreographers from Seattle, Los Angeles and beyond, to keep it fresh, stimulating and entertaining for Whidbey Island audiences.
WIDT also challenges its dancers to create and graduating senior and principal dancer, Tabitha Metts, has taken the challenge. Metts will debut her piece titled Lucid Dream that will also be shown at The Ballet Alliance Festival in Spokane May 6-9. This annual 4- day event welcomes dancers-in-training to take master classes from renowned instructors, participate in dance-related seminars, perform for their peers, and forge new relationships. These performances will be the last with WIDT for Metts and co-graduating senior and principal dancer, Yarrow Batiste, both of whom have been issued a “farewell and good luck” from the entire company as they move on to further of life’s pursuits.
Celebration of Dance also offers the chance for professional guest choreographers to set new pieces on the young dancers of WIDT, including pieces by Mary Sigward, Sandi Scheuber and Andrea Burr, who features seven of WIDT’s advanced dancers to perform Three Seasons, which they will also present at the festival in Spokane.WIDT has been engaging community audiences with their dance for the past 31 years.
Celebration of Dance has only three performances and provides one of only a few opportunities for young dancers to perform on stage in a semi-professional setting. The revenues garnered from these annual performances allow these young artists to train with acclaimed teachers and attend conferences on a regional and national level These experiences prepare aspiring dancers for a potential career in the performing arts or simply give young people the opportunity to gain skills they will all use later in their adult lives: teamwork, discipline and an awareness of the artform’s value to themselves and the wider world.
“Without the generous financial support of our community, we could not fulfill our mission and continue to give our dancers the production, festival, performance and educational opportunities that they must have to enter the pre-professional and professional world of dance,” says Charlene Brown, the one who started it all 31 years ago and who continues to teach at Island Dance, WIDT’s training ground.
Get tickets online wicaonline.org/cod or call the box office at (360) 221-8268.
Enjoy the dance!
