UIdaho Dance Ensemble pushes creative boundaries in concert Nov. 20-21

MOSCOW, Idaho — The University of Idaho Dance Program presents the UIdaho Dance Ensemble (UIDE) in “Uncharted,” at 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday, Nov. 20-21, at the Hartung Theater. The concert features U of I student dancers performing new choreography by faculty members Colleen Bialas, Melanie Meenan and Rhea Speights, as well as a work by guest artist Samuel Hobbs.  

The ensemble’s mission is to give students hands-on experience in performance, production and outreach. Each fall, faculty members and guest choreographers create works for U of I dance students, culminating in a performance on the Moscow campus. Selected members also perform across the region throughout the year.

“This is an exciting year for dance at U of I. While UIDE is in only its third season, the ensemble stands on the shoulders of history as we celebrate 115 years of dance courses being offered at U of I and over 50 years of offering a degree in dance at Idaho’s flagship university,” said Meenan, founding artistic director of UIDE. “We are excited to see the stamp our current students leave on the history of dance in our state and region.”

Hobbs, artistic director of Push/Fold, a Portland-based dance company, was invited to U of I this fall to restage his work “Ozymandias,” which delves into identity, heritage and community through powerful, athletic movements. During his weeklong residency, Hobbs rehearsed daily with nine students to redevelop the work and also taught workshops for all university students.  

Speights, a new dance faculty member, choreographed a new trio titled “Anam Cara,” performed by students Megan Chenault, Scarlett Cromwell and Rosalyn Gardner. “Anam cara” is a Celtic term meaning “soul friend,” and the trio of dancers explore this concept through interwoven choreography, dynamic lifts and shifting moods — from playful to serious.  

Speights also restaged her 2008 solo, “This Place,” a role now shared by U of I junior Rosalyn Gardner and senior Hannah Turner. The piece earned top honors from the National Society of Arts and Letters choreography competition in 2011, when the solo was awarded first place regionally and fourth place nationally. This will be the first time another dancer performs it.

“It is fascinating to watch these young artists reinterpret a dance I made 17 years ago,” Speights said. “They each are deeply vulnerable in the work and revisiting it has been a surprising journey for me, too.”

Bialas, now in her fifth year teaching at U of I, created a new quartet of contemporary ballet vocabulary with U of I students Emerson Carper, Scarlett Cromwell, Leora Jones and Anna Layman.  

Meenan, in her 13th year as a faculty member, collaborated with seven U of I students — Amelia Farr, Amelia Larson, Adeline Lheron, McKenzie Olson, Emelia Powell, Aurora Seiverson and Alina Steichen — in a creative process that explores resistance, support and causation.

Meenan and Speights also co-choreographed a large ensemble work for 17 students.  

“While the map of each work becomes clearer with each rehearsal, the actual performance is dependent on the dancers’ commitment to being present with the realities of live performance,” Meenan said. “‘Uncharted’ provides audiences the opportunity to chart their own meaning through considering the imagery and metaphor that results from the blending of dance movement, sound scores and theatrical lighting.”

Tickets to this family-friendly concert range from $10 to $18 and can be purchased at uitickets.com.

Media contact

Melanie Meenan 
Clinical associate professor 
University of Idaho Dance Program 
mmeenan@uidaho.edu