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CCMA: Ririe Woodbury Dance Company

Presented by Southern Utah University College of Performing and at Heritage Center Theatre

April 29, 2008

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Just as the Utah Symphony has long been on the CCMA menu, Ririe/Woodbury dance company is a returning favorite for CCMA patrons who enjoy the artistry of modern dance. This troupe of highly regarded dancers is the grande finale, the dessert, the cherry to top off the season, and the last course of the Music Arts a la Carte musical menu! Cedar City native Joan Woodbury and Shirley Ririe began dancing together in 1952. These early performances and collaborations became the foundation for what is now an internationally acclaimed modern dance company, having performed in every state in the U.S. as well as the British Isles, Canada, China, Eastern Europe, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, Singapore, South Africa, the Virgin Islands, France, Spain and Italy. This season the company will present The Crystal and the Sphere for audiences. It is a work originally commissioned by the Kennedy Center for its Imagination Celebration. It is one of the last dances created by choreographer Alwin Nikolais before his death in 1993, and one of the few works he created for children. Nikolais conceived, designed, and choreographed this 45-minute work as 'a space fantasy for young people.' Of this particular piece, Murray Louis notes the Nikolais credo which is 'when children come to the theater they come to see theatrical magic, not dramatic or political problems, but magic.' Adults will enjoy it as well as children in the audience. The New York Times review said 'The work was intended for children, but the playful abstractions that make up the Nikolais signature might, in this case, appeal even more to adults. The triangle and circle implied in the title are geometric forms basic to all civilization and they often carry magic connotations.' The artistic directors for Nikolais' creation are Murray Louis and Alberto del Saz.