Janie BoschmaWhether people have been dancing for 30 years or know absolutely nothing about the art, The Koresh Dance Company’s manager Cheryl Carson said its show has something for everybody.
“We like to say that the dance company is very accessible to audiences,” Carson said.
The Philadelphia-based company will make the first stop on its tour tonight at The State Theatre at the Eau Claire Regional Arts Center, 316 Eau Claire St.
Israeli-born choreographer and artistic director Ronen Koresh started the company, which mixes ballet, modern dance and jazz, in 1991, Carson said. The dancers range in age from 23 to 36.
Carson said tonight’s show is broken up into two works.
The first segment, “Looking Back: Music of the 40s and 50s,” will highlight some of the artists of that era, including Peggy Lee, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra and Nat King Cole.
“It’s a very entertaining piece,” Carson said, adding that the performance has characters and a story line, too. “It’s a crowd pleaser.”
The second piece is a bit more edgy, she said. It also has a story line with spoken dialogue and prop work.
“The audience is definitely going to get two totally different dance pieces which will leave them really satisfied,” Carson said.
Tim Menebroeker, technical director of the Eau Claire Regional Arts Center, said the company contacted the center to see if they could perform.
“They sent us publicity pictures and they looked exciting,” he said. “We try to book a dance show every year, and this one is a mixture of ballet and modern dance.”
He said there aren’t many chances in Eau Claire for people to experience this type of culture.
“Modern dance at the professional level – you don’t get a lot of that around here,” he said.
Sophomore Chelsey Dahm, the treasurer of the UW-Eau Claire Concert Dance Company, agreed.
Dahm, who has been dancing since she was 2 years old, said she always tries to attend these kinds of shows when they come to Eau Claire.
While Dahm is busy preparing for her own performance, she said she definitely wants to try to attend the show.
“If I can get a date with a car I’m going to go,” she said with a laugh, joking that junior Lani Lutz might be that date.
But Lutz, the public relations officer of the Concert Dance Company, said unfortunately she has to work, so she won’t be able to make it.
But if she could, she said she’d definitely check out the show.
“I always just try to get culture with whatever’s coming to town,” she said, adding that she’s been dancing since she was 2 years old as well.
Since Eau Claire doesn’t draw many big companies like the Koresh, Lutz said, it’s great that they are coming.
Dance professor Toni Poll-Sorensen, the Concert Dance Company’s adviser, said she’s heard of the company from colleagues in Philadelphia but has never seen them perform.
After watching videos of past performances on the company’s Web site, she said she thinks it is an eclectic mixture of dance, something she likes to see.
Poll-Sorensen said she plans to attend the show tonight, along with several UW-Eau Claire dancers.
Besides tonight’s performance, the dance company also offered a master class Wednesday night, open to high school and college students.
Dahm said she was happy to hear about the class.
“I always think it’s really great when companies try to do that,” Dahm said. “They’re showing their art. They’re not just saying ‘Here, pay us to see us dance.'”
The show begins at 7:30 p.m. and is expected to last two hours.
People can purchase tickets over the phone at 832-ARTS and will be charged a $3 handling fee, or they can go to the Eau Claire Regional Arts Center between 9 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Tickets are also available at the door.
Koresh Dance Company
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Date: Today
Place: The State Theatre, 316 Eau Claire St.
Cost: $32-$42
