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Steamboat dance concert opens today

Annual show features variety of styles, runs through Saturday

Margaret Hair
Dancers perform “OSA,” which is choreographed by Nicole Idzah, on Wednesday during a dress rehearsal for the 38th annual Steamboat Dance Theatre concert in the Steamboat Springs High School auditorium.
Matt Stensland

If you go

What: 38th annual Steamboat Dance Theatre concert

When: 7 p.m. today and Friday, and 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday

Where: Steamboat Springs High School auditorium

Cost: $15 general admission, $20 reserved seating, $12 for students or seniors; get a free children’s ticket with each adult ticket for the Saturday matinee performance only.

Call: All That Jazz at 879-4422 for ticket information





Dancers perform “OSA,” which is choreographed by Nicole Idzah, on Wednesday during a dress rehearsal for the 38th annual Steamboat Dance Theatre concert in the Steamboat Springs High School auditorium.
Matt Stensland

If you go

What: 38th annual Steamboat Dance Theatre concert

When: 7 p.m. today and Friday, and 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday

Where: Steamboat Springs High School auditorium



Cost: $15 general admission, $20 reserved seating, $12 for students or seniors; get a free children’s ticket with each adult ticket for the Saturday matinee performance only.

Call: All That Jazz at 879-4422 for ticket information



— In the seven months since planning began for the 38th annual Steamboat Dance Theatre concert, the three-person concert production team has pushed for creative twists on a local performing arts tradition.

“This whole year has been about trying to create a progression in our choreography and our production so that we keep up to date and a little more cutting edge,” artistic director Tiana Busch­mann said.

The program features about 100 dancers in a range of styles including ballet, belly dance, hip-hop, jazz, contemporary, hoop dance and a Michael Jack­son tribute.

The two-hour show opens at 7 p.m. today at Steamboat Springs High School. Performances continue at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Saturday. Tickets are $15 for general admission, $20 for reserved seating and $12 for students or seniors.

Moving the children’s show away from its traditional place Thursday night, the production team is offering a matinee performance at 2 p.m. Saturday, when a free children’s ticket will be available with each adult ticket purchase.

Buschmann, who has been involved with the dance concert for about five years and is in her first year as artistic director, said she tried to push choreographers to “go a little outside the envelope.” The result is a show filled with creative choreography and humor for the audience, she said.

“It’s really making it more of a show, so to speak — not just a dance performance, but a real show,” she said.

For her part, Buschmann choreographed a circus-themed piece with several characters.

Bringing surprises and new elements into the concert each year is a production team goal, co-producer Kelly Erickson said. As audience members start to expect a variety of dances, the Dance Theatre team tries to keep things fresh.

“Even some of the old favorites are going to have a little bit of a new twist and some variety, which I think is one of the constant challenges that we face, and I think we have had people rise to face those challenges this year,” Erickson said.

The all-volunteer cast is about 30 people larger than it has been in recent years, with a lot of the new dancers being beginners, co-producer Jenny Meier said. She hopes audience members will be motivated to pursue their own passions after watching the show.

“I hope that they’re inspired by how much hidden talent there is in Steamboat,” Meier said.

The production team hopes for the concert’s usual large turnout so as many people as possible have a chance to “appreciate all the hard work that has gone into it from everybody in the show,” Meier said.

Proceeds from concert tickets and sponsorships cover the cost of the production and support the outreach projects that are part of Steamboat Dance Theatre’s mission statement. Those projects include a scholarship program offering financial assistance for Routt County students to take dance classes, a bi-annual concert series featuring nationally recognized dance companies, and workshops and master classes by guest artists.

For more information about Steamboat Dance Theatre, go to http://www.steamboatdancetheatre.org.

— To reach Margaret Hair, call 871-4204 or e-mail mhair@steamboatpilot.com


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