Paintings inspire 'Postcards'

Once again, the Repertory Dance Theatre has looked within Utah to find performance inspiration with "Postcards from Utah."

To make it more meaningful, alumni of the renowned dance company were asked to choreograph works for the production.

Todd Allen, Lynne Wimmer, Michael K. Bruce, Jim Moreno, Brent Schneider, Andy Noble and Bill Evans, alongside current RDT dancers Thayer Jonutz and Chara Huckins, will each have their own pieces showcased.

For Wimmer and Schneider, the project was stimulating and challenging. And both creative processes began with a trip to the Springville Museum of Art. All of the choreographers were instructed by RDT artistic director Linda C. Smith to visit the museum and find a painting by a Utah visual artist that inspired them.

"I found a work called 'The Waiting Room,' by Scott J. Wakefield," said Wimmer, who is a professor of dance at the University of South Florida. "The painting spoke to me because I have spent a lot of time in waiting rooms. I know the unrest and the anticipation of being in a room waiting for things — dentist, hospital, just to name a few. I especially remember the time when I worked in France and had to get my work papers renewed every few months.

"Interestingly enough, I had originally thought to choreograph a solo, but when I saw this painting, I knew I would be working with a group. There are three people in the painting. So, naturally, I chose three people for the dance."

RDT dancers Chara Huckins and Lynne Listing, along with independent dancer Nathan Shawn, will be in Wimmer's work.

The painting, said Wimmer — an RDT member from 1968 to 1977 — doesn't tell the viewer what kind of waiting room it is, she said. "No, it is just a waiting room. And it could be for anything. So my imagination went from there.

"We basically only had about a week to make a dance. Although Linda contacted me last year to see if I was interested in doing this project, I worked with the dancers for only six days."

"It was a fast turnover," said Schneider, associate professor of dance and co-artistic director for the Performing Dance Company at the University of Utah. "But I was able to introduce the company to some of the style when I taught their company class over the spring break."

A painting by Bruce Brainard, "Afternoon Shower," inspired Schneider's piece. "It's a large painting," he said. "It's about 5 feet tall and 4 feet wide. I turned a corner and there it was."