Courtesy of Houston METdance Company
National acts like the Houston METdance Company (pictured) will perform on the same bill as St. Louis acts, such as The Big Muddy Dance Company.
This weekend, dozens of dance companies from all over the country will converge on the Touhill Performing Arts Center for the 9th Annual Emerson Spring to Dance Festival. Visitors can purchase tickets to the festival, which showcases a variety of styles, for $15.
The weekend programs begin with interactive performances in the lobby, are followed by works in the small Lee Theater, and wrap up in the Anheuser-Busch Performance Hall. St. Louis companies, including the Big Muddy Dance Company, Saint Louis Ballet, MADCO and Afriky Lolo, share billing with the Houston METdance Company, Joffrey Ballet Duet, The Dancing Wheels Company, Ballet Memphis, and more.
Dance St. Louis presents the festival with executive director Michael Uthoff curating the offerings. He says it has served as an excellent way to bring visibility for Midwestern companies and audiences. The first year or two was heavy with companies from Chicago, but groups from New York and Los Angeles are now appearing alongside those from Tennessee, Michigan, Ohio and North Carolina.
“It’s a very nontraditional way to look at dance that is out of the ordinary,” Uthoff says. “It has given the locals a chance to rise to the occasion.”
More groups mean more talent. In the early years, the festival would receive applications that were not necessarily up to snuff. But now, Uthoff says, “it has become very exciting to make the choice” of who gets to perform.
Uthoff says he sometimes discovers companies in his travels that he’ll invite directly to apply. He works with three other adjudicators around the country, and if all three agree on a given company, the group will be considered for the festival. He seeks a program with some balance—one that includes big names like the Joffrey Ballet, as well as smaller, lesser-known companies.
Photo by Chris A. Crumley
The BODYART dance company from Los Angeles will perform at the Lee Theater on Sunday night.
When the festival began nine years ago, having two theaters helped shape its direction. Works that Uthoff calls "odd" were all performed in the Lee Theater. “It turned out to be the hottest ticket in town,” he says of the smaller theater’s offerings. “People were making lines for two blocks!”
Little has changed since that first year. The shows taking place at the Lee Theater this year are already sold out.
Besides exposing audiences to the work of more than two dozen companies, the festival can serve the artists themselves, giving them more exposure to the work of their peers. “The artistic directors watch each other’s work,” Uthoff says. “It’s an exchange between the companies—it has a ripple effect.”
Don’t ask Uthoff to choose a favorite performance. The choreography styles are so wide-ranging that there's something for every taste. But Uthoff says he is particularly looking forward to Sunday night’s program with three young choreographers.
“[Spring to Dance] is a great show for getting in love with dance, or deciding you hate it,” Uthoff says. “If you don’t like it, close your eyes. In 15 minutes, it will be different.”
9th Annual Emerson Spring to Dance Festival
- When: May 27, 28 and 29
- Where: Touhill Performing Arts Center
- Tickets: $15, available online
