The Sun Valley Pavilion is already booking performances for the 2009 summer and is making arrangements to bring the Boise based dance company, the Trey McIntryre Project, for its first area performance.
The group plans to spend a couple days in the valley doing programs in addition to their performances, said executive director and company dancer John Michael Schert. He looks forward to working with valley dance schools and the Sun Valley Center for the Arts.
"Sun Valley plans to accommodate our needs for a spring dance floor and other stage amenities," he said.
Schert and McIntyre visited Sun Valley before Christmas to make arrangements for its performances Aug. 28-29.
"We want to be part of the fiber of the community," McIntyre said. "You need that connection."
McIntyre, a striking man nearly seven-foot tall, is a celebrated choreographer boasting an impressive dance resumé. He has created more than 75 contemporary ballets, for The Washington Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, New York City Ballet, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Stuttgart Ballet and Houston Ballet, among many other top ballet companies around the world.
"Dance must be authentic and come from a creative place," McIntyre said. "We do not want to brand ourselves in a certain way. We want to dance and be creative in a unique environment and that's Idaho. Idaho is a clean slate and undiscovered."
Trey McIntyre Project is an ensemble of top professional dancers who have danced with companies such as The Washington Ballet, Alonzo King's LINES Ballet, Ballet Memphis and Boston Ballet. McIntryre could have based himself in New York City, but he wanted to invest in a less traditional place like Boise. He said it is a challenge and the best kind.
"The audience should not be just dancers as it is New York City," McIntyre said. "We have to engage and enrich."
The New York Times has been following the company since its premiere in 2004 as a summer company and has called it, "one of America's most surprising talents." Arts benefactors have bestowed their praise and support for the contemporary dance company with awards, including a $35,000 grant by the Multi-Arts Production Fund, and it has attracted over $200,00 in underwriting.
The company wants to advance the art of contemporary ballet in innovative and groundbreaking ways. Its mission is to engage audiences through dances that authentically and clearly convey the emotion and grace of life's journey.
The Trey McIntyre Project launched as a full-time company in the 2008 and has toured more than 25 cities across the nation and the world. The company will perform in Boise at the Morrison Center for the Performing Arts on Saturday, Feb. 7, at 8 p.m. Tickets are $50-35 for adults and $40-25 for juniors and seniors. For tickets, call (208) 426-1494 or visit idahotickets.com/contact.php.
Courtesy photo by Jonas Lundqvist
The Trey McIntyre Project’s Virginia Pilgrim leaps into the air with beauty and grace.
