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Show Page D2 THK DAILY HERALD, (w heraldcr com). Provo, Uuh. Sunday, January 16, 2000 Dance troupe's journey continues despite barriers By HAVALA1I CHOLDSTON The Daily Herald OR KM Odyssey Dance Utah. It's the new name for what's becoming an old favorite around here. Five years ago, Orem resident and professional dancer Derryl Yeager started a new dance company in Utah. He called it Utah Contemporary Dance Theatre. The visioi. wui to take dance to a new level in this state and in the world. Yeager wanted to raise the standard of dance technique and promote the importance of dancer in being a all disciplines, whether it be ballet, tap, funk or jazz. UCDT, as it was called by well-rounde- d its dancers and audience, has made it up through the ranks in the last few years, and though still largely ignored by the state and the more funded Yeagrr said the agony over just how to describe the group in a few short words came to a sudden end while he and some colleagues were eating at a restaurant in Colorado called Odyssey Cafe. As the story goes, the party was on their way out when Yeager noticed the sign explaining the distinct style of the establishment. "There was a dictionary definition of 'odyssey' and it said that an odyssey was a journey with notable experiences, and that's when it hit me," Yeager said. That's what my company does." And-theare doing it more as the years progress, and the dancing just gets better. "What we have today is a sort of jazzballet company that can do just about any y thing because of the skill and versatility of our dancers," Yeager said. "What we have today is a group of people who fought back when they were denied decent, gov- - "What we have today is a sort of jazzballet company that can do just about anything because of the skill and versatility of our dancers." dance companies in Salt Lake City, UCDT has gained something the Salt Lake companies still struggle for: an audience. The name change, according to Yeager, is a minor thing intended to more accurately inform people about what their dancers do. "We're not necessarily a con- temporary dance group," Yeager said. "We're definitely not always modern, but a lot of people would make up their minds about us just from the name. So, we changed the name." Derryl Yeager eminent - funding and survived that year they almost went under. It's really pretty amazing." Today, Odyssey Dance Utah is over the ticket sales hump and planning for next season. It still struggles for funding, though Yeager has plans to and eventually be not have to depend on grants. The immediate plan is to devel-- . op two solid shows, a repertory concert in the spring and a winter (season anchor. In between those projects, the group will experiment, push the envelope and find out what's really out : self-sufficie- JASON OXSONThc Daily HrrJd there, Yeager said. He feels the next challenge is just to find young people with the desire arid dedication to carry on the Odyssey Dance Utah tradition, and that's where Yeager's latest program comes into play. The program is called Odyssey II and is an intense training program for Odyssey Twist and Shoutl Above, dancers work through a routine during a tryput for the Odyssey Dance Utah team at Center Stage In Orem. members-to-be- . "There's so much else out there these days to distract kids when they could be discovering and perfecting their dance talents," Yeager said. "What we want to do with Odyssey II is sign kids with talent and commitment to a contract where they would commit to be in the studio training and dancing every day. It's not easy, and most people can't cut it." The purpose behind the rigorous preparation is clear to Yeager and is something he wants his dancers to communicate to the audience more than anything. "We need this new dance tradition," he said, Left, Derryl Yeager J watches as dancers warm up Tor the M ( I lllj if ana". r the best musicians in the state of Utah. of A little SPRINGVILLE off will big for pay creativity local musicians. young, Local winners of PTA Reflections 1999, a national creativity contest, will meet with a group of professional musicians Tuesday for a workshop in creativity and improvisation. The creativity workshop will be followed by a ceremony recognizing winners of exceptional merit awards. Ranging in ages from 6 to 18, the 160 children from Utah County will participate in creativity exercises with Enoch Train, a Salt band made up of some Lake-base- Continued from Dl Sun Valley, Idaho, for a few years, and his choreographer lives in Bountiful. A skating "couple" Another set of skaters you may see off the ice in the 2002 Games are Jenni Meno and Todd Sand, the 1998 World silver medalists and . Olympic com petitors. Meno and Sand are a love story all of their own. The pair two-tim- e started Bkati 1 992, but it was in 1 994 at the Olympics that they found their way into the world's heart when they became engaged. One year later they were married. "We trained in the same rink with different partners; we had always been really good friends," Meno said. "Before we started skating together we knew each other really well. Fortunately it worked out. The most important , thing, for us is we had the same goals." The qouple does want a family, but it's on hold for now as they continue to pursue a skating career. Meno said. "We'll have children in a few years, but I don't think that will be the end of Bkating." For now, the Stars on Ice cast has become a family away from home. The 14 skaters spend a lot of time together, and with plane and bus rides, they have a lot of bonding time. "We have a great group and it's really a great situation. We don't go out and skate just our number, wo skate for the group," Mend said. "We finish in April and we Christmas, but we rehearsed in September and then again in November. "It's hard (rehearsal) but it's a really special time when we're together. It's one of the times that youU always remember. You're working hard and exhausted, but you are really creating something." Sometimes there's an oops All of the skaters have been on tour for at least two years, and Meno feels that makes more of a difference. ' "You learn a lot from people like Scott and Kristi. They go -- .. n J 1 . "Something with heart." The Daily Herald STARS tryouts. I..' Young artists get 'This is only our second year on Stars on Ice and it is something we always wanted to do," y Enoch Train is an instrumental folk ensemble that plays traditional folk and hymn melodies in styles from around the world. They like to call their music "American Folk Music with a Passport." Collaborating with UVSC's ArtSmart program, Enoch Train will base their presentation on this year's contest theme of "Anything is Possible." The band will lead ' d out every night and give 100 percent, even if they are sick or sore," Meno said. "You know each night it's a different audience, and they deserve a good show." And like every group, there are little "things" the skaters do to prepare for the night's show. "Everyone is superstitious," Meno said. "We have little things we do, like in the tunnel the guys do this little hitting each other on the chest thing. Some people put one skate on before the other. Todd always kisses me on the head in the tunnel." But even those little rituals nBEtnTTOfFKirBKitmgoifS" " There is the unexpected. "Sometimes you just have to laugh," Mend said. "If (a mistake) is in your own number, you realize you can't be perfect 64 times. You have to try to laugh, even if at the time you aren't too happy. "Ilia's blade almost fell off last night and he had to stop; luckily it was in the beginning of his routine. I'm sure he didn't think it was funny. "Sometimes something goes wrong, somebody t rips and falls. You just keep going and , laugh about it later." the kids through the basic steps of creativity and improvisation preparation, .incubation, illumination and verification. Enoch Train front-maGive Romney also plans to n SKATERS Continued from Dl Chen, Steven Cousins, Elena Bechke and Denis Petrov will perform to "Swingtown" by The Steve Miller Band; Meno and Sand will dance to "Baby Did a Bad, Bad Thing" by Chris Isaak and Lipinski will strut her stuff to "Genie in a Bottle" by Christina Aguilera. 'The opening is very fun and very difficult," Meno said. "There is a lot of dance typo of movement. Last year we had the crown number, but this . hands-o- n help incorporate elements from some of the children's winning music submissions into the presentation. Reflections is a national creativity contest sponsored by local PTA organizations which encourages elementary and high school aged children to be involved in the arts. Genres accepted by the contest include photography, music composition, theater, film and video, literature, visual arts, dance and "other." This year, one child submitted a claymation film in the "other" category. Children who submit works may receive recognition ranging from Honorable Mention to Exceptional Merit. Each of the children recognized in Tuesday's event may submit their work to a statewide Reflections competition. The deadline for that contest is at the end of January. Winners of the state contest will submit their works to a national Reflections contest. Tuesday's event will be held at Sage Creek Elementary School, located at 1050 S. 700 East, Springville. The exhibit hall, showcasing the winning submissions, will open at 6:30 p.m. Following Enoch Trains' presentation, the will PTA recognize submissions of exceptional merit. year we have a big opening and closing and smaller production numbers in between. I haven't actually Been the whole show, but it feels like a really good show." U.S. Olympian and Dance Champion. Lea Ann Miller, a former amateur and professional skater, is the asso- The show is divided into themes including, "Wonderful World," "Old Friends," "Club AC," "Di Bolero," "La Valtz" and "WWW." Sandra Bozic is the producerdirectorchoreographer for the Target Stars on Ice; she is Canadian a former Pair Champion. five-tim- e ia . Michael Seivert, a former ' five-tim- e ciate directorchoreographer. ; Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean, the 1984 ; Olympic Gold Medalists in ; Sarajevo who earned nine pei feet 6.0s for their performance of "Bolero," are also choreogra phers. s Other help includes Ken Billington, lighting designer; Marvin I Dolgay, music director; and f Jef Billings, costume designer. . behind-the-scene- . Encourage your children to read a newspaper every day . It can help make their wishes come true . " Brandy, recording artist, actress THE DAIIY HERALD www.heralcloxtra.com It all starts with newspapers. |