Bodies Bridge Worlds

Of Moving Colors seems to be stretching the boundaries of communication these days, trying to bridge the distance between dance vocabularies and idioms from other domains, artistic or otherwise. Take last year's Romeo + Juliet, when the contemporary dance company adapted the classic Shakespeare play for dance. Because it wasn't a straightforward narrative meant to be told through dance, Artistic Director Garland Goodwin Wilson had to take some liberties with the play. This year, OMC is culling inspiration from an unlikely pool of choreographic talent—thirteen individuals from the Baton Rouge business sector. Even if it were the case that these were seasoned choreographers with countless green rooms behind them, partnering with thirteen individuals would be a monumental undertaking. The show, titled You Tell Me, will highlight the possibilities for mutual understanding between very different worlds and worldviews ... the season is ripe for this kind of dialogue.

If anyone could manage the intensely collaborative exercise of leading non-dancers from an initial concept to full manifestation in what can be a highly interpretive and abstract art form, it’s Wilson. The company’s director is a self-described extrovert who thrives on the exchange of energy that characterizes any creative collaboration. As a young woman, she wanted to be either an artist or an ambassador, if that gives you any idea of her capacity for partnerships.

Good thing, since thirteen people's psyches had to be mined for ideas and given creative access to all parts of their piece—from music to costumes to actual dance movements if they so desired. “There’s so many thousands of ways you can approach creating a dance that sometimes it's been a challenge to offer the choreographers something they can get their hands around,” said Wilson. “Because they are not dancers, it’s difficult to find a common starting place to begin the conversation. One of the hardest things was to find out how they wanted to build their piece—what they were inspired by, what was important for them to show onstage, and if those thoughts could be translated into dance.”

Some, like Digital FX's David Coner, had some advantages right out of the gate. In the first place, his wife, Micaela Coner, was a dancer for many years with OMC. That may have been what primed his brain for the vivid dream he had three years ago in which he was sitting in the audience at the Manship Theatre, watching a show that he'd choreographed—no matter that he’d never choreographed anything in his life. It is a love story, and the setting is a cocktail party in space. “This is every party you’ve ever been to,” Coner explained, “where there’s always one person who’s had a little too much to drink. This person spills their drink onto the console. At that moment, the whole spaceship drops into warp drive. Everybody's tumbling. In my dream, it was this really Buster Keaton-Looney Tunes-type hijinks. It's chaos.”

Other approaches were a little more … grounded, ranging from historical: Davis Rhorer of the Downtown Development District is focusing on the history of Third Street; to personal: self-discovery via the art of Picasso; to strictly musical: Country Roads’ own Ashley Fox-Smith made musical selections from an Australian band that she and her daughter both love. Other choreographers are Paul Arrigo of Visit Baton Rouge, Norman Chenevert of Chenevert Architects, Ann Connelly of Ann Connelly Fine Art, Dima Ghawi of Dima Ghawi LLC, Gwen Hamilton of New Schools for BR / East BR Redevelopment Authority, Kelly Hurtado of Our Lady of the Lake Foundation, Heather Kleinpeter of Burns & Co, John Miller of Lamar Corporation, and Torrence and Thurman Thomas of Ask the Thomas Bros.

The choreographers have been encouraged to be as involved as they’d like, with Wilson, Associate Artistic Director Courtney Landry, and guest choreographer Lindsey Dietz Marchant at the ready to provide any professional support. "Once they've found that hook, their choreographic voice, then they run with it like crazy," said Wilson. "I just wish I had more time. I could spend a whole year creating this. Time, time, time, time, time."

Time's up. Almost. The performance runs for two nights only, April 22 and 23, at the Manship Theatre. Tickets range from $13—$35. manshiptheatre.org. ofmovingcolors.org.