Trokanski Dance Theatre takes next step in Name that Dance

The Pamela Trokanski Dance Theatre is inviting everyone in the community to help Name that Dance and, in doing so, help decide the content and direction the choreography of the PTDT’s 2013 spring concert.

As part of Trokanski’s interest in creating new ways of connecting dance to the community experience at large, she has created a community choreography challenge with Name that Dance. Her interest being in finding out what kind of topic the community would like to see explored in a full evening dance work.

Trokanski’s interest in artistic and community collaboration has a long history including the Coming of Age project in 1993 (first using non-traditional dancers in concert dance almost 20 years ago), the creation of The Third Stage in 1994 (a resident, multi-generational, contemporary company based in Davis), and more recently, a full year of Dance In Public Places also known as Taking it to the Streets. Funded, in part, by the city’s Arts Contract Program, Trokanski set dance pieces on both company and community residents and performed them at multiple sites around Davis. This year, Trokanski is interested in exploring the process of creating choreography initiated by community focus.

To help her project Trokanski ran an online contest from both the company’s Facebook page and website, collecting entries on titles for a dance. After voting ended on New Year’s Eve, she then created a blind vote (so the dancers couldn’t know who submitted the entry or how the other dancers were voting) for the multiple submissions for the PTDT Board and dancers from all the companies, allowing them to vote for five different titles.

This voting resulted in five titles that had the most votes:
* Tradition, technology and taking chances;
* Beach balls, butterflies and taking flight;

* Serendipity, parallel universes and opening Pandora’s Box;
* Fantasy, reality and using day planners; and
* Rights, wrongs and looking in mirrors.

The power now switches to the community, which has until Jan. 26 to vote. To vote for your favorite title, visit either www.trokanski.com or the Facebook page for Pamela Trokanski Dance Theatre and look for the event: Name That Dance! Both sites have the link for the voting page. In addition, voters can stop by the Pamela Trokanski Dance Workshop to cast their vote.

For more information, visit the website or call 530-756-3949.