It takes something unique to get Joan Woodbury excited about a dance performance.
"Let's face it, there is a lot of mediocre dancing in the world, and I get tired of it very quickly," said Woodbury, co-director of the Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company.
Still, some works and choreographers have captured her eyes and heart, Woodbury said during an interview in the RWDC office in the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center. And that's why some of their creations are part of the company's final performance of the season.
"The works we have chosen mean something," she said. "They have substance, and they have an excitement and depth that is missing from other performances."
RWDC will present "Vistas," a night of repertory featuring selections from David Rousseve, Carolyn Carlson, Wayne McGregor and associate artistic director Charlotte Boye-Christensen.
Boye-Christensen said her work, currently titled "Never Again," was inspired by the music of Nina Simone. "I have always connected her songs to pain," Boye-Christensen said during a separate interview. "There are two selections, however, that are more light and flirty. But the last one I'm using is from her signature emotional depth."
The project became a little difficult when it came to setting dance to music with lyrics, said the choreographer. "I didn't want to follow the words so much with the movement because it would be like dance karaoke," said Boye-Christensen. "But at the same time, you needed to pay attention to the words because that's a major part of the music. And if you go too far from it, the dance isn't an honest dance.
"What I did was take the songs rhythmically and lyrically and created the dance around what was going on. And in some places, I ventured off from the lyrical path. So although I was constrained in ways, I was able to breathe a bit and do what I wanted.
"I've always loved (Nina Simone's) work. It's expressive and vulnerable. That's why I chose the music."
Woodbury said having Boye-Christensen in the company has been a blessing. "She isn't afraid to look into the future," said Woodbury, who along with Shirley Ririe formed RWDC in the 1960s. "And she has a focus. She has wonderful technique, and she knows what she wants and does it."
She also had only praise for the other works — Carlson's "Down By the River," McGregor's "Series I" and Rousseve's "Bittersweet Chocolate." "Carolyn is a very spiritual person," said Woodbury. "It comes through in her dances and her choices of music. She was an Alwin Nikolai dancer, so she
knows about presentation. And she relies on that training when it comes to stage lighting and costumes.
"Her work 'Down by the River' is a trademark work for her. She's not afraid of silence and pauses. In fact, there is a moment where we see the backs of the men on stage. And the moment just lingers. The audience can just look at the muscular tones and appreciate them. It's like Carolyn kneads the moment, and it is so breathtaking without being indulgent."
McGregor, who has choreographed the "Harry Potter" movies, set "Series I" on the RWDC with the idea of creating additional "Series" works for other dance companies. "Wayne is a brilliant choreographer," said Woodbury. "He usually works in multimedia, but this one is more minimalist. And it's interesting seeing people of today express themselves emotionally and stylistically in works that have depth and substance."
Then there's Rousseve's "Bittersweet Chocolate," which has been a company favorite since it premiered in 1997. "It's a beautiful, evocative and accessible piece," said Woodbury. "His dance vocabulary is as strong as his written words. He's not only a dancer, but a writer.
"This work is a journey into his mother and grandmother's history. He came up with the concept and then came here and used the dancers' movements and idiosyncracies to build this dance around them. We always come back to this one and Laura Dean's '10 Mile.' There are no elaborate sets and the dances speak for themselves."
If you go . . .
What: "Vistas," Ririe-Woodbury Dance
Company
Where: Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center, 138 W. 300 South
When: Thursday-Saturday, 7:30 p.m.
How much: $30
Phone: 355-2787 or 888-451-2787
Web: www.arttix.org
E-mail: scott@desnews.com