Former Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company member Jill Voorhees Edwards has been away from Utah for a while, living in Boston, Mass., and Seattle, Wash. And she's glad to be back.
"I missed good modern dance," Edwards said. "There is a lot of dance history here, and it's a good nurturing place for dance, and it feels good to be back."
Edwards danced with Ririe-Woodbury from 1996 to 1998, and she got the itch to start dancing again when she was living out of state. "I did a little performance up in Seattle, and it was then I realized that I can still do something in dance. And while I have no intention to start dancing for a living again, I know that dance is still an important part of my life."
When Edwards moved back to Utah with her husband and children a year ago, the itch became a rash. So last December she contacted two other former Ririe-Woodbury performers, Juan Carlos Claudio and John Allen. They all contacted the company's co-artistic director, Joan Woodbury, to help sponsor an independent production.
"Juan Carlos left Ririe-Woodbury so he could get his master's degree," said Edwards. "And John is co-director for the Tsunami Dance Company in New Orleans. He is also teaching at Tulane University. And he was game to being part of the performance."
Edwards began working on ideas last January. "I choreographed a male trio, and I will do a solo choreographed by John Mead."
Mead, formerly with the Repertory Dance Theatre and artistic director of Moving Image Arts in Singapore, is a "wicked" choreographer, Edwards said. "He pushes my abilities to the limit. And I know that I'm never going to dance again as a career, but I'm so glad to be working with him."
In addition to Claudio, Edwards and Allen, other works will be presented by SB Dance artistic director Stephen Brown, former First Physical Theatre member Anna Morris and Grupo Corpo member Diogo de Lima.
"The production runs about 75 minutes," said Edwards. "And it's been wonderful getting it together. I think the biggest wall to climb was the fact that I haven't danced regularly. When I left Ririe-Woodbury, I became a stay-at-home mom. And now, working to get myself back into shape was difficult.
"But at the same time, getting back to Utah and feeling the artistic climate take hold is wonderful. I'm a Utah dance girl and will always be."
If you go
What: "Momentum," alumni from Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company
Where: Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center, 138 W. 300 South
When: Friday and Saturday, 8 p.m.
How much: $15
Phone: 355-2787, 888-451-2787
Web:www.arttix.org
E-mail: scott@desnews.com