'PANDORA'S BOX' to Open at Black Box Theatre This Weekend

"A Reimagining of Pandora's Box" is set for the Black Box Theatre on Saturday, February 25 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, February 26 at 2:30 p.m.

This show has been collaboratively created and choreographed by the Mesilla Valley Dance Collective members, as well as featured guest performers Jessica Trembly, of 575 Dance in Alamogordo, NM, and Jermey J. Edmonson, a graduate student at NMSU.

The idea for the show was proposed by one of the members of the dance collective, Miranda Williams, in the wake of losing her friend and co-worker to pancreatic cancer in March 2016.

"When speaking with friends who were asking me how I was dealing with it, I would often use the metaphor of having a box with all of my emotions closed up in it. So long as the box is shut, I can compartmentalize my sadness and go on living life," says Williams. "But, eventually, you have to open that box and start to process what's inside it. That concept became the seed for this show. The collective members really embraced the idea and ran with it."

This show has been collaboratively created and choreographed by the Mesilla Valley Dance Collective members, as well as featured guest performers Appearing with us will be Jessica Trembly (our featured guest artist appearing as Pandora), Human Nature Contemporary Ballet, Mountain Movement Dance Company, Georgina Armendariz, and Tumbleweed Collective.

'Mesilla Valley Dance Collective is a truly collaborative group with the goal of creating quality, entertaining dance shows for all ages. We work together to create pieces that showcase all styles of dance. This is a wonderful group of dancers who work extremely hard to make each and every show possible and successful,' Creative Director Morgan Rivera says about the collective.

Mesilla Valley Dance Collective seeks to provide opportunities for dancers of all skill levels, backgrounds, and abilities, as well as individuals who are simply creative and want an outlet to dance and work collaboratively with others with similar passions. They are primarily focused on crafting a single creative theatrical production once a year that explores a theme or narrative that the members collectively agree on. These productions are highly collaborative in nature, with every member having a voice in their creation, by contributing original choreography, costuming, and more. Ages and skill levels of the dancers in the collective vary greatly, with members in their teens, twenties, and thirties, and members who have been dancing since the age of 3, with college degrees in dance, to members who found their passion for dance as recently as 3 years ago. Learn more at www.mesillavalleydance.com.

Performances are at the Black Box Theatre, 430 N Main Street. Tickets are $15.00 regular admission and $12.00 for students and seniors over 65. Call (575) 523-1223 for reservations.

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