Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet Co. Comes to Park City Tonight

"Exhilarating," according to London's The Guardian, Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet's 16 gorgeous and technically exquisite dancers bring beauty and daring, athletic movement to The Eccles spotlight tonight, March 1. The company's mixed repertory performance includes three evocative pieces, created by some of the world's most sought-after and emerging choreographers. Performance begins at 7:30 p.m.

Founded a decade ago by Nancy Laurie, Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet began with the intent of nurturing creativity in choreographers and curating work for a worldwide audience. Though the New York City-based company garnered a little mainstream attention as the featured troupe in the film, "The Adjustment Bureau," it has hung onto its audacious and creative leanings as well as its dancers' knack for mastering a wide range of dance genres.

The company is slated to perform three works on March 1: "Violet Kid," choreographed by Hofesh Shechter; "Tuplet," choreographed by Alexander Ekman; and "Rain Dogs," choreographed by Johan Inger. A full-company piece, "Violet Kid" examines man's struggle for harmony within a complex and sometimes horrifying universe. According to the Los Angeles Times "Shechter's masterful 'Violet Kid'...glowed in golden beauty and festered in relentless gloom. The dancers navigated this tricky duality with exceptional risk-taking." Shechter won the Critic's Circle National Dance Award for Best Choreography (modern) in 2008.

The swift and pulsating "Tuplet" features six dancers, performing to a score created in collaboration with the dancers' own rhythmic impulses. Swedish choreographer Alexander Ekman (formerly of Royal Swedish Ballet, Nederlands Dans Theater and currently Cullberg Ballet) explains, "I am attempting to find a fraction of an answer to an extremely large question: What is rhythm?"

Finally, Johan Inger's "Rain Dogs" pays homage to "the urban dispossessed" through a series of vignettes. The quirky study of what it is to be human is performed to a richly textured score. Formerly a high-profile dancer with Swedish Royal Ballet and National Ballet School in Canada, Inger transitioned to choreography in 1995 and has garnered acclaim for his works ever since.

"The movement and rhythm and soul of a company like Cedar Lake has the ability to move each and every audience member," says Park City Institute executive director Teri Orr. "We are delighted to welcome this world-renowned and truly original troupe to our stage."

Park City Institute presents Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet tonight, March 1. The mixed repertory performance takes place at The George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Center for the Performing Arts (1750 Kearns Blvd., Park City). Show starts at 7:30 p.m. Tickets range from $20 to $69 with a 20-percent discount for seniors; ½ price tickets for children ages 16 and under; $5 seats available in the Copper Section for Summit County students (K-12). Tickets and information are available at The Eccles Center box office, 435-655-3114 or www.ecclescenter.org.