CoMotion Dance Project to Present FIRE SPEAKS THE LAND Tour, 3/10-4/4

Fire science education for youth merges with the performing arts when The CoMotion Dance Project presents 18 performances of Fire Speaks the Land: An Active Audiences Performance from March 10-April 4.

Performed for school audiences in Montana and Idaho school gymnasiums and theatres, the 50-minute performance uses original choreography, narration, and music to explore fire science, forest ecology, and traditional Native perspectives on fire. This beautifully crafted live performance has appeal for all ages and is expected to reach over 4,000 children and adults.

Six performances will be held at Missoula elementary and middle schools. A week-long Idaho tour features eight performances at rural schools. In the Flathead Valley, three theatre performances will enable 1,268 Flathead Valley students and teachers to bus to the theatre to participate. Participating Flathead schools include: Fair-Mont Egan, Deer Park, Pleasant Valley, West Valley, Trinity Lutheran, Whitefish Middle Schools, Kalispell Montessori, Kalispell Middle School, Helena Flats, Olney-Bissell, and West Glacier. CoMotion company members will conduct creative dance workshops for Kalispell Montessori students, who will learn choreography about forest regeneration after a fire, to perform live at a Fire Speaks the Land concert.

Designed for K-6 students, Fire Speaks the Land features five dancers, a narrator, unique scenery and lighting, and colorful costumes as well as several opportunities for the audience to participate in the performance, both on and off stage. Students learn about ecological issues relevant to our region through an artistic, narrated performance that both delights and informs.

Karen Kaufmann, 2014 recipient of the Montana Arts Council's Artist Innovation Award, directs the CoMotion Dance Project, an organization that promotes dance in K-12 education. Written and produced by Karen Kaufmann and Steve Kalling, the piece features choreography by Karen Kaufmann and Joy French, with live performance by five professional dancers: Allison Herther, Kaitlin Kinsley, Katie McEwen, Ashley Griffith and Joy French. Original music is composed and recorded by Steve Kalling and nine Montana musicians. Blackfeet musician and storyteller Jack Gladstone narrates the sound score.

Fire Speaks the Land Tour Schedule:

Meadow Hill School, Missoula, MT, March 6 at 10am

Washington Middle School, Missoula, MT, March 6 at 1pm

CS Porter Middle School, Missoula, March 7 at 10am

Missoula International School, Missoula, MT, March 7 at 2pm

Clearwater Elementary, Kooskia, ID, March 10th

Kamiah Middle School, Kamiah, ID, March 11 at 9am

Timberline School, Kamiah, ID, March 11 at 1pm

Orofino Elementary, Orofino, ID, March 12 at 9am

Deary Elementary, Deary, ID, March 12 at 2pm

Troy Elementary, Troy, ID, March 13 at 9am

Lapwei Elementary, Lapwei, ID, March 13 at 2pm

Grangeville Elementary, Grangeville ID, March 14 at 9am

Hellgate Elementary, Missoula, MT, March 21 at 12:45 and 2pm

Workshops for Kalispell Montessori, Kalispell, MT, March 25th at 1pm

Whitefish Performing Arts Center, Whitefish, MT, March 26 at 12:45pm (for 6 schools)

Whitefish Performing Arts Center, Whitefish, MT, March 27 at 10am (for 3 schools)

Whitefish Performing Arts Center, Whitefish, MT, March 27 at 1pm (for 5 schools)

Univ of Montana/Missoula, American College Dance Festival/NW Region, April 4 at 10:30am.

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