Pilobolus Returns To Kingsbury Hall 11/17

Acclaimed dance company Pilobolus returns to Salt Lake City, with their unique brand of athletic and acrobatic modern dance. Pilobolus has become known the world over for their imaginative, gravity-defying and humorous works. The Salt Lake City performance will include an excerpt from DOG ID, a new shadow piece created in collaboration with SpongeBob SquarePants creator Steven Banks. Pilobolus will perform at Kingsbury Hall on the University of Utah campus on Tuesday, November 17 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $45.50 - $29.50 and are available by calling 801-581-7100 or visiting www.kingtix.com.

Pilobolus (crystallinus) is a phototropic zygomycete - a sun-loving fungus that grows in barnyards and pastures. It's a feisty thing - only 1/4 inch tall - that can throw its spores nearly eight feet. Right over a cow. It is also a highly unusual dance company, now beginning its 39th year of evolution.

Pilobolus, the arts organism, germinated in the fertile soil of a Dartmouth College dance class in 1971. What emerged was a collaborative choreographic process and unique weight-sharing approach to partnering that gave the young company a nontraditional but powerful new set of skills with which to make dances. The physical vocabularies of Pilobolus works are not drawn from traditions of codified dance movement but are invented - emerging from intense periods of improvisation and creative play.

Today Pilobolus is a unique American arts organization of international influence. It has not, however, forsaken its original impetus and remains a deeply committed collaborative effort with three artistic directors and over twenty-five full and part-time dancers contributing to one of the most popular and varied bodies of work in the history of the field.

The performance at Kingsbury Hall will include the following works:

LANTERNA MAGICA (2008) is a new full company work choreographed by co-Artistic Director Michael Tracy. This work immerses us in the luminous spirit of the natural world and uses ritual and mythology to create a mysterious and irresistible sensual celebration of the supernatural. Choreographed by Michael Tracy in collaboration with Andrew Herro, Jeffrey Huang, Jun Kuribayashi, Jenny Mendez, Manelich Minniefee, Edwin Olvera and Annika Sheaff, with music by Tycho, Jami Seiber, and the Transcontinental Saxophone Quartet.

PSEUDOPODIA (1974) A tumbling tumbleweed solo set to an all-percussion score. Choreography by Jonathan Wolken, with music by Moses Pendleton and Jonathan Wolken.

GNOMEN (1997) This is a Pilobolus classic. A quartet for men, Gnomen's lyrical exploration of relationships emerges from an unusually inventive physical vocabulary and is dedicated to the memory of our friend and colleague, Jim Blanc. Choreographed by Robby Barnett and Jonathan Wolken, in collaboration with Matt Kent, Gaspard Louis, Trebien Pollard and Mark Santillano, with music by Paul Sullivan.

DUET (2009) A fast duet about love's path, marriage, and nostalgia. Choreography by Jonathan Wolken in collaboration with Eriko Jimbo, Jenny Mendez and Christopher Whitney.

Excerpt from DOG ID (2009) Shadow piece in which a young woman is transformed. Created in collaboration with Steven Banks, lead writer for the brilliant animated series SpongeBob SquarePants, with music by David Poe.

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