RDT's Link Series to Present OUT OF THE ASHES Featuring Thayer Jonutz

RDT alumnus and Oakland University Professor of Dance Thayer Jonutz will bring Out of the Ashes to the Leona Wagner Black Box Theatre at the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center on March 20–21, 2026 at 7:30 PM as part of RDT's Link Series. This powerful evening of performance merges two full-length multimedia works—Hammer and Nail and Scorched—into a deeply personal and immersive theatrical experience.

Born during the COVID-19 pandemic, Hammer and Nail reflects on Jonutz's upbringing in a roofing construction family. Blending dance, spoken word, and theatrical storytelling, the work examines the physical and emotional labor of rebuilding—offering a universal meditation on resilience in the face of loss.

Scorched began as a desert landscape–inspired project, but evolved into an emotionally charged autobiographical work. The piece was partially developed during The Artists Residency at The Center in September 2025 at The Center for Latter-day Saint Arts in New York, where Jonutz was selected as one of six affiliated artists nationwide to participate. The final scene draws profound inspiration from the tragic attack on an LDS meetinghouse in Grand Blanc, Michigan—an event that resulted in human casualties and the destruction of the church building by fire.

Together, these works form Out of the Ashes, an interdisciplinary production that fuses dance, acting, spoken word, and dance for the camera. Jonutz performs the work himself, creating an intimate and immediate connection with the audience.

The production is further elevated by the collaborative artistry of a Wayne State University Professor of Composition and Theory, who shapes the live soundscape by mixing vocalizations, capturing motion sensor inputs, experimenting with hydrophones, and layering original violin accompaniment. The result is a richly textured, immersive environment that surrounds audiences in both sound and movement.

Thayer Jonutz is a former company member of Repertory Dance Theatre, where he spent five seasons performing both historical masterworks and contemporary repertory, working with acclaimed choreographers. He joined the faculty at Oakland University in 2009 and currently serves as Professor of Dance and Director of the student Repertory Dance Company, teaching modern technique, improvisation, composition, pedagogy, and partnering. Jonutz holds a BA in Modern Dance from Brigham Young University and an MFA in Performance and Choreography from University of Michigan. A comprehensively trained McEntire Pilates instructor and, more recently, earning his accelerated nursing degree in 2022, Jonutz's interdisciplinary background informs his creative work.

Out of the Ashes is presented as part of Repertory Dance Theatre's 60th anniversary season and stands as a compelling exploration of identity, faith, family, and survival—an evening of art that rises, quite literally, from devastation toward renewal.