For more than 40 years, members of the Pilobolus modern dance company have traveled around the world showing off their physical strength, flexibility and athleticism though theatrical dance performances.
Tuesday night, the Pilobolus modern dance company will stop at Wharton.
“We’re not exactly what people would consider traditional dance,” said Renee Jaworski, associate artistic director of Pilobolus. “We mix theater and dance and any other kind of movement activity together to create a theatrical experience.”
Pilobolus began in 1971 when a Dartmouth College dance instructor decided to change her class up a bit and teach her students improvisational dance rather than the traditional dance movements. The students in the class were taught how to use their body and other everyday objects to create artistic movements.
Over the course of the semester, the students experimented with props such as ropes, tables, mirrors and each other’s bodies to explore the interesting movements they could come up with.
After much practice, the class members decided to continue the dance style outside of the classroom and created the group, Pilobolus.
Even though the original members have longed retired, the legacy continues 40 years later.
“The best feedback is that we’ve been around since 1971, and we’re still going,” Jaworski said. “There aren’t a lot of dance companies in America that can say the same thing.”
During each show, dance members use various everyday props to give the audience insight into their various works.
When an audience gathers into a venue, Jaworski said the dance members ask the attendees to step out of their everyday world and step into a modern Pilobolus world where they will think and receive information different than a traditional dance performance.
Without background sets, the dancers work to keep the audience entertained on their high level physical capabilities while various tunes fill the atmosphere.
“We’re not trying to recreate the streets in Paris — we’re just creating a world that you can use your imagination in,” Jaworski said.
The show runs for 1 hour and 50 minutes. Tickets can be bought online for $15.
