Dance Kaleidoscope

I attend a few shows each year, for the past several years. They are so entertaining, and you never know exactly what to expect. Will it be very abstract? Will it incorporate other genres of dance? There’s a theme (or two) to every production. You name it, DK has likely done it… country, jazz, broadway, Parisian, whimsical.
The performances are high energy, elegant, athletic and look effortless. The dancers will dazzle you.
Tickets are very reasonably priced for the quality and quantity of dance you will see over a 1.5 hour show. Tickets range between $ 22 – 40 usually, depending on your age and student status.
The venue is normally at the Indiana Repertory Theatre, and sometimes Clowes Hall. There’s a bar to purchase drinks and snacks if all that dancing that your not doing works up a thirst/​appetite.
This is a non-​profit group. So what you see on stage is produced truly with heart and soul from the company and the community. There’s nothing else like DK in the city. I often take friends that have had little exposure to the arts to see a performance. Modern/​contemporary dance, I feel, is so much less pretentious than ballet. I also like that the dancers are of all shapes, sizes and ages. As a former ballet dancer, I know how amazing this is! If you’re not exactly so many inches tall with a 24 inch waist you can almost count yourself out of a career.
If you haven’t been to a DK show yet, I highly recommend! Shows usually run from Thursday to Sunday. Enjoy and dance on!

Saw their most-​recent performance the IRT. Just incredible and loved the opportunity to listen to the question/​answer session during the 2^nd intermission with the director and two of the composers. Always worth the effort to attend!

I have seen several shows now and they were very good (Super Soul, Elvis Project, Musica Latina). Though I don’t always «get» modern dance, the dancers usually deliver performances that are consistent w/​the mood of the music. All of the shows I went to featured an after-​party and a chance to mingle w/​the dancers.
DK also does a lot of free shows and guest performances around the city, as well as lectures about the choreography for each performance.

Though I’d been hearing great things about Dance Kaleidoscope for years, I never got the opportunity to see them in action until just a few months ago, when I attended their production of Scheherazade at Clowes Hall. I certainly was not disappointed! I’ve heard the piece many times, and while I’d never seen the ballet adaptation before, it still could have felt predictable based on my knowledge of the music and the story. These very talented dancers put a fresh spin on the ancient tale, though, with opulent costumes, creative choreography and a few kicky, innovative touches (skateboards!)
Even more delightful than the featured piece, however, was the opening dance adaptation of one of my favorite paintings, «Girl at the Piano: Recording Sound.» Set to a most excellent choice of music – Rachmaninov’s «Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini” – some of the choreography was very suggestive, even homoerotic at times, which is not something I have ever seen on the stage of Clowes before. The venue is by and large very conservative, so I was impressed to see them pushing some boundaries. The costumes and sets were also very beautiful. I was enchanted from start to finish. Bravi!