Kansas State Dance is teaming up with The Bang Group to spread holiday cheer in the form of dancing.
Kate Digby, associate director for dance at Kansas State, says this year’s concert will have something for everyone.
“This year we’ve titled it ‘Nutcracked and Other Delights’ because we have this fabulous company from New York City, The Bang Group, who are presenting ‘Nutcracked’, choreographed by David Parker,” Digby says. We also are featuring four works by K-State dance faculty- three by Julie Pentz and one by Stephen Loch.”
Choreographer, David Parker, whom is also the director of The Bang Group, talks more about his group.
“It’s called The Bang Group because bang is a percussive sound and one of the things that organizes everything we do is rhythm, and that includes making noise as dancers: anything from singing, to tap dancing, to clapping, to stomping, and sometimes with uncommon things such as toe shoes or bubble wrap,” he adds.
Parker says they have been performing ‘Nutcracked’ for 19 seasons now. He says they travel three to four weeks each December to bring the show to communities.
“It’s actually quite funny in many places and simply expresses a lot of love for the original version of the ‘Nutcracker’, but it restates it and rebuilds it in terms that make sense to today’s audiences and the community that I grew up in in New York City.”
Parker adds that landing here in Manhattan, Kansas for a performance all started with Kate Digby.
“Well, thanks to Kate Digby, who was in many seasons and in the original first full-length version of ‘Nutcracked’, which was 2004 I think,” Parker says. “She was also our rehearsal director for a number of seasons before she came out here and then we’ve been talking ever since about the possibility of joining forces to do “Nutcracked’ mixing student dancers with the dancers of The Bang Group.”
Digby talks more about what it means to her to have one of her first loves of “Nutcracked” clash with her love of K-State dance.
“Well I can say that I teared up a little bit watching them rehearse last night. The students have always been beautiful dancers, but when they saw the level of the professional dancers, they stepped up ten notches and brought out their very best. And to see this choreography that I’ve known fairly well for almost twenty years, it’s still fresh every time and David continues to reinvent, so there is, in fact, a new section that will be the world premiere here at K-State.”
The show will feature many moving parts, with 22 sections, five genres of dance, and several groups. Production manager and K-State instructor, Neil Dunn, talks more about seeing everything culminate.
“It usually comes together really well when all the pieces fall into place, and the show runs, and we are in the theater and things go,” Dunn adds. “For me, it’s a relief, but it’s exciting to see the students all come together. The community and the unity of it all is cool to see.”
Parker adds that this is the first time they have done a show in joint with a university like this. He says it has been beautiful.
“To see the combining of the New York dancers with the Manhattan, Kansas dancers, the student dancers, and to see how they gradually, sort of, the contagion of what is the aesthetic and what is the sensibility and see them communicate back and forth like that as the show continues has been a revelation to me because it’s an influence we don’t normally get, as well as, I think it works the other way too.”
Digby says it is thrilling to be able to bring the Manhattan community this level of performance. She says it’s a perfect way to start the holiday season.
“The whole concert is very kid-friendly. I feel like it brings all of the joy of the holiday season. The K-State tab dance ensemble is also performing in this production, and they just last night had a show with the Topeka Symphony Orchestra doing a piece called ‘Sleigh Ride’ in this production, which is also incredibly festive and just the spirit of the season. It’s a great show to bring family to!”
Public performances will be at 7:30PM on December 3 and 4 and 2:30PM on December 4 and 5.
Tickets are online at k-state.edu/mtd/tickets.
