A life in dance

In its upcoming concert, Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company will perform fragments of the career of Charlotte Boye-Christensen, who joined Ririe-Woodbury as associate artistic director last year.

"They're all things that I have done throughout my career," Boye- Christensen said just before heading into a rehearsal in the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center. "They all show the different aspects of my styles."

The Thursday program, titled "Tangled Web," includes seven works, two of them world premieres -- "The Finish Line" and "A Voice That Was Once in Your Mouth." "They are all considered defining blocks for me," Boye-Christensen said. "Each one of them has played a significant part in my development as a dancer and choreographer. And I wanted to stay true in showing what kind of artistic choices I have made during my life."

Two works, "The Room" and "Siesta," from 1995, are what Christensen calls her "simple works." "They are not very complex. They are simple and get to the point, without having the audience wade through a lot of stuff.

"Since I choreographed those works, I have become more complex stylistically. But I'm trying now to get back to the more simple style. There's a danger of telling too much when things get too complex. And that makes the work too busy. To me, now, simple is the best way to go."

Other works in the program include "Stirrings," "The Visit" and "Sisters of the Head."

"Stirrings," originally commissioned for the Singapore Dance Theatre in 1998, will open the show. It is a study of Singaporean society and the Shakers.

"The Visit," which premiered with the Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company at the beginning of the season, was inspired by artist Rededios Varo's painting "Woman Leaving the Psychoanalyst."

"Sisters of the Head," created in 2000 for a Brolly Arts choreographer's lab program, features former Repertory Dance Theatre member Rebecca Keene-Forde, local visual artist Bonnie Sucec and artist Susan Beck.

Boye-Christensen said another factor in choosing the program came down to the presentations themselves. "I wanted a collection of works that would complement each other. I also wanted pieces that the dancers would be able to relate with.

"Also, we moved the performance into the Rose Wagner's Black Box Theatre, which already has a unique feel in itself. It creates an immediate response. The bigger stage can swallow you up, while the Black Box stage is more revealing. And the works I've chosen fit better there."

Boye-Christensen began taking ballet when she was 14. She started out in the Royal Danish Ballet system, but by the age of 18, she wanted out. "I was more interested in modern." She also trained at the Lagban Center in London and the Tisch School of the Arts. "I moved to New York after I received my degree and completed my master's at New York University." Then she danced and worked throughout Asia, Europe and Mexico before settling in Utah.

"The landscape in Utah is very inspirational to me," Boye- Christensen said. "It has become one of the driving forces in my creativity."

If you go . . .

What: "Tangled Web," Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company

Where: Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center, 138 W. 300 South

When: 7:30 p.m., Thursday-Saturday; 2 p.m., Saturday.

How much: $15 and $20

Phone: 355-2787 or 1-888-451-2787

Web: www.ririewoodbury.com

E-mail: [email protected]

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