University of Wyoming dancers soar among the rocks at Vedauwoo recreation area. (David
Andrews Photography)
The University of Wyoming's 2011 Snowy Range Summer Theatre and Dance Festival concludes Aug. 20-21 with "Vertical Dance at Vedauwoo: Rainbow Snake and the Red Desert."
Performances will be at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. each day at the Box Canyon area of the Vedauwoo recreation area, 16 miles east of Laramie, off Interstate 80.
All tickets, including those for dogs, cost $7. Patrons are advised to get tickets in advance by calling (307) 766-6666, going online to www.uwyo.edu/finearts, or by visiting the Fine Arts box office weekdays from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Only a limited number of tickets will be available for sale at the performance area. ADA accommodations are available, and patrons should contact the box office as soon as possible for more information or to request assistance.
After taking the Vedauwoo exit, patrons will park their cars and ride a bus to the Box Canyon parking lot. From this point, there is a 10-minute walk up a gravel path to the performance area. The last bus from the parking area will depart 10 minutes before the performance.
The performance features vertical dance, live music and storytelling by award-winning Australian performing artist Paul Taylor. Vertical dance is a unique blend of modern dance and rappelling that allows free-flowing aerial movement.
Since 1998, "Vertical Dance at Vedauwoo" has been an end-of-summer favorite with local audiences, with the natural rock formations at Vedauwoo offering a spectacular setting for the dance, which covers the entire performance area and connects the land to the sky. Created by UW faculty members Margaret Wilson and Neil Humphrey, the site-specific vertical dance choreography features UW students dancing on rocks both near to and far away from the audience.
Humphrey, professor in the UW Department of Geology and Geophysics and adjunct professor in the Department of Theatre and Dance, says, "Performing at Vedauwoo offers dancers the opportunity to experience free-flowing movement in all three dimensions."
Each new concert at Vedauwoo introduces a theme or storyline. In 2009, featured artist Taylor presented his original aboriginal story "Vedauwoo: A Dreamtime Tale," in which he introduced Rainbow Serpent, Sky Boss and the Turtle Lady as he described the creation of Vedauwoo. The tale continues in this year's performance, as Rainbow travels across Wyoming, stopping at Arlington, the Red Desert, Yellowstone and the Tetons and then back to the Red Desert via the Wind River Range.
The tale will be interwoven with live music performed by Marty Camino, Rod Garnett, Peter Queal, Mark Rabideau, David Romtvedt and Peter Shive.
