The Spin

Fall performance gets rolling with Dance in Dialogue’s D.i.D.#10

Work Dance Company
Work Dance Company. Photo by Katherine Gaffney.

Fall performance gets rolling with Dance in Dialogue’s D.i.D.#10 6 to 8 pm Sept. 29 at the Friends Meeting House. “Dance in Dialogue inspires the making and discussion of new work to invigorate the contemporary dance culture in Eugene, by providing a forum for artists to present innovative works-in-progress in a process-oriented setting with audience feedback,” D.i.D. co-founder Shannon Mockli says. Check it out.

See yourself in sweatpants? There are a number of community auditions and classes on tap:

Work Dance Company (WDC) holds open dance auditions 7:30 pm Sept. 27 and 6 pm Oct. 2 at the Eugene Family YMCA. “This season is very, very special,” says WDC’s ebullient director-choreographer Nathan Boozer of the company’s 10-year anniversary. “WDC is ready to celebrate our big ‘Ten-O’ in a big, big way! We will be going with a Candyland-esque theme with the title DECEDENT: A Decade of Dance!”

The University of Oregon’s Department of Dance offers its annual fall technique placement class for modern and ballet 10 am to noon on Sept. 23 in Gerlinger Annex. (Enrolled and community students who are interested in signing up for, or advancing in, these classes are invited to come to attend.)

And fall dance classes at Lane Community College begin Sept. 26 with ballet, modern, hip hop and more. See a schedule of classes online at lanecc.edu. And please note: Auditions for the Lane Dance Company are 5:30 pm Oct. 3 in Studio 136. (Contact Bonnie for more information: simoab@lanecc.edu.)

In studio news, we hear that the Unity School of Dance recently performed at Disneyworld. “And we have been invited as one of the dozen dance companies to perform at the halftime show in San Diego this December at the Holiday Bowl,” Unity director Eileen King says. Unity welcomes new teacher Facinet Sylla from the popular TV show America’s Got Talent. “He will be teaching our brand new Acro classes,” King adds. Info at unityschoolofdance.com.

And Dance With Us offers an eight-week series in cross-step waltz and swing. Registration deadline Sept. 30; sign up at danceeugene.com.

Fall is for fundraisers, and #instaballet got a jump on things with a heart-warming event in August that benefited its innovative programming partnership with Bridgeway House. The evening was a lively success, raising more than $20,000 for #instaballet. The indubitable event highlight was Eugene Ballet choreographer Toni Pimble and architect Paul Dustrud’s spontaneous dance-off duet. Bravo!

And in early September, Eugene Ballet Company held its own benefit shindig for subscribers and friends at Domaine Meriwether Winery, featuring local band favorite The Sugar Beets. Between BBQ, wine, ballet and feel-good music, a special season subscription offer was announced. (Missed the party? You can still snag a deal by calling EBC at 541-485-3992.)

And pencil this in: the Four-Year Anniversary Live Music Swing Dance presented Oct. 7 by Track Town Swing Club. “We’ll celebrate four years of building the swing dance community by having live music from Blue Skies Big Band,” says Track Town’s Nick Davis. “We will start the evening off with an East Coast swing dance beginner lesson. Please join us. No partner is required.” At the Vet’s Club ballroom, with intro lesson at 7 pm and social dancing at 8 pm. More at tracktownswing.com.

Also at the top of October, XCAPE Dance Company presents X Oct. 7 at the Hult Center (hultcenter.org) featuring guest performances by Work Dance Company, ZAPP, The Dance Factory, Flex Studios and musicians Isaac Turner and Shelby Trotter.