Ethnic Community Dance Groups Join RDT For The Continuation Of MANIFEST DIVERSITY

Repertory Dance Theatre, the nation's oldest and most successful modern dance repertory company, continues their 53rd season of MANIFEST DIVERSITY with a community collaboration -- MOSAIC, November 15-17, 2018.

This unique concert celebrates our diversity and our commonality in movement. Ethnic and folk dance artists will join with RDT to identify things that we share as human beings while exhibiting attributes that make each culture unique. RDT salutes an American Modern Dance legacy inspired by diverse cultures. Guests from Dionysius Dance, Khemera Cambodian Troup, Okinawa KenJinKai, Ballet Folklorico de las Americas, Malialole, Tablado Dance Company, as well as Native American communities, will join RDT on stage to share our humanity with dances we learn and dances we create.

Across the world, dance is used as a way of socializing and celebrating special occasions. Some recreational dances come from old traditions and some are the latest trends. These dances express something about our heritage, values, needs, desires.

People worldwide dance for all kinds of reasons-to mourn, to celebrate, to heal, to give thanks, to preserve cultural heritage and treasured legends, to demonstrate physical prowess, to assert individuality, to provoke and to entertain.

We celebrate our diversity in movement inspired by rituals, work and warrior dances, folk dances and steps that have been performed at gatherings for centuries. RDT will demonstrate ways current and historical choreography has been inspired by these elements, while community groups will showcase how their treasured dances draw inspiration.

Malialole is a Polynesian Music, Dance and arts school, ensemble and entertainment group. Malialole's mission is to perpetuate the Polynesian culture through song and dance while promoting cultural awareness of all Pacific Island People sharing stories of the past and present.

Khemera Dance Troupe carries on the traditional dances of Cambodia in the United States by training members of the Cambodian-American community in the art of Cambodian Court and Folk dances.

Utah Okinawa KenjinKai (OKK) is dedicated to preserving the beautiful traditions and promoting the Okinawan performing arts. The Kenjin Kai will showcase dances which originated in Okinawa, a small island located in the southernmost part of Japan.

Ballet Folklorico de las Americas is one of the oldest Latino dance groups in Utah. Their talented dancers present a lively mix of Mexican dances along with dances from Central and South America.

The Dionysios Greek Dancers attend either the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox or Prophet Elias Church and are all of Greek heritage. This group performs at community celebrations, including the annual Greek Festival, church functions and cultural events throughout the region.

Tablado Dance Company is a performance ensemble dedicated to sharing its passion for the dance, music, and culture of Spain and is known for maintaining the ethnic richness of flamenco. The mission of Tablado Dance Company is to create a diverse theatrical body of performance through music and dance that expresses a rigorous, spell-binding aesthetic in the form of flamenco.

MOSAIC continues the Company's season-long initiative of MANIFEST DIVERSITY, an initiative to illuminate the convergence of different cultures and peoples that have made modern dance a rich tapestry of the American experience. During the upcoming year, the MANIFEST DIVERSITY initiative will thread through RDT's commissions, concerts, residencies, classes and workshops for adults and youth, the latter of whom now represents a rapidly escalating global outlook and experience here in the Beehive State.