Southern Utah University’s Department of Theatre, Dance and Arts Administration will be opening their Warp and Weft, the 2025 Faculty Dance Concert on Oct. 31 at 7:30 p.m.
The concert features the work of choreographers Joshua Mora, Tyler Orcutt, Nancy Dobbs Owen, Danielle Lydia Sheather and guest choreographer John Mead. Each choreographer tells a story through dance during their segment of the night.
Mora based their piece on Filipino folk dances to honor their late grandmother and showcase Filipino culture on stage.
“Warp and Weft drew me because I loved the idea that we were all these individual threads, but then started to become warped and weft together,” said Mora. “We were weaving these ideas that we thought were representative of humanity, and then we found ways to show our own stories, but they found ways of going together.”
Mora hopes that people leave the performance feeling like they’ve woven themselves into the themes of the different pieces and as if they’ve been embraced by their own humanity and the humanity they’ve seen echoed on stage.
“The collaboration is always what makes me buzz,” said Owen.
Owen’s piece titled “Ending” reflects how she feels about the tumultuous events of the past year and the repetition seen throughout history.
Dancers involved in the concert are eager to get back to performing in front of an audience.
“Dance is getting smaller and smaller, and less people are coming to see dance as an art,” said dancer, Junie Timmins. “Coming and supporting local art and other students in their endeavors is really important. Seeing people create and perform art can help make the change we’re trying to make through art.”
Performances will take place on Oct. 31, Nov. 1 and 3, at 7:30 p.m., with an additional showing on Nov. 1 at 2 p.m. Performances will be held in the Randall L. Jones Theatre.
“I would recommend it to anyone who likes dance, obviously, but I would also recommend it to anyone who may not have any experience watching dance,” said stage manager Tikvah Kalder. “It is extremely shocking at first because of how much of an emotional effect people dancing can have on you, and that’s a really magical experience no one should miss out on.”
Tickets are $12 for adults, $10 for alumni and $6 for non-SUU students. SUU students, faculty, and staff are admitted to one performance free of charge. Tickets can be purchased at bard.org/tdaa.
