Modern dance performance tonight

Long held to be the masters of modern dance, the nationally-renowned dance troupe Pilobolus will be performing their gravity and flexibility-defying dances tonight at the IU Auditorium at 8 p.m. The troupe, founded by a Dartmouth College dance class in 1971, has won several eminent honors, including the Berlin Critic's Prize, Brandeis Award, the New England Theater Conference Prize, and a Primetime Emmy for outstanding achievement in cultural programming.\nThe troupe is based in rural Washington Depot, Connecticut, where the six dancers and four artistic directors collaborate to create some of the most innovative and influential modern dance being performed. Pilobolus tours year round and travels extensively. Next year the troupe is booked for performances as far flung as Russia and Italy.\nDoug Booher, director of the IU Auditorium, said Pilobolus was the type of programming that IU has been seeking to book. \n"With our efforts to program a wider variety of art forms at the IU Auditorium, we felt that Pilobolus was a great fit because of their inventive and magical style of dance," he said.\nThe dances performed by Pilobolus are best described as an exciting mix of athleticism, acrobatics, contortionism, and full body contact. The troupe is only composed of six dancers who interact intimately on the stage. The repertoire of over 75 dances has deep themes ranging from the Holocaust to the interaction between love and sex.\nSusan Broili of The Herald-Sun of Durham, North Carolina said Pilobolus dancers "create many beautiful shapes together... dancers seem as much insect as human."\nDespite the fame achieved by the troupe, the choreography is constantly changing.\n"The troupe constantly surprises with new inventions, yet retains its distinctive trademark—sleek athletic bodies blending into ever-changing sculptural form," said the Fairbanks Concert Association. "Pilobolus is the freshest combination of performance art to crawl, leap, roll, ripple, glide or metamorphosize its way across the stage."\nThe unusual style of dance should not keep those with modern dance experience away. Though often experimental, Booher said the performance is a great opportunity to be entertained and enlightened. \n"I have seen them perform in the past and came away with a real appreciation of their strength and grace," he said. "The colors and movement of Pilobolus are truly captivating."\nTickets for "Pilobolus" are still available at the IU Auditorium, www.ticketmaster.com, or IUauditorium.com. Prices start at $12 for students, and $22 for adults. For more information contact 855-1103.