Pilobolus performs “Licks” during a photo call June 20, 2013, at the Durham Performing Arts Center in Durham, N.C.If you go
› What: Pilobolus Dance Theater in Patten Performances series.› When: 7:30 p.m. Monday, April 18.› Where: UTC Fine Arts Center, 752 Vine St.› Admission: $29 adults, $24 seniors, $15 students.› Phone: 423-425-4371.› Website: www.utc.edu/fine-arts-center/pattenperformances/pilobolus.php.
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga will close out its 36th season of Patten Performances with an audience favorite, the Pilobolus dance company.
The improbable name for this award-winning troupe is derived from a barnyard fungus that propels its spores with extraordinary speed, accuracy and strength.
Pilobolus was founded in 1971 by a group of Dartmouth College students. The group’s key tenets are the creation, performance and preservation of dance through collaboration; expanding and diversifying its audience through projects of all types; and harnessing the creative potential of even nondancers using Pilobolus methods. Artistic directors say the troupe’s many platforms of work – live performance, film and digital media – characterize the qualities of its namesake fungus: adventurous, adaptive, athletic, surprising and revealing beauty in unexpected places.
The ultimate goal, according to press material, is to use the movement-based repertoire to break down barriers between disciplines and challenge the way people think about dance.
Pilobolus propels itself in a variety of directions to carry out its mission. The original company, Pilobolus Dance Theater, has been touring its 115 pieces of repertory to more than 64 countries over the last 42 years. Shadowland, the company’s evening-length show currently touring Europe, the Middle East and Asia, has been seen by more than a half-million people in the three years since it was created.