The University of Idaho Hartung Theatre felt a little last century Thursday during the retro-themed 27th annual Dancers, Drummers, Dreamers (DDD) show.
The annual production is a creative collaboration between the UI Dance Program and the Lionel Hampton School of Music Percussion and DDD Ensembles. The combination of music and dance acts makes the production similar to what would be a modern-day variety show.
UI Professor of Percussion and Theory, Dan Bukvich, and retired UI Professor of Dance, Diane Walker, created the show years ago with an interest in the collaboration process.
Belle Baggs, a clinical assistant professor of dance at UI, said Bukvich and Walker wanted dance students to better understand music and music students to better understand dance.
In the show, student choreographers, composers, dancers and musicians work together to combine rhythms and movement into a seamless whole.
Baggs said musicians and dancers speak different languages, which can make communication challenging. However, she said the students enjoy working together and creating the production as a team.
UI sophomore and member of the DDD Ensemble, Logan Finney, said he appreciates the opportunity to break up common friend groups and work with new people.
“It’s a lot of fun, but it’s a lot of hard work,” Finney said. “It’s definitely something I look forward to every year.”
This year’s DDD production included music and dances from the 1920s through the 1990s, featuring neon clothing and retro settings. The show progressed seamlessly, with mini acts between every main act that were built around moving objects on and off the stage.
Because the show is based around incorporating sound with movement, performers used different objects, like brooms, pots, pans and even slinkies to add to the music. Finney, though not involved in the act featuring slinkies, said it was his favorite to watch from off-stage.
This is Finney’s second year in the DDD ensemble, which is comprised of both music students and non-music students, that meets once a week during the semester to prepare for the show. Finney said, however, that most of the show comes together in a single week before it opens.
“It’s a great lesson on what it’s like being a professional,” Finney said. “You have to learn really quickly how to work together in a sort of high stakes environment.”
Students involved in the production learn how to stay focused, be creative, solve problems and altogether put on a show, Baggs said. She said she likes to see the students rise to the occasion as they become “leaders in the production process.”
Clinical Assistant Professor of Dance, Melanie Meenan, said DDD has become a tradition not just for dance and music students but for the university in general.
“Anytime there’s a collaboration on campus, it opens up new avenues of thought and understanding,” Meenan said.
Finney said he felt confident about the performance Thursday, that it went well and engaged the audience. Baggs said the family-friendly show is always a hit.
“It’s something the community looks forward to,” Baggs said. “I think the community really values it.”
Jordan Willson can be reached at [email protected]