The BareFoot Collective (tBFC) is presenting Ides of May, a contemporary dance concert featuring professional dance artists and upcoming dancers from Gig Harbor High School, May 14-15. In addition to spotlighting the work of budding student performers, Ides of May will debut new choreography by BQdanza director, Carla Barragán, and tBFC choreographers Katie Stricker and Michael Hoover. Stricker will take the floor with an all-female quartet in a dance piece that speaks to the language of sisterhood. Hoover will reprise a cathartic solo involving a whistling tea kettle, and introduce two new works, one of which melds dancers who span a diversity of age, professional experience and geographical locations from across the South Sound.
Barragán‘s dance company, BQdanza, was the recipient of a Spaceworks residency last fall. For Ides of May, the troupe will perform sections of an original work in progress, Nincompoopiana, fusing the arts of puppetry and dance. Nincompoopiana explores “the rebellion against the status quo through whimsical movement by five larger-than-life puppets,” according to a press release. “The Nincompoopian aesthetic movement began in the 1880s and it rebelled against the pretty and respectable. [BQdanza] restates this concept [by] introducing five archetypal characters that discover each other through simple and comic rapport.” Covered in “puppet skins” decorated with tattoo-like designs, the dancers look like otherworldly beings. They will do a roaming improvisation on the street, May 14, prior to the 7:30 show. tBFC organized this production with the support of a three-month Spaceworks Tacoma residency, including a free rehearsal space at 915 Pacific Avenue fitted to their specifications.
Ides of May, at 915 Pacific Avenue, May 14-15, 3p.m. and 7:30p.m. Seating is limited; advance purchase of tickets is recommended. Tickets are available online at www.brownpapertickets.com, and at the door on the day of the show ($12/$15). For more information, click www.barefootcollective.org.