UW News

September 28, 2011

Pilobolus kicks off dance series at Meany Hall

Pilobolus kicks off the 2011-12 World Dance Series at Meany Hall with a program of fan favorites. Their performances will be at 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, Oct. 6-8.

Pilobolus performs 'Gnomen,' one of five dances on the program at Meany Hall.

Pilobolus performs "Gnomen," one of five dances on the program at Meany Hall.J. Mehling

Founded in 1971, Pilobolus began as an outsider dance company; nearly 40 years later, it has evolved into a pioneering American cultural institution of the 21st century. The UW World Series first presented Pilobolus in 1982, and this appearance marks their sixth as a part of the dance series.

On the program are five dances: Untitled, The Transformation, Gnomen, All is not Lost and Day Two. Please note that Day Two includes partial nudity. All is not Lost was created for a music video collaboration with the Grammy-winning rock band OK Go and director Trish Sie. The official video has received more than 3 million hits on the web. Pilobolus has since developed the choreography for All Is Not Lost for the stage and the piece was featured on NBC’s America’s Got Talent in August.

The name Pilobolus comes from Pilobolus (crystallinus), a phototropic zygomycete (a sun-loving fungus) that grows in barnyards and pastures. Its a feisty thing – only 1/4 inch tall – that can throw its spores nearly eight feet. Right over a cow. Pilobolus the arts organism germinated in the fertile soil of a Dartmouth College dance class in 1971. What emerged was a collaborative choreographic process and unique weight-sharing approach to partnering that gave the young company a nontraditional but powerful new set of skills with which to make dances.

Today Pilobolus is a unique American arts organization of international influence. It has not, however, forsaken its original impetus, and it remains deeply committed to collaborative effort with three artistic directors and more than 25 full and part-time dancers contributing to one of the most popular and varied bodies of work in the history of the field. To learn more about Pilobolus, come to a pre-show talk at 7:10 p.m. in the Meany auditorium.

Tickets for the Meany performances are $48 ($20 for students). Tickets may be purchased by phone at 206-543-4880, online or in person at the UW Arts Ticket Office.