By Amy Baird
Odyssey Dance Theatre’s production of Thriller celebrates its 23rd year with extra thrills and chills in addition to traditional favorites at the Covey Center for the Arts in Provo, Utah. Thriller takes its audience on a voyage from traditional dancing Halloween skeletons to scenes from classic horror movies like Chucky, Nightmare on Elm Street, and Annabelle. The darkness of the production is interspersed with moments of levity in the form of a giant dancing dinosaur learning to dance, tap dancing children dressed as panda bears, and a Jason who can’t seem to fit in with his peers. For every piece, the choreography is perfectly crafted to fit the music from Chantele Cook’s choreography of “Salem’s Mass” with its elegant lyrical movements of the parishioners to Derryl Yeager’s portrayal of uncontrolled writhing possessed victims in “Annabelle of the Ball”. The choreography and artistic direction of Derryl Yeager makes the dancing become an embodiment of the music.
The show starts with the sound of lightning, chiming clocks, and rain. Lights flash and there is a feeling of chaos. This sets the mood for the whole show. The namesake Thriller dance is a perfect introduction to the show with dancers adding their unique contributions and moves to create the spectacular.
“Frankenstein and Frankenstein”, choreographed by Yeager, provides a juxtaposition between the elegant ballerina Frankie, danced by Bailey Evans, and the awkward stumbling Frank, danced by Tommy Green. The elegant on pointe ballet dancing of Frankie and the lumbering Frank make for a staggering courtship. The story parallels Romeo and Juliet with Frank taking his own life after accidentally breaking Franky’s neck.
Due to a special arrangement with Aeris Aerial Arts, there are three spectacular aerial performances on silks. “Siren of the Sea” is performed by Adelie Zupancic. The song starts out calm and tranquil but as it continues, it became more tumultuous. Matisse climbs up the aerial silks gently spinning and turning. However, as the song becomes more dramatic, the tricks become more complicated with movement and flips bringing to life the violence of the ocean.
Two additional aerial performances are equally spellbinding. Mark Webber and Makayla Finlinson fly through the air and become entangled together in “Phantom of the Opera”. In “Slitherins”, Amanda Johnson and Kelsey Conrad embody snakes as they defy gravity weaving through the air changing positions and constantly twirling. At multiple points in the performance, you can’t tell whose limbs you are watching. The music chosen sounds like the whispering and hissing Nagini (from the Harry Potter novels) as the talented artists resemble a snake writhing in the air. It is a stunning performance of quickly executed spins and turns that leaves the audience holding their breath.
“Jason Jam” is a crowd favorite and features three Jason characters played by Peiter Mortensen, Owen Fulton, and Green from the popular horror movie Friday the 13th. The performance is not set to music but instead relies upon the characters use of weapons and boxes to create music through percussion. The noise creators change from a small knife to a cleaver to a baseball bat, finally ending with the grand finale of the chainsaws. The revving of the chainsaws creates the individual parts of the song blending to create a terrifying tune. It is like “Stomp” but instead of garbage cans they use weapons. The dance is enhanced by the ongoing wordless dialogue between the leader Jason and the apprentice Jason who doesn’t quite fit in. The misfit Jason, played by Mortensen adds humor and lightness by comforting his teddy bear and trying to attack the lead Jason. An audience member was even invited on the stage for foot measuring to determine if she would be a good candidate for their next victim.
Vampires got into the mix in “Lost Boys” where a group of vampires explore a forest looking for a victim. An unsuspecting teen girl tries unsuccessfully to escape and the dance that ensues portrays her struggle in a series of lifts and flips. The most graphic part of the show comes when they finally catch her. The vampires crouch over her body sucking her blood and spitting it out, then she finally emerges as a bloody vampire.
The last piece before the finale, “Trick or Treat” is a delightful homage to the magic of a child’s Halloween. It begins with Bailey Evans and two friends preparing to go trick or treating. Then the lights go down and black lights illuminate the children as well as the rest of the spooks. The stage fills with a witch riding a broom, Oogie Boogie, ghosts, and more fantastical creatures. The highlight is when the skeletons came out to dance with their luminescent suits. Bailey captures the wonder of Halloween for a child and the dance ends with her putting giant candy in her trick or treat bag.
The program is carefully planned to provide comic relief in between the darker, more serious numbers. One impressive number is the “Dino Dance”, a Jurassic Park spoof where the dinosaur trainer teaches the dinosaur to dance. Another crowd favorite is “Miss Alli’s Nightmare”, a performance of tap-dancing children dressed like pandas. Chaos ensues as a child takes off his shirt, a girl gets a bloody nose, and a little girl gets starstruck. Miss Alli’s frustration is brilliantly played by Casey Peterson. All of the dancers have the opportunity to show their acting ability as they use physical mannerisms to become young children.
Local dance companies are represented during the performance as well. For the Chucky-Rama dance, on October 8, young dancers from Utah Dance Artists were dressed up as Chucky Dolls and staggered across the stage looking menacing to the song “In the Hall of the Mountain King”. The Utah Dance Artists dancers were also the zombies in the Thriller Finale as the Odyssey Dance took their bows. The zombies also proved terrifying as they stalked the audience in the halls and lobby before the performance and during intermission.
Thriller showcases the versatility and range of the Odyssey Dance Theatre company dancers. There is a reason this show has returned for 23 years. From beautiful lyrical dance to jerky, abrupt dances, they captured the emotion and feelings of the songs. Thriller is far more than a dance show capturing the essence of Halloween from childhood dreams to absolute horror, although it does that beautifully. Thriller is some of the Utah’s most talented dancers showing us the true potential of dance. It can be fun. It can be whimsical. It can be terrifying. It can be romantic. It can be amusing. I think that is what makes Odyssey Dance Theater unique and what makes Thriller a crowd favorite that people return to year after year. Don’t miss it!
Odyssey Dance Theatre presents Thriller.
Covey Center for the Arts, 425 W Center St, Provo, UT 84601.
Oct 9-12, 2019 7:30 PM
Odyssey Dance Theatre, 10981 N 5600 W, Highland, Utah 84003
Performances at several venues. Please check the website for more information. It will be at Kingsbury Hall in Salt Lake City October 14-26, at Tuacahn Amphitheater in Ivins, Utah October 29-November 2. Show times and ticket prices vary by venue, so please check the website for show times. Contact: 801-495-3262 (DANCE)
Odyssey Dance Theatre Official Website
Odyssey Dance Theatre Facebook Page
Contact: 801-852-7007
Covey Center for the Arts Official Website
Covey Center for the Arts Official Facebook Page
Please note that this production is not suitable for all audiences. Young children and even some older children and adults may be frightened by the costumes and special effects. There are graphic portrayals of violence including spitting blood, breaking necks, and hangings. As the Odyssey Dance Theatre Company website cautions, “Thriller is not for children under the age of 8 or the faint of heart.”
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