By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
Fireweed Dance Theatre has always been considered a “company,” but this year that word has come with a renewed appreciation for what it means, in the weeks leading up to the Gala Performance on Saturday.
“Last year we worked in isolation,” said Fireweed Dance Theatre director Melinda McAdams, describing the rehearsals during the pandemic. “There was less of that feeling ‘we’re all in this together.’ We didn’t know what (each dance group) was working on. It felt really distant.”
That’s changed this year, with the easing up on precautions, and dancers were able to see what each other was working on in adjacent studios. McAdams says she can feel the difference, and hopes the audience for Saturday’s show will feel that as well.
“It feels more like a group effort,” McAdams said.
The Fireweed Dance Theatre Gala Performance is 7 p.m. Saturday at the Performing Arts Center.
Like most years, the program features dances in a number of styles, with a mix of choreographers, and different combinations of dancers in each piece. Dancers in the company – three adults and 11 school-age students – are selected following an audition, and cast in different dances by the choreographers: McAdams, Jo DiGennaro DeBell, Laura Turcott, Kincaid Parsons, Nancy Neel, and Grace Gjertsen.
Members of the Fireweed Dance Theatre strike a costumed pose in the Studio of Dance during a recent rehearsal. The group will perform at the PAC 7 p.m. Saturday. (Sentinel Photo by James Poulson)
Parsons, who is McAdams’ son, grew up dancing at the studio, and has been taking classes since age 4. Today he still takes a number of dance classes, while studying to become a teacher, at Western Oregon University.
While home for Christmas he was invited to add a tap number to Fireweed and choreographed a piece for two dancers. The problem? The dancers would not be in town at the same time during his short break.
“I had to teach them through proxy,” Parsons said.
The workaround involved teaching the dance to one, senior Aitana Gluth, with Parsons’ sister Delaney McAdams filling in for Ginny Pearson. When Pearson returned to town, Gluth was gone, so Delaney taught Pearson her part while Parsons returned to school.
“I’ve never actually seen the people, I taught the choreography to, dance (the piece),” he said.
Gluth, a senior, is in five dances this year, including Parsons’ “I Got the ...” but in the past has done as many as nine. She has been in the company since seventh grade.
Gluth is graduating this year and plans to go to Southeastern University in Lakeland, Florida, in the fall.
“I’m pretty excited about it,” she said. “I’m excited for a new stage of life but also happy enjoying my last Fireweed performance. ... I’m enjoying that it happened.”
Wren Flowers is making her debut at Fireweed, as a sixth-grader. She’s in the junior company and will perform “Halftime Spectacular” (jazz and hiphop choreographed by DeBell) and “Beautiful” (ballet) by McAdams.
She is enjoying the new experience of being in the company, which she says “is a lot of responsibility but in my opinion it’s a lot more fun. ... They work you pretty hard.” She’s also enjoyed spending time with other dancers and making good friends.
One of those friends, Lily Swisher, is also in her first year of Fireweed, also as a member of the Junior Company. She will perform the same dances with Flowers, and senior company members.
“I’ve enjoyed being able to do more dancing and being able to make more friends,” she said.
She’s home-schooled and has a number of other interests, including horseback riding and swimming.
She said she’s “a little nervous, a little excited” about performing on Saturday. “I’ve never done it before so I’m not 100 percent sure of what to expect,” Swisher said.
The Gala is a production of the Fireweed Dance Guild. Tickets are available at fineartscamp.org or at the door.
