Odyssey Dance Theatre brings their Halloween dance revolution to USU
The familiar faces of Halloween haunters can be found terrifying those seeking a thrill at any haunted house in the nation. But this Halloween, Frankenstein, Beetlejuice and Jason will all be haunting Utah State’s campus together.
Halloween night will transform the Kent Concert Hall into a haunted house full of laughs, suspense and quality entertainment as Odyssey Dance Theater presents their most popular show, “Thriller.” The show features two hours of energetic dancing and eclectic styles performed by one of Utah’s most talented and renowned dance companies. The group is coming from Salt Lake City as part of ASUSU’s Arts and Lectures series.
“They’re really good dancers and the choreography is incredible,” Katie Walker, ASUSU performing arts chair, said. “The costumes, the music, the choreography – it all is so well orchestrated and I am thrilled.”
“Thriller” has been performed in downtown Salt Lake every year for the past decade and has recently taken its show on the road. The conception of the show began with selections focusing on the mummy, Frankenstein and characters from slasher films. These themes are now staples, but have been added to every year with new characters from recent popular culture such as “X-Men” and “Lord of the Rings.”
Many people come back each year and see a different show because the program is continually changing. New dance numbers are added, favorite numbers are kept and other numbers are reworked and revived.
Thriller has become a tradition, ODT’s artistic director, Derryl Yeager, said in an article for the Deseret Morning News.
“It has been one of those monsters that continues to grow and morph into something than can easily get out of control. So we’ve had to reel it in a bit at times. But the whole idea was to create a haunted house through dance.”
This year, the new dance number brings a popular corn maze figure into the production. “Children of the Corn” is a piece choreographed by a long-time member of ODT and will portray a night of terror when scarecrows don’t turn out as lifeless as they seem. In a recent interview with the Standard Examiner, Yeager described it as one of the more intense numbers of the night.
“It’s fun, but there are some disturbing images that will give some people the creeps,” Yeager said. “It gave me the creeps when we went through it.”
For the most part, “Thriller” uses humor to aid the journey through the performance. Audience members can expect to see something they like from the variety that is presented.
“Nothing is left out – from Jason impersonations, to skeletons, to the use of chain saws,” Lisa M. Browder said in an article for Dancer Magazine.
“As the dancers tell it, the program is a scream and always gets a standing ovation.”
With “Thriller” tickets in Salt Lake selling for around $20, Walker said the opportunity for students to see the show in Logan for only $5 is a great deal. She also said that ASUSU would like “Thriller” to return next year.
“Anyone that’s ever seen this show wants to see it again,” Walker said. “I think it’s a really good climax for a Halloween celebration.”
Tickets for the show can be purchased at the ticket office in the TSC for $5 with a student ID and $15 dollars without.
The show is on Halloween night at 7 p.m. in the Kent Concert Hall. For more information about Odyssey Dance Theater, visit www.odysseydance.com.
-bmnelson@cc.usu.edu
(Odyssey Dance)