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The donee company gears up for two big productions
BY REBECCA RAGAIN
It’s no small feat to keep a dance company with all the voices [of the opera singers], with
running for more than a decade. But BodyVox the live music, and to have this raw, physical
co-artistic directors Jamey Hampton and energy of dancing."
Over the years, Port­
Ashley Roland have done
it—and then some. Not
land Opera’s production
only does BodyVox per­
of Carmina Burana has
form and teach locally, as
been presented by other
i
m
well as tour, this year
opera companies includ­
marks the company’s
ing Atlanta Opera, Op­
' second season in its own
era Omaha and Minne­
1 1 , OOO- s quar e- f oot
sota Opera.
dance center.
“It had a really long
run ... which shows that
It all began 13 years
ago, when Hampton and
it’s a piece that has a lot
of strength and truth to
Roland choreographed
it, and that it still reso­
Carmina Burana on com­
mission for the Portland
nates for audiences,” says
Hampton.
Opera, at the behest of
Christopher Mattaliano,
Now, for the first time
who later became the
since 2000, Portland Op­
opera’s general director.
era is bringing Carmina
Paired with Pagliacci,
Burana back to the stage,
Carmina Burana was a
at the end of this month.
triumph. Oregonian writ­
The production marks
Eric
Skinner
a
n
d
Jeff
G
eorge
perform
er Catherine Thomas
the beginning of the op­
to g e th e r (lite ra ll/) in Blood/Vox.
called it the hit of Port­
era’s 46th season.
l a n d Opera’s 1996-97
When they’re not re­
That's
one
th
in
g
roster; Portland Opera’s
hearsing with the opera,
own description dubs it th o t S Q W C S O iT IC
BodyVox dancers are
“one of Portland’s all-
learning choreography
a
b
o
u
t
B
od/V
ox:
time favorites.”
for a new holiday show.
Hampton and Roland, W 0 V 0 N X /O ik c d h a r d ,
Hampton and Roland
along with five other
are too savvy to compete
w
e've
p
ia
/e
d
hard.
dancers, created BodyVox
with the beloved per­
to build on that success. It's q r e a ll/ sp e cia l
forming arts productions
centered on December’s
the whole ball rolling,” ^O m pO n/ tO be Q
monster holiday, such as
says Hampton. “It will part of."
The Nutcracker and Do
. always have a special
Jump’s
long-running
- ERIC SKINNER
place in our history and
holiday show. Instead,
at the heart of BodyVox.”
BodyVox is creating a Halloween show.
Eric Skinner, one of BodyVox’s founding
The company had been talking for a while
members, says about dancing Carmina Burana: about doing a Halloween show, but they knew
“It’s a really amazing experience, to be there the time was right when the perfect moniker
▼
% .M i
for the production came up during a planning
meeting last year.
Someone in the meeting said a Halloween
show could be called “BloodyVox.” “Every­
body started laughing,” says Hampton. “Since
we had a name for it, we knew that we had a
show.”
Although BloodyVox is still a work in prog­
ress, Hampton can say that it features mo­
ments of dark humor and absurdity. Choreog­
raphy is by Hampton and Roland, with
contributions from Skinner.
One of Skinner’s contributions is a duet
with him and Hampton, a previously choreo­
graphed dance that “we’re going to spook up a
little bit,” says Skinner. Skinner is also creat­
ing a new piece, featuring a creepy clown
named Krebby.
Skinner confesses a fear of clowns that has
plagued him since childhood. He says: “I used
to have these awful nightmares ... a spooky
clown was putting a ladder up to my window,
jiggling the window and trying to get into my
room. I’ve hated clowns ever since then.”
Scary clowns aside, BloodyVox is being ad­
vertised as a family-friendly show that leans
toward the eerie and spooky, not the horrific.
Even Skinner, who claims Halloween as his
least favorite holiday, thinks that BloodyVox
will be a fun show. He says that BodyVox fans
are already abuzz about it: “They know we do
funny and offbeat things; they’ll be very curi­
ous to see what we come up with to celebrate
Halloween.”
If BloodyVox is a hit, Hampton is open to
producing an updated version next year. He
'v ' r>i
/ ‘ • %*r
IL v. ÉÊ
adds, “This is version 1.0. We’ll see where it
goes.”
Skinner expands on the project’s potential:
“If it is popular, it could turn into one of
Body Vox’s annual shows ... a BodyVox kind
of Nutcracker, which tends to be the bread and
butter for a lot of companies.”
It’s this kind of forward thinking that keeps
a dance company in business in an environ­
ment where producing interesting and high-
quality art is rarely enough; company leaders
also need to consider the realities of the mar­
ket and determine how they can stand out in
audiences’ minds.
Hampton and Roland have proven adept at
remaining relevant to their audiences, year af­
ter year. They’ve not only kept BodyVox alive
but also kept it quirky enough that it seems
perfectly appropriate for the company to cele­
brate its 13th year with a bloody Halloween
show.
“That’s one thing that’s awesome about
BodyVox: We’ve worked hard, we’ve played
hard,” Skinner says, in reference to being with
the company since 1997. “It’s a really special
company to be a part of.” J W
Portland Opera perform Pagliacci/Carmina
Burana, featuring BodyVox in the latter opera,
Sept. 24, 26, 30 and Oct. 2, Keller Auditorium,
222 SW Clay St. Tickets start at S26. Visit port-
landopera.org.
BodyVox presents BloodyVox Oct. 21-23 and
28-30 at the BodyVox Dance Center, 1201 N W
17th Ave. Tickets start at $20, at bodyvox.com.
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