DANCE
BY KELSEY ANNE RANKIN
JANA MESZAROS
PERFORMING AT
HI-FI MUSIC HALL
RETHINKING DANCE
Pop Up Dance Boutique puts dance out on the streets
ance is abstract and free-flowing by nature, yet ac-
cess to it is often confined by class. It is for the
affluent and cultured: neckties and pricey ticket
stubs for an hour and a half of high-quality art.
Jana Meszaros is challenging the idea that a
rich dance experience is a gift only to those who can afford
it — as both artists and audience — with the contemporary
dance troupe Pop Up Dance Boutique.
Meszaros and fellow Pop Up dancer Veronica DeWitt
are both performers with DanceAbility, an international or-
ganization that hosts dancers of all physical abilities. The
nonprofit was started in Eugene some 30 years ago.
The two dancers have taught and performed with the es-
tablished troupe for several years, and Meszaros says that
the accessibility-based ethic of DanceAbility was a large
part of her initial inspiration for Pop Up Dance Boutique.
“There’s a lack of accessible venues for emerging art-
ists in this city,” Meszaros says. “A lot of venues require
quite a bit of base funds to get you in the door. We can’t
just go and rent the Hult Center every time we have a piece
that we want to show people.”
Since earning a bachelor’s degree in dance at the Uni-
versity of Oregon in 2009, Meszaros has found that while
producing consistent work, the cost of being an artist re-
stricts her ability to share her work. She and three fellow
UO-educated dancers (Mariah Melson, Hannah Andersen
and Dakota Bouher) created Pop Up Dance Boutique in
response to that obstacle.
Now they rehearse in places like the EWEB College
Hill Reservoir as opposed to renting a studio for $20 an
hour.
D
The unhindered nature of pop-up dance means it can
be performed without a studio space, stage or equipment.
It is contemporary dance that performers share throughout
different environments and modes of delivery — with or
without music.
Contemporary dance itself, Meszaros explains, is a
form of rebellion against classical, vigorously strict dance
styles such as ballet. “Everyone shows up, does their bit
and then we pack up and take off,” she says. “It’s more of a
dance gallery than a full evening at the show.”
Time and space do not equal quality, Meszaros says.
Each Pop Up show runs for 20 minutes and features two
to four dancers. The performances take as much planning,
rehearsal time and dedication as those intended for a for-
mal theater — a process that each dancer has spent years
perfecting.
The show is rich, Meszaros says, but it may just be
presented in an alley. “During the winter, we would find a
street lamp, and the pool of light it created was our stage.”
The techniques of modern and contemporary dance,
as performed in a more formal setting like a theater, also
come to bear on Pop Up Dance Boutique performances.
“Dance is not a spoken form,” DeWitt says. “It’s witness-
ing being in space. This space is going to look different
than if I’m over here.”
Meszaros explains that rewriting the narrative of a
dance by changing the context evokes a curiosity in the
audience that is necessary for a creative community.
“Culturally, socially and linguistically, it inspires peo-
ple,” she says. “Even if you don’t like what we’re doing
or it’s not your cup of tea, I think that Eugene puts a lot of
CLASSIFIEDS
BULLETIN BOARD
Announcements
HAVE HOPE in these Uncertain Times
Global TRANSFORMATION Happening:
3-min.YouTube video: “Time for Change”
share-international.org AGELESS WISDOM
EVENTS
SUMMER SALE AT BRING! 50% off Saturday,
July 22nd on nearly all used merchandise!
Reusable building materials, lighting, lum-
ber, furniture and more! 4446 Franklin
Blvd. Find out more about BRING at bringre-
cycling.org.
PET SHOUT OUTS will be in our July 27th Pet
Issue! If you’d like to show your BFF some
love in newsprint for only $10, contact the
Eugene Weekly office before July 21st for
more details! office@eugeneweekly.com
SOUTH EUGENE HIGH SCHOOL
CLASS OF 67 , 50 YEAR REUNION 8/11-12/17
Details: www.sehs67.com
Questions call 541-342-2252 or
541-579-4697 email: sehs67@yahoo.com
FOR SALE
Building Materials
SUMMER SALE AT BRING! 50% off Saturday,
July 22nd on nearly all used merchandise!
Reusable building materials, lighting, lum-
ber, furniture and more! 4446 Franklin
Blvd. Find out more about BRING at bringre-
cycling.org.
Groups
ONGOING MOTHERLESS DAUGHTERS’
SUPPORT GROUP for all ages. For women &
girls who lost our moms at an early age
(usually under 30). Please join us! 541-349-
0382
Wanted
EMPLOY MENT
To place a classified ad: CALL 541.484.0519 EMAIL classy@eugeneweekly.com WEB classifieds.eugeneweekly.com
Acupuncture
RELIEVE STRESS & PAIN AFFORDABLY Wise
Turtle Acupuncture offers community acu-
puncture Sliding scale $15-35. 500 Main
Suite
C1,
Spfd
541-731-1466
WiseTurtleAcupuncture.com
Coaching
Insurance
Call 541-521-1178
Check our $20 for 20 Days
UNINSURED? WE CAN HELP! Enrollment for
OHP (Oregon Health Plan) is open year-
round. For more information, Call Planned
Parenthood at 541-543-5484.
Wellness
WHITE BIRD DENTAL CLINIC 1400 Mill St.
Eugene. Emergency & on-going dentistry
for Low/No income residents of Lane
County. Accepts OHP & under insured. 541-
344-8302
SEEK ING EMPLOY MENT
LOST YOUR JOB? Place a free line ad here
Medical Marijuana
(up to 4 lines, 160 characters) for 2 weeks.
Briefly list your skills/experience & contact
info. Email to: office@eugeneweekly.com or
call 541-484-0519
OMMP PATIENTS with qualifying conditions.
Call Roni to check medical records/set up
appointment time 541-729-3913
SHELTER ANIMAL RESOURCE ALLIANCE
S.A.R.A.’s Treasures Gift & Thrift Shop.
Volunteer, Donate, Shop, ADOPT!
871 River Road, Open Daily 10am-6pm.
541-607-8892 sarastreasures.org
LOOK FOR THIS WEEK’S RESCUED CAT .
Serenity Lane, 52-week no cost Addiction
Counselor Training Program. For more infor-
mation visit www.serenitylane.org, click on
Employment Opportunities, then on
Serenity Lane’s Counselor Training Program
Opportunities. Or call 541-284-5702.
Kundalini Yoga
Teacher Training
achieving them. Flexible hrs & sliding fee
scale, Dee Stepp, M.S. 541-653-7512
available. No experience, can train.
Excellent tips! 541-852-8625 or 541-517-
7196 THE HOTTEST CLUB IN LANE COUNTY!
ADDICTIONS COUNSELOR TRAINING PROGRAM
PROJECT COUNSELING
SERVICES, LLC
12 weekends in PDX • starts Sept 30th
Eugene Info Session,
Thursday 7/27, 7-8:15 pm
for details: yogawesteugene.com
$DANCERS$ Tired of your current club!
SWEET ILLUSIONS has day & night shifts
Career Training
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
FOR CONSTRUCTION
✓ Providing Plan Reviews
✓ Conflict Resolution
✓ Keeping Projects on Track!
29 YRS EXPER ASSISTING ADULTS TO IDENTIFY
THEIR GOALS & to overcome their barriers to
Diaries & Journals. All types & topics.
541-520-9821, thebookfinder@gmail.com,
ezrabook.com
GREENHILL HUMANE SOCIETY Everybody
Deserves a Good Home. Open Fr-Tu 11a-6p,
closed We/Th 88530 Green Hill Rd 541-689-
1503 and 1st Avenue Shelter open Tu-Fr
10a-6p & Sa 10a-5:30p, closed Su/Mo 3970
W. 1st Ave 541-844-1777. green-hill.org See
our Pet of the Week!
LINE ADS: $11/3 LINES
A D D I TI O NA L L I N E S : $ 4
WELLNESS
BEST PRICES FOR VINTAGE BOOKS,
AD POSTERS, & PHOTO ALBUMS.
Pets
pride in the fact that we’re a creative, supportive commu-
nity. This fits in with that philosophy.”
Pop Up Dance Boutique is still fresh — only two and a
half years in the making. During that time, the group has
performed with a slew of local artists and in various ven-
ues, most recently in the Joy of Sex: A Celebration of Sexu-
ality & Art at Hi-Fi Music Hall.
The group will continue to perform bimonthly at curi-
ous and random locales with few props aside from their
small title sign.
“If we can get our work out there and get it seen, that
benefits us as artists because it’s a part of our process to
show things and grow from it,” Meszaros says. “The mis-
sion is simply to put dance in more places — to see dance
as something more than what you go to the theater for.” ■
Yoga
SWEATY GANESH YOGA
Hot and non-heated classes for all levels,
including beginners! Intro offer: $39 for one
month of unlimited yoga. www.sweatyga-
neshyoga.com
(new to studio only )
Every BODY
deserves expert,
confi dential care.
You or a family member may qualify for the
Oregon Health Plan (OHP)
A family of four earning up to $2,829 a month
may qualify for adult coverage.
Birth Control • Vasectomies
STD Testing & Treatment
Emergency Contraceptives
For FREE OHP application assistance,
call 541-543-5484
MAKE AN APPOINTMENT TODAY
ppsworegon.org
800-230-PLAN
eugeneweekly.com • July 20, 2017
Accepting most
insurances!
MAKE AN
APPOINTMENT TODAY
ppsworegon.org
800-230-PLAN
27
WE
expe
confi
care.
•
P
t
•
B
•
S
t
•
E
c
•
A
e