The Meaning of Dance

What is the place of dance in life? St. Paul’s Ordway Center provides an expansive answer to this question with its Planet Ordway series. Planet Ordway (which includes music as well as dance) was originally created to fill the gap in cultural programming in local schools, but the program has grown to include master classes and public performances. With all these events, the Ordway pushes a different definition of dance: “We look for ways to extend the experience of the performance and broaden people’s ideas of what dance is and its place in the community,” says Ordway president Patricia Mitchell.

Planet Ordway’s two fall events should do that, starting with local Katha Dance Theatre. KDT practices Kathak, a traditional North Indian form that combines dance and storytelling. KDT’s new performance, Sundari Aur Nag, tells the Beauty and the Beast story—which, it turns out, was written in Sanskrit more than 2000 thousand years ago. It’s an ideal story for children, KDT artistic director Rita Mustaphi says, imparting the vital lesson that “true beauty is within.”

KDT’s genre-bending storytelling is one way to extend dance, but Ronald K. Brown/Evidence creates dances that access the deep emotions hidden in ordinary life. Founding his company, Brown knew what he wanted: “When people came to see this dance company, they would see the human condition and recognize themselves,” he says. Thus the company’s name: Brown shows evidence of us, of the dancers, and of the audience. Deeply spiritual, his African–modern works lift audiences (of whatever religious persuasion) into a space of love and possibility. For Brown, dance can undo the damage of daily life. “We have to provide some space for people to dream,” he says. Katha Dance Theatre: Oct. 5; Ronald K. Brown/Evidence: Oct. 15. Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, 345 Washington St., St. Paul, 651-224-4222