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The Dance Eclectic in Las Cruces welcomes teens, adults of all levels

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BY MIKE COOK

Las Cruces Bulletin

LAS CRUCES - There’s a lot happening this spring for the nonprofit now known as The Dance Eclectic (TDE).

“We’ve expanded and re-branded,” said TDE Creative Director Morgan Rivera.

The group, formerly known as Mesilla Valley Dance Eclectic, just completed a successful show at Black Box Theatre and is looking forward to its collaborative Fringe Dance Festival this June, the dance classes that will start up again in March for teens and adults, and auditions for new TDE members that will be held in March.

The group formed in 2012 as a dance collective to give teens and adults performance opportunities and to create and perform members’ choreography.

The Dance Eclectic performs two shows each year. Their original work, “A Western Ode,” was created and choreographed by TDE members based on “The Odyssey,” Rivera said. It included 15 numbers in a wide range of dance styles featuring the group’s six members. There have already been discussions about the new show they will perform in February 2020. DE members will “choose a story that we can then play with” for that show, she said.

Productions in past years have included “Bad Blood,” “The Scarab Thief,” “Through the Looking Glass” and “Pandora’s Box.” TDE members also perform every year at the Doña Ana Arts Council’s Renaissance ArtsFaire, and they performed at this year’s Cowboy Days in March at the New Mexico Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum.

The Dance Eclectic members in black dress. (Courtesy photo) The Dance Eclectic members in black dress. (Courtesy photo)“We’ve really grown a lot in the last two years,” said Rivera, who has a bachelor of arts degree in dance from the University of New Mexico and joined TDE in 2014.

“The Black Box Theatre is pleased to be able to present performances twice a year by TDE,” said theatre owner Ceil Herman. “The group presents many diverse and interesting styles of dance, choreographed by their members. They are always very prompt in providing us with publicity and technical information and are a pleasure to have as partners with our theatre.”

Auditions for dancers interested in joining TDE will be held 7:30-8:30 p.m. Thursday, March 21, at TDE’s rehearsal space inside HD2 Hip Hop Dance Studio, 3000 Harrelson St., unit 4N, behind Pastaggio's Italian Restaurant. Auditions are open to anyone age 15 and older, male and female, with all levels of dance experience, Rivera said. Included will be several types of dance and improvisational dancing with music so TDE members can observe and judge how quickly auditioners can learn choreography.

In addition to dancers, TDE welcomes volunteers to work on costumes and set design and construction, Rivera said.

TDE is for “people from all different walks of life who come together to dance,” Rivera said.

Other dance groups in the region will be invited to join TDE for the Fringe Dance Festival, Rivera said. Like their other shows, it will be performed at Black Box Theatre, 430 N. Main St. downtown.

For more information, visit www.mesillavalleydance.com.

Mike Cook may be contacted at mike@lascrucesbulletin.com.


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