Lisa Deyo may be a dancer and choreographer in her day-to-day, but she’s an etymologist in spirit—a wordsmith of the wondrous languages of dance.
“I look at all the genres of dance—jazz, ballet, musical theater, contemporary—as different words I’ve been able to learn over the years,” Deyo said. “So when I’m creating a dance number I want to be able to use all of the words instead of just one set of words.”
The Deyo Dances director is putting this unique take on dance to work in the company’s Aug. 19 and 20 productions—showcasing Deyo’s knack for variety and moving choreography.
“The show itself is made up of four different pieces: If, I am Minerva, Red Shoes 3.0, and As it Seems,” she said. “Each of the pieces is completely unrelated to each other with the only commonality being my choreography.”
The pieces are all performed by Deyo and her dance company, with dancers ranging from beginner level to more experienced—all united in bringing her creative vision to life.
According to Deyo, the first piece in the performance is an interpretation of a process that takes every second of the day. If—short for intermolecular forces—features erratic dancing and skittering movements that are meant to replicate the movement of molecules in an atom.
“To put it simply for those who are trying to visualize, it’s a bunch of people behaving and moving like molecules,” she said with a laugh. “There’s also this secondary focus on what happens when molecules start to bond and create something new and lively that is represented by a burst of motion.”
Red Shoes 3.0 is based on Deyo’s daughter and a pair of red shoes she used to wear as a child that she said often captivated people and energized them.
“The original Red Shoes piece was something I came up with after I was commissioned by a woman to make a dance number,” she said. “I decided that the joy and excitement my daughter’s shoes made was a great point of inspiration, and so far each performance of it since has resonated with the audience.”
As It Seems aims to capture the essence of popular ’90s musical hits and combine them with an insightful look into the past.
“The music for this piece is cool because it’s based on these big band versions of ’90s popular songs like ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit,’ ‘Black Hole Sun,’ and ‘Wonderwall,’ she said. “I love the dichotomy of blending those two very different styles to bring the audience into something they are familiar with but might be hearing in a different way than they normally would.”
Deyo said that she intended the performance to showcase the impact of duets, as they allow the very emotive dancers to fully convey a story to the audience in a way only two people could do together.
“The duet in this piece is what inspires me the most,” she said. “Something about exploring that duality of a relationship between two people—whether that be a man and woman, or man and man, or woman and woman, or whatever. You get to see who is supporting who both in dance and in emotion and how that dynamic switches just like actual relationships.”
Deyo said that As It Seems was also her opportunity to delve into the Las Vegas-like energy the music conveys to explore traditional perceptions of the dazzling past.
“Imagine a casino, everything has a similar color scheme and look to it, and that’s how all these performers are dressed—I want them to reflect that feeling of being in a Vegas casino,” she said. “It’s costumed exactly as you would picture it in your head: the girl wearing a glittery dress and the man in a suave-style suit.”
That isn’t to say that all of her pieces are meant to convey a sense of glitz and glam—alongside some appreciation for pop hits—in fact, one of the main focuses of the overall show is a new piece titled I am Minerva.
The piece is an insight into the grief and emotion Deyo experienced when her mother passed away—something she found herself bonding over with some of the dancers who perform alongside her, including Solina Lindahl.
“I am Minerva is cathartic for Lisa and it hits home for me at the point of my life that I’m in,” Lindahl said. “As a dancer, you not only get to experience the emotion of the moment through your body movements but also convey that to the audience, who then has their own unique experience and reaction that reflects at us.”
Ultimately there is something for everyone and, according to Lindahl, that’s by Deyo’s design.
“Every piece in this overall performance is super varied and scratches that itch for variety that Lisa and a lot of us performers have,” Lindahl said with a laugh. “Everyone brings something different, and each audience member is going to receive it differently—that’s what makes dance so great.” Δ
Staff Writer Adrian Vincent Rosas is singing the chorus of Black Hole Sun. Reach him at arosas@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Education Today 2023.