Boise's dance world was rocked Monday.
After six years in Boise, the nationally-acclaimed Trey McIntyre Project (TMP) will disband it's full-time dance troupe in July.
Choreographer and artistic director Trey McIntyre will remain in Boise but his focus will shift to include other creative pursuits, like film and photography. Here's more from Monday's press release:
We are thrilled to expand the scope of what we are doing as we fulfill our mission to nurture, support and produce the artistic vision of Trey McIntyre and engage individuals and communities in the experience of art. "It has been an amazing ride building a brand new model in the national dance landscape. It is one that is being studied and emulated, changing the direction of where dance in America is going. We are all proud to have worked so hard to do what we have done," said company Artistic Director, Trey McIntyre. "This is an amazing moment in that we continue to innovate and more deeply fulfill the mission of the company as we embark on projects that involve film, photography, text, and other forms of visual art."
Chief Strategy Officer Caty Solace says the decision to move away from being a full-time dance company has been evolving. Solace says McIntyre's artistic vision has been supported by the non-profit's board of directors.
“We’ve had one of the most successful years to date as a dance company," Solace says. "It feels like we’re at this golden moment where we should use that success as momentum to propel us onto these new projects that Trey feels really inspired about.”
So what does this mean for TMP's Boise fans?
The dance company will give its final performance in March at Boise's Morrison Center. Solace says the staff will be significantly reduced, and the dancers will be out of fulltime jobs. Dancers Brett Perry, Chanel DaSilva and Travis Walker will help choreograph McIntyre's body of work with other companies as freelancers.
“[The dancers] are equipped to do pretty much anything they want," says Solace. "Many of them will go on to another company. Some of them will stay in Boise and create their own projects and their own works, some of them will do freelance work.”
DaSilva said in Monday's press release that over the past six years she's been honored to work and create with McIntyre. She said she's grown as a dancer and as an artist.
"As Trey McIntyre Project shifts into a new phase of it's existence I have nothing but curiosity and excitement in my heart for what is to come," said DaSilva. "I have watched Trey, year after year, make magic happen. He has never ceased to amaze me. I believe in his vision, I trust in his creativity and I'm confident that this evolution of TMP will be nothing short of groundbreaking."
TMP will retain its name, but won't work from its yellow rehearsal space on Warm Springs Avenue in Boise. Solace says the organization is exploring options for a different space.
Copyright 2014 Boise State Public Radio
