Traveling affords people the opportunity to experience different cultures, different kinds of people — different rhythyms and movements of the human existence.
Traveling affords people the opportunity to experience different cultures, different kinds of people — different rhythyms and movements of the human existence.
Travels in Argentina gave dancer Angel Prince a front-row seat to the choreography of life there.
“They have a very strong cafe culture there, and I was thinking about all the people that pass through these cafes and the stories they could tell,” she said.
That culture inspired Prince — the artistic director of Prince Dance Company — to tell those stories through movement.
And “Que Sueñes Con Las Angelitas” is the result.
Prince Dance Company presents “Que Sueñes” at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Kahilu Theatre in Waimea. This weekend’s performance will be the second time the dance company has brought the show to the Big Island.
“Que Sueñes” merges several types of performing arts into a dance-theatre piece with a story and dances based on the life of the show’s main character, a singer, and is set in a cafe. The performance uses monologue, contemporary dance, song, video projection, original music and trapeze to tell the woman’s story, and is born from Argentinian and United States cultures.
“Que Sueñes” uses multiple types of performing arts to weave its story, but Argentina wouldn’t be represented well without tango also being a large part of the show.
“Tango is and was a large inspiration for the show, as was the culture of Argentina,” Prince said.
The show’s name comes from a phrase used often in Argentina to put children to bed at night, she said.
“The original version is “Que Sueñes Con Los Angelitos,” but I took artistic liberty with the name and made it a feminine version of the phrase,” Prince said.
The title translates from Spanish as “sweet dreams,” or literally “to sleep with the angels.”
It took Prince, who not only dances in the show but also is its choreographer, and co-creator Beth Dunnington a little less than a year to create “Que Sueñes” after she returned to Hawaii, but some of the dances were created before the show was written and incorporated later.
The show features an international cast of actors and dancers, including dancer/show choreographer and co-creator Angel Prince; actor/singer and show script writer Beth Dunnington; Emiliano Alcaraz, an Argentinian tango dancer; Teresa Marcaida, a Julliard-trained dancer; and Hawaii Island-based Prince Dance Company dancers Lia Gregory and Elizabeth McDonald.
“Prince Dance Company makes dance for people who think they don’t like dance,” Prince said. “There really is something for everyone in this show, and all ages are welcome.”
She hopes those who see the show realize dance is a universal language.
“An arts degree or even experience in dance is not needed to feel the power of this theatrical dance show,” Prince said. “We have created a piece that incorporates many forms of art, including live theatre, music and many forms of dance, so that there is something for everyone to enjoy.”
Dayva Keolanui, Kahilu Theatre director of marketing and development, said “Que Sueñes” is different from typical dance or theatrical performances, and it’s “nothing like anything the island has seen before — the perfect mix of mind-boggling and entertaining.”
“Que Sueñes” premiered at the Kahilu Theatre in March 2010 to a sold-out audience. Saturday will be the only Big Island performance of the show. Keolanui didn’t get to see the 2010 performance, but said the dance company has been on stage rehearsing every day since last week, giving her the chance to sneak in and watch a few times.
“The trapeze work is what really gets me,” she said. “The athleticism and grace of the dancers swinging 40 feet across the stage in unison is quite a sight. On top of that, Beth Dunnington’s vocal abilities are just amazing — chicken-skin inducing. It feels like the theatre goes quiet everytime she starts to sing.
“Audience members should expect to be amazed by the metamorphic choreography and diverse talent of this international cast.”
The performance is made possible by sponsorship from Regan and Shoshana Matsumura and other Kahilu Theatre 2014-15 season sponsors.
Prince Dance Company is a nonprofit professional contemporary dance company based in Hawaii and Buenos Aires, Argentina. The company is led by Prince, who splits her time between both locales.
The Prince Dance Institute currently is in residency and partnership with the Kahilu Theatre, offering classes on hip-hop, trapeze, musical theatre, ballet, hula, acting and contemporary dance for youth and adults.
The 2010 performance of “Que Sueñes” was sold out, but Keolanui said this weekend’s show hasn’t gotten there yet.
But don’t waste time getting tickets.
“There are still seats left, but they’re going fast,” she said.
Tickets for Saturday’s show are $56/$46/$36/$20 and are available online at http://kahilutheatre.org, by calling 808-885-6868 or by stopping by the Kahilu Theatre Box Office at 67-1186 Lindsey Road between 9 a.m.-1 p.m. today in Waimea.
Renovations of the Kahilu Theatre lobby and galleries are underway, made possible by $1.5 million of grant-in-aid funding awarded to the Kahilu Theatre Foundation, the nonprofit organization responsible for operating the theatre, from the state Legislature during the 2013 legislative session. Those renovations will be in progress until the end of October, according to a press release from the theatre.
There is some limited access to some areas of the theatre during these renovations, but the theatre’s board and staff thank the public for their patience and are working to insure patrons’ experiences are not compromised by the work.
All improvements, including a new roof, improved handicap accessibility, technical equipment upgrades and more, will be completed by the end of the year.
For more information about the show or upcoming events at the theatre, visit www.kahilutheatre.org or call the box office at the number listed above.
To learn more about Prince Dance Company, visit www.princedance.org or find the troupe on Facebook.
Email Nathan Christophel at nchristophel@hawaiitribune-herald.com.