Repertory Dance Company: Dancing in the streets

With the Mannoni Performing Arts Center under renovation, the University of Southern Mississippi’s Repertory Dance Company, or RDC, is taking its fall performances out into the streets of downtown Hattiesburg.

The RDC company will be holding multiple performances until Nov. 10 at various locations such as the Hattiesburg Zoo, the Holloway Transfer and Storage Building, Click Boutique, 206 Front and in the alleys and hidden locations of downtown Hattiesburg.

“As a whole, the theory behind it on an educational basis, is to create site specific dances in unlikely places and to broaden the artistic views of the Hattiesburg community,” said senior dance performance and choreographer major Kristin Rizzuto.

While the company has already held two performances at the annual ZooBoo event at the Hattiesburg zoo on Oct. 26 and 27, patrons are not out of luck. They have one more performance there on Halloween night at 6:00 p.m.

“Come see how the human animal fits in at the zoo,” said the department’s media contact Ashlea Maddox.

The second site dance will be at the abandoned Holloway Transfer and Storage Building on the corner of Ronie Ave. and West Laurel Ave. downtown. Pairing the old with the modern, the decrepit with the robust, and the timeworn with the fluidity of youth; these dances create a juxtaposition of industrial decay with vibrant artistry in attempts to breathe new life into the old warehouse.

These performances will function as a composition of creativity between three different choreographers - Lauren Guynes, Kristen Rizzuto and Sarah Bass - and come together in one concert, according to dance performance and choreographer major Lauren Guynes.  

“We all chose different sections of the building, drawing separate inspiration from each location,” said Guynes.

Rizzuto agrees, “Each of us are trying to create a commentary on the space, the oldness of it, the fact that it’s never seen if you aren’t looking for it,” she said, “In a minimalist way each of us are trying to bring the space back to life.”

These site specific performances are scheduled for Nov. 2 at 5 p.m. and again Nov. 3 at 2 p.m. and are free to the public.

For the final event in the series, dances will be performed inside Click Boutique and 206 Front, as well as outside in the alleys and overlooked spaces of downtown Hattiesburg on Nov. 10 from 4:00-7:00 p.m.

“We are trying to leave an artistic impact on places that may be overlooked otherwise,” said Guynes.

At 4:00 p.m. onlookers can see the dance titled “Diamonds in the Rough” in the alley parallel to Main St. between E. Pine St. and Front St.

At 4:20 p.m. is the dance “Threads in the Web” in Click Boutique at 138 E. Front St.

Then, at 4:40 p.m. is “Entanglement” in the driveway next to New Yokel Market at 205 N. Main St.

Lastly, at 5:30 p.m. is the dance titled “4-Top up Front” in the restaurant 206 Front on 206 Front St.

“Each dance piece will be performed twice in rotation during the three-hour span,” said Maddox, “this gives the audience time to enjoy both performances and the food, shopping and culture that make downtown so unique.”