Pilobolus TOO Dance Company Will Perform At NVCC

WATERBURY — Pilobolus TOO, the internationally known dance company out of Washington Depot that hasn’t had a show in Connecticut for two years, will perform at Naugatuck Valley Community College (NVCC) on Saturday, April 30.

The duet troupe performs a form of modern dance renowned for its physical beauty, inventiveness and humor that’s based on a method of weight-sharing and collaborative choreography.

Pilobolus TOO is an offshoot of Washington Depot’s Pilobolus Dance Theatre, a six-person troupe named for a sun-loving fungus found in barnyards that is reported to have the second fastest acceleration in nature when its ripe spores burst. Pilobolus Dance Theatre pioneered its unique dance technique at Dartmouth College in the 1970s, and saw one of its founding members go on to establish the MOMIX, a dance troupe that is also based in Washington Depot and uses a similar approach to performing.

 In 1996, Pilobolus TOO was created as a way to serve smaller venues and has since been described as a “jewel-like distillation of the best of the Pilobolus spirit and history” by The New York Times.

 Pilobolus TOO may be more familiar to school children in western Connecticut than to their parents. Its members frequently visit local schools as part of the Pilobolus Institute, which was founded to expose school children to dance.

Rebecca Darling, who lives in the Gaylordsville section of New Milford, will be joined by Matt Kent of Norcross, Ga., for the Pilobolus TOO performance at NVCC. It will include portions of six Pilobolus pieces, including scenes from The Empty Suitor, a humor piece set to “Sweet Georgia Brown,” and “Femme Noire,” which Ms Darling co-choreographed in 1999.

The performance will begin at 8 pm in the Fine Arts Center at NVCC, 750 Chase Parkway in Waterbury. Tickets are $10 for students, $15 for adults, and can be purchased by contacting Elena Rusnak, associate professor of dance at NVCC, at ERusnak@nvcc.comment.edu or 203-575-8179.