POCATELLO — Dance has been called a universal language. No matter what language we speak or where we come from, the rhythm and movement of the body when set to music to tell a story can be understood.

    Dance is one of the earliest forms of art, and is truly unique as it can be used form self expression and healing, and it is as fun to watch as it is to create. For those reasons and many more, dance is truly an art form that appeals in some way, to almost everyone.

    The Idaho Dance Theatre, Idaho’s first professional contemporary dance company, recently won a grant to tour Southeast Idaho, and the group will bring their spring concert to Frazier Hall at Idaho State University in Pocatello on Saturday, May 4 at 7 p.m.

    Tickets are $13 for ISU students, faculty and staff, and for kids ages 6 to 18, and are $26 for adults. All seats are reserved. To purchase tickets, call 282-3595, visit the Stephens Performing Arts Center box office or visit Vickers Western Stores.  Tickets can also be purchased at the information desk in the Pond Student Union Building.

    The Boise-based group features nine dancers, who are mostly from Idaho. The group performs contemporary dance, which utilizes total movement of the body.  It is different from other forms of dance such as jazz and ballet because it is not bound by standards but rather is expressed by the dancer and choreographer’s vision for the dance.

    Carl Rowe, co-artistic director for the group, has been with the theater since the group formed in 1989. He says the group is excited to tour Southeast Idaho.

    “We are not really well known here,” he says, “We want to show that there’s some really good stuff going on in Idaho.”

    The group performs regularly in the Boise area, but has wanted to branch out to other parts of the state.

    They recently won a $20,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to be able to go on the tour, but it is a matching grant, which means that the federal money they received must be matched with state funds. They are getting contributions from the Bistline Foundation and the Laura Moore Cunningham Foundation, but must also work to match the grant through ticket sales. They have also received a contribution from D.L. Evans Bank.

    One of the dances in the concert was selected from a national choreography contest that the group recently hosted. The winning entry, from Chicago, was chosen partially due to its uniqueness.

    “It is completely different from anything else we have done,” says Rowe.

    The group also participates in educational outreach, and they will be performing for students at local schools, including Century High School and Wilcox and Jefferson Elementary schools in Pocatello.

    The performance at CHS will be for those students who are interested in dance and theater, and the performance at the elementary schools will be tailored to the age group.

    The show is geared toward elementary school kids,” Rowe says, “There are lots of costumes and it is high energy. They are super (with special powers) dancers looking for a monster in the school.”

    They will also perform in Fort Hall, and then dancers in the Shoshone-Bannock Tribe will treat the group to some traditional Native American dance in return.

    Rowe emphasizes that the concert will have something for everyone, and that the group works very hard when preparing a show season, practicing many hours a day six days a week.

    “They are tremendous athletes, they are beautiful dancers,” says Rowe, “This is very challenging choreography.”

    This show, he says, will allow people to ‘unplug’ and experience one of the most basic and beautiful forms of human expression.

    “Especially in this tech age, it is marvelous to watch these people perform,” he says.

    For more information on the Idaho Dance Theatre, visit their web site at www.idahodancetheatre.org/