(upbeat music) - Dance West is an annual contemporary dance workshop from Repertory Dance Theatre, Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company, and the University of Utah School of Dance.

Here to tell us more is RDT's PR and Marketing Director Stephanie Shiozaki.

Hi, Stephanie.

- Hi, Laura.

- Good to see you.

- It's good to see you.

So this is a big collaboration for you.

Tell us how this came about.

- Yeah, this is a collaboration that is, this is actually our fifth year of Dance West with Repertory Dance Theatre, and Ririe-Woodbury, and the University of Utah School of Dance.

We started this back in 2019 as a way to bring these workshops that we are holding every year to kind of bring all of us together to incorporate all the students and collaborate together.

- Yeah, contemporary dance is such a huge thing here in Utah and you have amazing dancers and instructors.

- Yes.

- So what is the goal of this?

- The goal is to invite students, and the goal of Dance West is really to nurture the whole dancer.

So we invite students who are pursuing a career in dance or maybe just love to dance.

It's an intermediate and advanced dance workshop where students can engage in all aspects of dance.

They can take technique classes to even behind-the-scenes technical stage management, we even have a stage combat class this year, so giving students and participants the whole dancer experience.

- All right, and tell us about some of the instructors you have coming.

- This year, we have Noa Zuk coming from Israel, who's setting the work on RDT this year.

And then, Monica, or excuse me, Flannery Gregg from the Monica Bill Barnes Company is coming from the Ririe-Woodbury side.

And then, we have a lot of local instructors who are coming in in a variety of classes.

- Wow, it sounds like a great experience for the dancer.

Thank you for putting this together and bringing this to Utah.

- Yeah, we're excited and we can't wait for what's to come.

- If you'd like to learn more about Dance West and the instructors and what's coming up, it's happening July 15th through the 26th at the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center and the Marriott Center for Dance, simply go to DanceWestFest.com.

That's DanceWestFest.com.

I'm Laura Durham, thank you for watching "Contact."

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