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SALT LAKE CITY-- Sixty years ago, a dance company for children was thought to be a rather daring idea, but now the Children's Dance Theatre is celebrating a big anniversary.
The flowing, twirling movements of young dancers don't look revolutionary, but when Children's Dance Theatre was created 60 years ago, that sort of interpretive dance was unique. Today it remains alive and well.
Mary Ann Lee, the artistic director of Children's Dance Theatre, said, "I think it's that the mission is very clear. It is about making beautiful human beings, one dancer at a time."
Virginia Tanner founded the original program in 1937 at the University of Utah. Twelve years later, they began dance concerts. Over the years, thousands and thousands of families have been part of Children's Dance Theatre.
My daughter, Caitlin, danced with the company. She remembers the older children taking care of the younger ones.
"We'd go on day-trip performances all over, and I'd have an older sister take care of me on the trips. My favorite performance was I actually had the opportunity while Pete Seeger played on stage, and that was just amazing," Caitlin said.
Today a company of 300 dancers, ages 8 to 18, performs for some 30,000 other Utahns every year.
Camilla Nelson, age 8, said, "We get to do a lot of performances, and we get to dance a lot."
Elisabeth Dee, age 15, said, "We all love to dance, so it's just a big community of people that you love who love the exact same thing as you do. So it's just a really great experience."
Children's Dance Theatre's teachers see their mission as helping children grow in the very best way.
They'll perform "Coming Home" at the Capitol Theatre in Salt Lake Friday night and Saturday afternoon and evening.
E-mail: cmikita@ksl.com
