New Koger Center space set for first dance performance
Cola Rep Dance Co. readies new production
Provided photo.
Cola Rep Dance Co is bringing a new production to the Koger Center’s new performance space next week, Aug. 17-18, 2024 for a full bill of dance.
“How to Fall Down” will explore the idea that though it is inescapable to fall down in our lives, it is how we get up and learn to “fail better” that develops our character.
The production brings together 11 company dancers, five female choreographers, professionally designed costuming and sound, and lighting by Sherr Productions for the first dance event in the newly outfitted lower level of the Koger Center for the Arts. Guests will be the first to see three new works by Artistic Director and Resident Choreographer Stephanie Wilkins and help the company welcome Jennifer Deckert, Simone Cuttino and Dale Lam as well as Young Choreographer Kayla Uwagbai.
“How to Fall Down” is scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 17 at 7 p.m. and Sunday Aug. 18 at 3 p.m. in the Koger Center for the Arts Lower Level (1051 Greene St., Columbia). Admission is $35 for this event. For more information go to www.Colarep.com. For Saturday ticketing go here or for Sunday ticketing go here.
This program is supported in part by H-tax funding from the City of Columbia and by the South Carolina Arts Commission which is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts and collaborates in its work with the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies and South Arts.
In 2018 Bonnie Boiter-Jolley and Stephanie Wilkins founded the Columbia Summer Repertory Dance Company with a desire to offer dancers more options in a city focused heavily on ballet. They started with the financial sponsorship of the Jasper Project, a plan focused on summer performances (Columbia’s dance offseason) and a sold-out debut performance in 2019 which was followed by a sold-out concert in 2021. The company has extended their season length and become a 501c3 non-profit organization.
The company attributes its popularity in Columbia to its commitment to exploring refreshing narratives and styles of dance in their work.
The Columbia Repertory Dance Company’s mission is to broaden the experience of professional dance artists and patrons in Columbia through multidisciplinary collaborative performances year-round. We aim to retain the talents of South Carolina dance artists and provide a spectrum of professional opportunities while inspiring and developing a broader and deeper understanding of dance in Columbia and surrounding areas.