Idaho Dance Theatre’s Educational Outreach Program is a large part of what makes our company unique. Each season our directors either create a new show or pull one from the vast library of completed scripts. Our themed show is engaging, interactive, and helps to educate children in our schools on the diversity of dance and movement in general. Our scripts are typically written for an average of six dancers who find themselves on a journey of sorts. 
We travel to many schools in our community and perform our 45 minute show either once or twice depending on the size of the school. In an average season we perform anywhere between 20 to 40 shows. We have a set that we bring in that includes a curtain with backdrops to help indicate scene changes, and a complete sound system. W
e also have several costume changes, and we like to use several different props for dramatic intent.As dancers we memorize the script, practice speaking outward to an audience, and spend time developing our characters. Collaboratively we create dances or put together bits of learned choreography to fit our journey. Our intent is to put in as
many different dance elements or forms possible. Therefore, we create a tap dance, a jazz or hip hop dance, cultural dances, and of course ballet. In addition we involve the students in learning movement sequences, rhythms, partnering, and more. The show always ends with a large freestyle group dance between the dancers, students, and even the teachers.This season our show is titled The Treasure Hunt. Our goal is to find clues with help from the students in or
der to reach the final prize at the end. It turns out not to be a pot of gold, but rather the fun and joyous memories that we shared along the way. As Gonzalo says in the show “… the fun was the treasure!”So far we have done quite a few shows and they have been wonderful. We get
such great feedback from the teachers. Many of them continually tell us that our assembly is their favorite and it is the perfect blend of interaction, education, and just plain fun. If you would like to come and see a show, contact Becky our managing director and she will get you all of the information.
