Looking Back on “To Be a God”
Photo by Todd Collins
When audiences attended “To Be a God” last November, they walked in not up the grand Kingsbury Hall steps, but through the humble stage door. They were seated on the stage, beneath the lights. And when the performance began, the music emanated from all around them, and sixteen University of Utah School of Dance students danced among them.
With “To Be a God,” School of Dance students were given the amazing opportunity to participate in a professional-level event, giving them valuable experience. And not only that—these students were able to collaborate and participate as artists, led in their choreography by School of Dance alumna Roxanne Gray, founder of 801 Salon, a multidisciplinary arts salon that produces pop-up exhibits and performances.
Photo by Todd Collins
In the summer of 2024, UtahPresents approached Gray about collaborating on an event for their Stage Door Series, which seats audiences on stage with the performers. “They offered us the opportunity to curate and produce a show, with resources and funding through the series,” Gray explained.
Chloe Jones, executive Director of UtahPresents, said the Stage Door Series has a recent focus on local artists and experimental performances. “It was a joyous gift to join forces with 801 Salon, another organization supporting Utah-based artists, to co-present the singular Little Moon.”
Little Moon is an indie led by Emma Hardyman, an artist from Springville, UT, that won NPR’s Tiny Desk Contest in 2023 and is known for a unique sound blending folk and indie-rock as well as their heartfelt lyrics. When UtahPresents and 801 Salon approached Little Moon about the possibility of creating an immersive performance, “the creative process snowballed from there,” said Gray.
To find her performers, Gray contacted the School of Dance, who agreed to help with logistics for students to audition and perform in the event.
“The audition process was quite moving,” said Gray. “I had so many students show up to audition, I ended up accepting twice as many students as originally planned. I could tell that they were hungry for a unique process like this, and many were already fans of Little Moon.”
Photo by Todd Collins
This was the case for Lucy Flaming, a junior in the Modern Dance BFA program. She had been listening to Little Moon’s music for about a year, and found that the music “became what I would gravitate toward to dance around my room and escape into my own ethereal sanctuary,” Flaming said. “When I saw the opportunity to play a role in creating a world that Little Moon had already helped me find, I was so overcome with excitement that I knew I had to audition.”
During the audition, Gray had the dancers work through improvisational exercises to Little Moon’s music. “I could see how the music was pushing them to dig deep in their movement practice,” said Gray. “Because it was going to be such a short rehearsal process, I was looking for students who were clever, smart, and creative.”
Gray and the dancers had just a week-long residency to work out the choreography, so Gray made sure to prepare. She spent a lot of time getting to know the music and discussed the message and journey of each song with both Hardyman and Ty Davis, the show director.
“Going into the studio, I had a fairly clear idea of what each piece would look like from a wide-angle point of view,” said Gray.
In regards to the short rehearsal time, both Gray and the dancers saw it as an opportunity. “Creative limitations can be challenging, but they also leave room for a sense of ease within risk-taking,” said Gray. “Our rehearsals were made up of a lot of quick compositional assignments and improvisational structures that we pieced together as a collaborative collective.”
Photo by Todd Collins
“The fast-paced nature of this project eliminated the option of overthinking,” said Flaming. “I remember finishing each rehearsal feeling astounded by the amount of choreography we had created in just a few hours, and how exhilarating it was that we [the dancers] were able to play such a large part in its creation.”
“We made quick decisions, and the students let the movement settle in their bodies over the residency,” said Gray. “This allowed the students to have a lot of autonomy and choice-making moments even during the actual performances, and it really helped them to take ownership of the characters they were building.”
Flaming added that “Each of us was given multiple opportunities to put forward a creative opinion that we got to see represented and molded into the finished product.”
Another unique challenge in creating movement for “To Be a God” was that the music was not yet finalized. Partway through the creative process, Hardyman suggested creating a new album for the event. “Emma pitched the possibility of writing an entirely new album for the show, and recording it live” said Gray. This meant that Gray and the dancers were dancing to the demo recordings of the music.
Next were costumes. The School of Dance Costume shop lent costumes to the production, which were chosen by Gray and Davis. “They made great use of our stock of costumes and created a lush world on stage with them,” said Christopher Larson, costume shops supervisor and resident designer.
At the end of the residency, everything had to come together — a new music album, 16 dancers with unique choreography, live music—all with the audience seated on stage. The show was sold out. Gray described the event:
Photo by Todd Collins
“As the audience entered, they were immersed in a visual world, constructed by Director, Ty Davis, which resembled a medieval garden… The music was played live by a 10-piece ensemble, and the movement wove in and out of the space. The dancers interacted with each other and the musicians, and the audience even had the opportunity to participate through small hands-on rituals. The audience was seated on the stage, surrounded by everything at all times.”
By all accounts, “To Be a God” was an enchanting, emotionally moving event. And it brought together local artist, organizations, School of Dance alumni, and School of Dance students. “Our goal was to support the band in creating a live album recording unlike anything we had seen before,” said Jones. “And the result was exactly that— an original, vulnerable, incandescent display of artists collaborating across disciplines, trying something new and inviting us in with warmth and gusto.
“This was a dream project for 801 Salon,” said Gray. “We were able to curate so many different artists, shaping such a testament to collaboration in our community.” Of the experience choreographing, she said “The moment when all of the pieces came together in the theater was magical… I feel lucky to have had the opportunity to work with this group of dancers! The process was empowering and emotional.”
For Flaming, the experience was unforgettable, providing both professional and artistic fulfillment. “This was the first time I have had the opportunity to work so closely with artists of varying media, so learning and witnessing how to best communicate across fields was very helpful,” she said.
“Even though this process was very short, it was truly unforgettable to create something so beautiful alongside so many talented individuals. Getting to play even a small role in building something so magical filled my cup in ways I can’t even begin to describe. It will live in my memory as one of those poignant reminders as to why I love being an artist so dearly.”
written by Merritt Mecham