Residents Take the Stage in Bolero Suburbia

"I like when I do the solo part," said 6-year-old Jada Rosas of Tuckahoe, smiling as she waited to be called back on stage during a recent rehearsal for the theatrical dance performance Bolero Suburbia. 

The Cottle School 1^st grader will make her debut in the show, a 15-minute production set to the music of Ravel's "Bolero" and centering around life in the suburbs, tonight at the PepsiCo Theater at The Performing Arts Center at Purchase College.

And she'll be joined on stage not only by other children, but lawyers, senior citizens, working professionals and entire families—about 85 residents of Westchester and Fairfield Counties who will bring the production to life.

"It's just completely tailor-made to Westchester and Fairfield," said Wiley Hausam, the executive director of the Performing Arts Center, who commissioned the production.

The show will feature three works performed by dancers from NYC-based Keigwin + Company, with Bolero Suburbia as the final piece.

The original concept for Bolero came from choreographer Larry Keigwin, along with assistant artistic director Nicole Wolcott.

"I loved the piece of music. It's this iconic piece by Ravel, that I didn't know how to utilize it," says Keigwin, "I was chatting with Nicole and we decided that working with large numbers of people could sort of match the grandness of the music."

This is the fifth Bolero production for Keigwin and Wolcott, who cofounded the Keigwin + Company in 2003. Others have been staged in NYC, Colorado and California, and each centered around a specific idea.

"They all have a certain structure that's based on the music, but each of those themes is different," said Keigwin.

In addition to "suburbia" and all the images that go along with it as the theme for Bolero Suburbia, there is also the theme of family and neighborhood networks and of living both an interior life in the home as well as an exterior life through activities like sports, said Keigwin.

There will be scenes depicting daily life, such as parents commuting and kids taking part in after-school activities like cheerleading.

"I've always had opinions, thoughts and beliefs about suburbia," the Long Island native explained, "And it was a great exercise to do this project because we could cross compare with the participants and see how they felt."

Those participants became involved after attending an open casting call back in February. About 120 people were cast, although the number dropped to 85, likely due to the time commitment involved in rehearsing.

And many of the residents haven't danced professionally—or ever—in a show.

Jeanine Venson of Bronxville, who works in admissions at the College, has danced in the past, but she says, "It's been awhile I couldn't even tell you." 

Others, like Bob Mannis, who lives in the Bedford-Armonk area, have never performed on stage. "I dance at weddings," he said, "And I love to dance with my wife."

Despite that, many have been bringing their own thoughts and ideas to the production. Residents have come up to Keigwin offering their talents as Irish step dancers, ballet teachers and soccer coaches. A newlywed, who was married last year, will now be a bride in the show.

"There was a woman who came up to us yesterday and said, I think I want to be an obsessive shopper and carry around a lot of bags," explained Keigwin. "Perfect. We created a whole cameo for her based on that." 

And it's the people that he has found to be most inspiring. "Everyone has a little hidden talent or idea or curiosity that hopefully we can harness and it will form the creation," he said.

The dancers themselves have been having a great time working on the piece.

"The experience has been fantastic," said Venson, who unfortunately won't be able to perform in the production due to a recent illness.

And Jada Rosas mom, Valerie, can't wait to see her daughter perform. "I'm very pleased with the outcome and excited to see it," she said.

Performances are May 6 and 8 at 8pm in the PepsiCo Theater at The Performing Arts Center at Purchase College, 735 Anderson Hill Rd, Purchase. Tickets are still available for both shows and can be purchased at www.artscenter.org.