Indianapolis-based dance company Dance Kaleidoscope performed six original dances in Markel Auditorium on Saturday. 

The 53-year-old professional group featured modern dance sets with a variety of choreographers.

Joshua Blake Carter, the artistic director of the company, choreographed a few of the dances.

“I want to illuminate different people from all over the world so that people see themselves on the stage, and they can see their culture or perhaps their race or their identification personified on stage,” Carter said. “That’s really what our show is about. It’s kind of taking six different short stories and letting people see different parts of what’s going on in our world.”

Carter said choreography begins with the music.

“I definitely listen to the music first, and I always feel like the music tells me what to do,” Carter said. “I know that sounds strange, but I hear the music and it evokes a movement in my body, and that’s what I start to do.”

Carter explained his criteria for picking a song to choreograph.

“It’s really about what inspires me and what I think will resonate with an audience, because that’s ultimately also a huge goal,” Carter said.“Having an access point for audience members, so that people don’t feel like they don’t understand it or are alienated by it. Like maybe you don’t get it, which you don’t need to, as long as it brings you some sort of emotion or experience.”

Carter said choreographing dances is an organic and natural process that requires repetition, practice, and hard work. 

“Essentially, Choreographing is like a football play,” Carter said. “You’re manipulating and moving these things, and it starts to create a picture and there’s things we’ll do that will go wrong and I’m like, ‘that’s not it, let’s go back, let’s reset, let’s do it again.’ But a lot of it is very natural and comes out of a kind of experimentation.”

Learning to choreograph is a skill to hone in, according to Carter. 

“It’s hard to say that there’s a craft to it as much as it is with anything else,” Carter said. “It’s like putting paint on a canvas, ours 

        is just living and moving and never stops.”

Nathan Rommel has been a professional dancer since 2016 and has danced for Dance Kaleidoscope for almost a year.

“What kind of sets dance Kaleidoscope apart is the high energy nature of the performance.” Rommel said. “So we do a lot of, what I like to say, kicks and spins, lots of tricks, so it’s really engaging for the audience, but still accessible in an artistic way.”

Junior Faith Niekamp, a dance major, said she thoroughly enjoyed the performance.

“I found the performance to be really enjoyable,” Niekamp said. “Their style of dance was different from past visiting companies which was really unique and a pleasant surprise.”

Carter expressed that he was glad he brought Dance Kaleidoscope for the enjoyment of both the college and the town.

“It’s a no brainer, because not only does it expand arts in other communities that aren’t ours, but also our organization exists to bring beauty and dance to other people,” Carter said. “So, you know, the two things really go hand in hand.”