Hinge Dance Company rehearses “Breakthrough” for their annual performance at the Powerhouse this week. Photos by Deja Samuel
Hinge Dance Company presented its annual performance titled “Breakthrough” last night at the Powerhouse and will continue the production tonight and tomorrow.
The local dance company was started by Georgia native Lydia Siniard while she was a student at the University of Mississippi. Since graduating in 2009, Siniard has gone on to expand and diversify Hinge Dance Company to express all facets of dance in a way that highlights it as art, and “Breakthrough” completes that mission.
“Breakthrough is about going against the ‘norm or the expected,’” Siniard said. “I think sometimes we as humans get caught up with doing what we’re used to, what people expect us to do, what society expects of us, and this show explores the depth of what is beyond the ‘expected.’”
According to its website, “Hinge Dance Company is Oxford’s professionally contemporary company for adults who want to continue their dancing careers.”
The company describes its mission as “dedicated to sharing our love and passion for the art of dance; our goal is to provide artistic enrichment for the whole community.”
In its performances, it aims to fuse choreography, athleticism and aesthetics to reveal the “intrigue and importance that dance has as an art form.”
“I wanted to provide a creative dance outlet for other dancers like me who loved growing up dancing everyday only to come to college and realize that dancing void still needed to be filled,” Siniard said.
Each year, the company hosts a concert, and this year’s show premiered yesterday and was the company’s 10th off-campus production.
The cast is composed of 16 men and women, including Siniard.
Eudora native Blake Summers is one of the dancers and choreographers in the production and was first welcomed into the world of dance by the owner of Hinge.
“Hinge started off as a student-run dance company while I was at Ole Miss,” Summers said. “Hinge eventually left campus and evolved into Oxford’s first professional dance company. The owner of Hinge actually casted me for my first dance show ever.”
He began dancing as a sophomore in college, which is typical for many male dancers, according to him.
“It is difficult to jump into the dance world, but it is exhilarating when you are fresh,” he said.
His journey of dance has taken him many places, including several rounds of “So You Think You Can Dance,” but Summers is more than pleased that it has led him to Hinge Dance Company and “Breakthrough.”
“’Breakthrough’ is a fun show,” he said. “It has all kinds of styles, and some have extremely loud costumes. It showcases dance pretty well.”
The doors open at 7:30 p.m., and the show will begin at 8 p.m.
Siniard encourages anyone who is interested to attend the show to support local artistry in Oxford. Table seating is available in addition to general tickets, and tables come with a complimentary glass of wine and hors d’oeuvres.
“Maybe ‘break through’ what you normally do on a typical weekend,” Siniard said. “And come experience some live, athletic contemporary dance.”
