Arts & Entertainment
Trey chic
Boise-based dance outfit at Harmon Hall this weekend
Trey McIntyre Project
8 p.m. tonight; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday
Washington Performing Arts Society
at Sidney Harman Hall
610 F Street N.W.
Tickets $25-$75,
Wpas.org or shakespearetheatre.org/tickets
202-547-1122
Trey McIntyre (Photo courtesy of Trey McIntyre Project)
When the Trey McIntyre Project performs tonight in Washington, viewers, obviously, will have a sense of what they’re in for. But that’s not always the case in Boise, Idaho, where the company is based.
The 41-year-old Trey McIntyre chose the unlikely locale after a nationwide search for a host city and, all things considered, found Boise the best fit. His dancers have made a splash there by launching what they call “SpUrgans” — spontaneous urban performances — where McIntyre says, “we will go into an office or into a park, or into a restaurant, do our dance and get out,” basically, guerilla-style dance done with a boom-box for music and flying feet and swiveling hips, startling observers.
The whole point of a “SpUrban,” he says, is to surprise, to connect viscerally and unexpectedly, site-specific however, seeing the dance environment writ large — to go directly where people live and work in the community itself. His dancers also perform at games of the Idaho Stampede, the local NBA team, where they sold 300 tickets to one performance.
This weekend’s performance, of course, will be less out of the blue.
At Harman Hall, McIntyre promises a high-profile presentation of three works, two of them — “Ma Maison” (2008) and “The Sweeter End” (2011) — he choreographed to be performed to the recorded music he commissioned from the New Orleans jazz band, Preservation Hall, in two salutes to “the Big Easy,” a city he has grown to love.
The brightly colored “Ma Maison” costumes feature Mardi Gras-style skeleton costumes and the dance is inspired by ritual and celebration of both death and the afterlife. “The Sweeter End” premiered in New Orleans in February. The troupe will also perform “In Dreams” (2007), a darkly lyrical ballet he created for five dancers set to the music of Roy Orbison songs, including the eponymous “In Dreams,” a song McIntyre remembered from its use in the 1986 film by David Lynch, “Blue Velvet.”
McIntyre is famed already after a star-studded career of more than two decades as a choreographer, with his canon of more than 80 works of contemporary ballet, set to scores as varied as classical music (Beethoven and Chopin), rock ‘n’ roll (from the Beatles and Beck to Roy Orbison), folk (Peter, Paul and Mary) and jazz (Preservation Hall Jazz Band).
McIntyre says he never came out per se. His parents asked him about it when he was 14 and matter of factly started dating a boy. The Wichita, Kan., native established his dance career after leaving home at 17 for the Houston Ballet Company. By 19 he was hired, enjoying a long run there that lasted until 2008 by which time he had been working as a choreographer, his own dancing days ending in the mid-’90s.
McIntyre’s partner of eight years, 29-year-old John Michael Schert, met in New York and knew early on they’d form a company together. It began in 2005 as a summer touring company and was established in 2008 as a full-time company, now with 10 dancers.
The dancers — now five males (including Schert) and five females, salaried for 35 weeks a year and with full health benefits — are happily settled in Boise. Now in their third year there, they are also touring with upcoming concerts at Harman Hall in Washington tonight and Saturday, hosted by the Washington Performing Arts Society (WPAS), and were scheduled to participate in a community “engagement” outreach with the Washington Ballet School, Maryland Youth Ballet and the Duke Ellington School for the Arts.
The company will also host tonight a free warm-up class and WPAS-sponsored performance for local schools at Harman Hall of excerpts from the three dances to be performed there tonight and Saturday.
Since arriving in Boise three years ago, the city has taken the Trey McIntyre Project to heart, bestowing a grant of $25,000 on the company, by far the city’s largest arts award ever, and naming the Project its first official cultural ambassador. Affiliated with Boise State University, which is renovating a 450-seat campus theater to make it suitable for dance, and housed for offices and studio space at Foothills School of Arts and Sciences, McIntyre and the company’s dancers have become virtual rock stars, recognizable wherever they go and showered with free gifts.
In 2005, the company began as a summer touring troupe, until landing on its feet full-time in Boise three years ago. Its now funded on a $1.5 million annual budget and boasts a blue ribbon national board and an advisory council with stars like Shirley MacLaine, Tony Award-winning actor Alan Cumming, and Lar Lubovich, legendary artistic director of the Lar Lubovich Dance Company.
The DC LGBTQ+ Community Center is marking a milestone year in its new home with a vibrant birthday celebration, inviting the community, allies, and media to join the festivities on Saturday, April 25 at 1 p.m.
Since opening its doors in Shaw, The DC LGBTQ+ Community Center has become a hub of support, advocacy, and celebration for LGBTQ+ residents across the District.
The birthday bash promises a day of programming including Yoga (Center Wellness), Micro Bouquet Making (Center Social), Zine Making (Center Arts), and so much more. Guests can also enjoy tours of the Center’s expanded facilities, showcasing spaces for programs, services, and community events.
Since relocating, the Center has expanded its programs, providing critical services. The birthday bash underscores the DC LGBTQ+ Community Center’s commitment to creating an inclusive space where everyone regardless of identity, age, or background can find community and empowerment.
For more details, contact Paul Marengo at 202-705-2890.
Friday, April 24
Center Aging Monthly Luncheon With Yoga will be at 12 p.m. at the DC Center for the LGBT Community. Email Mac at [email protected] if you require ASL interpreter assistance, have any dietary restrictions, or questions about this event.
Lesbian Visibility Week will be at 7 p.m. at the DC Center for the LGBT Community. There will be a special screening of “Ahead of the Curve.” Enjoy an evening of film, conversation, and community, with cocktails and beverages available throughout the night For more details, visit the DC Center’s website.
Trans Discussion Group will be at 7 p.m. on Zoom. This event is intended to provide an emotionally and physically safe space for trans people and those who may be questioning their gender identity/expression to join together in community and learn from one another. For more details, email [email protected].
Saturday, April 25
Go Gay DC will host “LGBTQ+ Community Brunch” at 11 a.m. at Freddie’s Beach Bar & Restaurant. This fun weekly event brings the DMV area LGBTQ+ community, including allies, together for delicious food and conversation. Attendance is free and more details are available on Eventbrite.
Sunday, April 26
Nellie’s Sports Bar will host “Nellie’s DC Drag Brunch” at 12 p.m. Join Sapphire Blue, Deja Diamond and their team of drag performers for the most fun you’ll have all weekend. Tickets start at $58.51 and are available on Eventbrite.
LGBTQ+ Community Coffee and Conversation will be at 12 p.m. at As You Are. This event is for people looking to make more friends and meaningful connections in the LGBTQ community. Attendance is free and more details are available on Eventbrite.
Monday, April 27
“Center Aging: Monday Coffee Klatch” will be at 10 a.m. on Zoom. This is a social hour for older LGBTQ+ adults. Guests are encouraged to bring a beverage of choice. For more information, contact Adam ([email protected]).
Genderqueer DC will be at 7 p.m. on Zoom. This is a support group for people who identify outside of the gender binary, whether you’re bigender, agender, genderfluid, or just know that you’re not 100% cis. For more details, visit genderqueerdc.org or Facebook.
Tuesday, April 28
The DC Center for the LGBT Community will host “Candlelight Vigil” at 6:30 p.m. This is a vigil centered on reflection, support, and collective care. Attendees are encouraged to gather at 6:30 p.m., with the program beginning promptly at 7 p.m. and concluding by 8 p.m. The event will take place on the closed-off Wiltberger Street, providing a dedicated and intimate space for remembrance. Electronic candle lights will be available to participants. For those seeking additional support or who have questions ahead of the event, please contact [email protected].
Wednesday, April 29
Job Club will be at 6 p.m. on Zoom upon request. This is a weekly job support program to help job entrants and seekers, including the long-term unemployed, improve self-confidence, motivation, resilience and productivity for effective job searches and networking — allowing participants to move away from being merely “applicants” toward being “candidates.” For more information, email [email protected] or visit thedccenter.org/careers.
The DC Center for the LGBT Community will host “Movement for Healing” at 3 p.m. This trauma- and yoga therapy–informed class is designed to help guests gently reconnect with their body and their breath. Through mindful movement, somatic awareness, and grounding practices, guests will explore how to release tension, increase mobility, and cultivate a deeper sense of safety and ease within. For more details, visit the DC Center’s website.
Thursday, April 30
The DC Center’s Fresh Produce Program will be held all day at the DC Center for the LGBT Community. People will be informed on Wednesday at 5 p.m. if they are picked to receive a produce box. No proof of residency or income is required. For more information, email [email protected] or call 202-682-2245.
Virtual Yoga Class will be at 7 p.m. on Zoom. This free weekly class is a combination of yoga, breathwork and meditation that allows LGBTQ+ community members to continue their healing journey with somatic and mindfulness practices. For more details, visit the DC Center’s website.
a&e features
Memorial for groundbreaking bisexual activist set for May 2
Loraine Hutchins remembered as a ‘force of nature’
The Montgomery County Pride Center will host a celebration honoring the life and legacy of Loraine Hutchins, Ph.D., on May 2. People are invited to attend the onsite memorial or a livestream event. The on-site event will begin at 10 a.m. with a meet-and-greet mixer before moving into a memorial service around the theme “Loraine a Force of Nature!” at 11 a.m., a panel talk at 12 p.m., break out sessions for artists, academics, and activists to build on her legacy at 1 p.m. and a closing reception at 2 p.m.
Attendees are encouraged to register for the on-site memorial gathering or the livestreamed memorial. The goal of this event is also to collect stories and memories of Loraine. Attendees and others can share their stories at padlet.com.
An obituary for Hutchins was published in the Bladelast Nov. 24, where people can learn more about her activism in the bisexual community. A private service for friends and family was held in December but this memorial service is open to all.
Alongside her groundbreaking work organizing for U.S. bisexual rights and liberation including co-editing “Bi Any Other Name: BIsexual People Speak Out” (1991), she also integrated faith into her sexual education and advocacy work. Her 2001 doctoral dissertation, “Erotic Rites: A Cultural Analysis of Contemporary U.S. Sacred Sexuality Traditions and Trends,” offered a pointed queer and feminist analysis to sex-neutral and sex-positive spiritual traditions in the United States. Her thesis was also groundbreaking in exploring the intersections between sex workers and those in caregiving professionals, including spiritual ones.
In an oral history interview conducted by Michelle Mueller back in August 2023, Hutchins described herself as a “priestess without a congregation.” While she has occasionally had a sense of community and feels part of a group of loving people, she admitted that “I don’t feel like we have the shape or the purpose that we need.”
“I’ve often experienced being the Cassandra in the room, the Cassandra in the community. Somebody who’s kind of way out there ahead, thinking through the strategic action points that my community hasn’t gotten to yet, and getting a lot of resistance and hostile responses from people who are frightened by dissent and conflict and not ready for the changes we have to make to survive,” she said.
“For somebody who’s bisexual in an out political way and who’s been a spokesperson for the polyamory movement in an out political way, it’s very exposing. And it’s very important to me to be able to try to explain and help other people understand the connection between spirituality and sexuality,” she explained citing how even as a graduate student she was “exploring how to feel erotic and spiritual, and not feel them in conflict with each other in my own spiritual contemplative life and my own sensual body awareness of being alive in the world.”
“Every religion has a sense of sacred sexuality. It’s just they put a lot of boundaries and regulations on it, and if we have a spiritual practice that is totally affirming of women’s priesthood and of gay people, queer people’s ability to minister to everyone and to be ministered to be everyone, what does that do to the gender of God, or our understanding of how we practice our spirituality and our sexuality in community and privately?”
“There’s no easy answer,” she concludes, and she continued to grapple with these questions throughout her life, co-editing another seminal text, “Sexuality, Religion and the Sacred: Bisexual, Pansexual, and Polysexual Perspectives,” published in 2012. Her work blending spiritual and queer liberation remains groundbreaking to this day.
Rev. Eric Eldritch, a local community organizer and ordained Pagan minister with Circle Sanctuary who has worked for decades with the DC Center’s Center Faith to organize the Pride Interfaith Service, is eager to highlight this element of her legacy at the memorial service next month.
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