Windfall Dancers interpret 'Seven Deadly Sins'

Gold flashes of greed, red ribbons of wrath and green dresses of envy – the Windfall Dancers use all of these, and four others, to portray the seven deadly sins in their performance of the same name at the John Waldron Arts Center.

The show is split into two acts, both consisting of a separate piece for each sin, along with a final performance that incorporates all of the sins together.

Two actors opened Saturday’s show with a commentary about the seven deadly sins and briefly performed before each act.

The show takes place in the Rose Firebay Auditorium, which provided an intimate atmosphere for the audience. Director, dancer and co-choreographer Tom Slater credited the small turnout on Saturday – 30 or so audience members – to the weather and other events happening that night.

“I’m surprised we had as many as we did given the weather,” he said. “We’re hoping to have a bigger crowd for next week.”

The show will continue to play Thursday through Saturday, and anyone interested in getting tickets can contact the John Waldron Arts Center or visit www.windfalldancers.org.

Due to the choreography and the setup of the auditorium, there were parts in which all 11 dancers were within inches of the audience. This effect was carefully planned, Slater said.

“We measured everything out and used tape during rehearsals to make sure we’d fit, so it was really nice when it all came together,” Slater said.

Slater, a World Exhibition Champion, will teach at the Bloomington Ballroom Teachers Academy, which offers a 16-month program that provides certification in 17 different types of dance. The academy will open this May, Slater said.

Slater said he will be working with the Panache School of Ballroom and Social Dance in Bloomington for the project. Panache owner Sandra Myers said there is a push to try to bring all the different dance movements together, and the academy will be able to do that.

“The Seven Deadly Sins” not only incorporates different types of dance, but uses different costumes and music that match up to the specific sin being portrayed as well. The show is inspired by the paintings of Paul Cadmus, which are featured in the background.

“We wanted to show what sin really does to people,” said dancer and co-choreographer Matthew Wisley.

In the gluttony performance, one of the dancers is “consumed” by the others, and the final piece shows the sins completely taking over the performers.

The cast has 11 dancers all of different ages and dancing backgrounds. One of the dancers, Kay Olges, has been with Windfall for 15 years. She said she chose Windfall because it’s one of the few places that offers dance for adults.

“It really is very hard to find a place for grown-ups to dance,” she said.