Footlight Dance Company, under the Artistic Direction of Hilarie Neely, is proud to announce our Company performances entitled “ILLUMINATING THE SAWTOOTHS” January 26-February 10, 2017 and invites the public to attend any of seven free shows touring Blaine County Schools. This show uses the concert dance forms of ballet, modern, jazz, hip hop, tap and folk dance with the theme of our Sawtooth National Recreation Area as our inspiration. We hope these performances will inspire and initiate discussions about our mountain environment that we live in here in the Wood River Valley using the art forms of dance and visual art. The illumination and texture of “light” as it plays on the mountains during the dawn, day, dusk, night. Each mountain range is unique in its commanding views. The Pioneers are dramatic, the Smoky’s soft and rolling, Boulder’s bold and rocky, Sawtooth’s jagged and White Clouds are white and pure as the clouds. Students will see the Idaho Mountains in relationship to different dance forms, visualizing the ranges thru movement, fabrics and paintings. We also hope to inspire future generations of “stewards” to help protect our wilderness designation that was signed into law in 2015 by then President Obama after 15 years of work by many collaborators. We are presenting this show to the students in our District, including the Community School, Hemingway School, Carey School, Alturas Elementary, Hailey Elementary, Bellevue Elementary, and WR Middle School. A narration the accompanies the performances will discuss the five mountain ranges in the SNRA and use the concert dance forms of ballet, modern, jazz, tap and hip hop to see our mountains in a new light. We are ending our show with a square dance to Muzzie Braun’s iconic folk song entitled “Heart of Idaho”. He summed it up best writing about the Sawtooth Mountains in 1980’s. Even more special is that one of our dancers is Muzzie’s niece. Our tour of the schools will take us to Carey School, Thursday, Jan. 26, 9:30 am; Alturas School, Tuesday, Jan. 31, 11:30 am; Hemingway School, Friday, Feb. 3, 8:15 am and WR Middle School 2:35 pm; Tuesday, Feb. 7, 10:20 am Community School; Friday, Feb. 10, 9:30 am at Hailey Elementary and Bellevue Elementary School, at 1:00 pm. Public is invited to any of the school performances FREE of charge. For more information contact Hilarie Neely, 578-5462. www.footlightdancecentre.com