Shadow dancing in the Basin

MOSES LAKE — Shadows will come to life next week at the Wallenstien Theater, as The Silhouettes bring their unique dance show March 1.

“This one is kind of above and beyond just a regular show,” said Shawn Cardwell, executive director of Columbia Basin Allied Arts, which is sponsoring the show. “They’re two-time Golden Buzzer finalists at ‘America's Got Talent.’ And they were the first shadow dance company on ‘America's Got Talent’ as well, so any other shadow dance company that you've seen is just a replica of what these guys have been doing for almost 15 years now.”

That TV show was what launched The Silhouettes in 2011, said the troupe’s director Lynne Waggoner-Patton. The dancers had been performing in Denver for a couple of years when AGT producers saw an item about them in the news and asked Waggoner-Patton to audition.

“I actually said no several times, because I have children on the cast,” she said. “I wasn't sure what would happen. I didn't know how America's Got Talent would treat the children or portray the children. And I just didn't want a negative impact on their lives. But they finally convinced me to just go audition. So we did … and then we got the call two months later saying they wanted us on the show. And from there, it's it's just been this wild adventure.”

The troupe coming to Moses Lake is made up of 13 kids 6-16 years old, who dance swathed in bright light, their shadows interacting on a screen with a series of images. The effect is a remarkably expressive one, Cardwell said.

“It's a visually stunning performance,” she said. “And also really emotionally charged as well.”

The performance The Silhouettes are bringing is called “Love Happens,” an exploration of all the different kinds of love people can experience.

“It's a series of stories that showcase the many types of love and relationships in our lives, from the love we have for our pets to unrequited romantic love,” Cardwell said.

“I had the idea to do a show for Valentine's Day one year, and I thought, ‘We'll do a show about love,’” Waggoner-Patton said. “‘It's going to be so easy because there's so many kinds of love.’ But it turned out to be one of the hardest that I've ever presented because there are so many kinds of love … It starts out very simple, and then we progress into the more serious types of love and the painful types of love. We've got the love of chocolate, we've got the love of animals, we've got the love of shopping, fashion, there's just all these different types of love that are presented through shadow work.”

The shadow medium is particularly well suited to young dancers, Waggoner-Patton said.

“The great thing about silhouettes is, it's the great equalizer,” she said. “Meaning children at any age can participate, and also any size is welcomed, because we need all sizes, shapes, body forms to make all of those shapes happen. It's a very different experience for dancers, because most dancers are under the scrutiny of their body shape, and the silhouettes can honor every single and accept every single body shape.”

The Silhouettes who are coming to Moses Lake are driving over from Dillon, Montana, where Waggoner-Patton and her husband moved about a year ago, she said. They recently finished shooting a performance for a music video in Los Angeles. A well-known pop artist, whom Waggoner-Patton wasn’t allowed to identify yet, was about to begin a world tour and wanted some shadow work, she said.

Doors open at 6 p.m. for the March 1 performance, Cardwell said. There will be locally sourced concessions including Cave B wines, Ten Pin beer, NOSH. cups and cookies from the Cow Path Bakery in Othello. 

The Silhouettes performance is the third in CBAA’s 2023-24 Premiere Series. The final show in that series will be “Jaka Mumor — Ancestral Spirit” by Ghanaian musician Okaidja Afroso on April 27. The Missoula Children’s Theater will also bring “Peter and Wendy,” a week-long performance camp for local youth, the week of April 1-6.

“I think the message at the end (of ‘Love Happens’) is to know that you are loved and to know that everybody goes through these different emotions of love,” Waggoner-Patton said. “If they've received one ounce of love in our show, we want them to share it and become our silhouette ambassadors of kindness, and help us change the world one shadow at a time.”

Joel Martin may be reached via email at jmartin@columbiabasinherald.com.

    The Silhouettes will bring their show “Love Happens” to the Wallenstien Theater March 1.
  

    The Silhouettes show “Love Happens” explores the different ways people feel and express love.