A group of 15 friends from the Dunedin-raised choreographer’s high school days will be complemented by six professional contemporary dancers in tomorrow evening’s 75-minute show, Commentary Of Dreaming.
Mr Beck said putting people on stage who had not been trained was a massive challenge.
He described the piece as being about the end of youth and rebirth into adulthood.
Mr Beck decided to create a work of dance about this and he then wanted people from his youth to be in it.
Rather than having a cameo appearance, they ended up being embedded more through the work, reflecting a collective experience, he said.
Mr Beck attended what is now Trinity Catholic College and among his friends was Tim Wight, from Otago Boys’ High School, who is now an IT analyst.
Mr Wight was not accustomed to being on stage and he initially found the assignment a bit daunting.
He was still a little nervous, and excited as the show neared, as well as grateful for the chance to be part of his friend’s project.
Mr Beck is also a nationally acclaimed dancer and his show will premiere at the festival.
Promotional material described the show as offering physical commentary on a journey into adulthood.
"Inspired by the astrological concept of Saturn returns, it meditates on subconscious rites of passage and our conscious perception of ageing, culminating in a bittersweet ode to a youth spent in Dunedin."
The show is at the Regent Theatre tomorrow, from 7pm.
