THE ESSENTIAL A&E PICKS FOR JAN 4 - 10 

• Izzy Arrieta

RDT: Emerge
The very name of Repertory Dance Theatre draws attention to its emphasis on the existing canon of modern dance, yet that doesn't mean it's a company exclusively stuck in the past. For its first production of 2024, Emerge, RDT emphasizes the opportunity the company provides for its dancers to create new work, as well, and invites dance studios and students from throughout the Salt Lake Valley into the process.

The evening of new choreography includes RDT's Artistic Associate, Nicholas Cendese—who grew up studying with the University of Utah's acclaimed Tanner Dance—returning there to set new work on current Tanner Dance students, as well as setting work on students from his own Sandy studio, South Valley Creative Dance. Other RDT dancers will be offering their new work via student participants in RDT's Jan. 2-4 Winterdance Workshop at the Rose Wagner Center. Other works on the program include dancer Jonathan Kim choreographing and performing a solo dance incorporating improvisation, dancer Megan O'Brien choreographing for freelance community dancers, and company rehearsal director Lauren Curley collaborating with dance educators from throughout the valley, helping to draw attention to those who work behind the scenes training the next generation of dance talent.

RDT's production of Emerge visits the Rose Wagner Center's Leona Wagner Black Box Theater (138 W. 300 South) for three performances, Jan. 5 at 7:30 p.m. and Jan. 6 at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $20 general admission; visit arttix.org or rdtutah.org for tickets and additional event information. (Scott Renshaw)

• Courtesy photo

Broadway at the Eccles: SIX
One of the more infamous details associated with the reign of England's King Henry VIII was his string of six wives—Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anna of Cleves, Katherine Howard and Catherine Parr—as the monarch attempted to secure a male heir. Even those with the historical knowledge to recall all of the names might tend to bundle them together in their connection to the king, which provides part of the thematic foundation for SIX, the 2017 musical comedy from writer/composers Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss that sets out to give individual voices to these women.

The premise starts as a kind of tragic competition, framed as a concert in which Henry's six wives each attempts in turn to demonstrate that she was the most poorly-treated of all of them. SIX gives the concept a frisky modernized sensibility, such as playing on the idea in the song "Haus of Holbein" that Anna of Cleves was chosen through the equivalent of a dating app, and was ultimately rejected by Henry for not being as good-looking as her profile picture suggested. Yet it's ultimately a narrative about seizing agency, and refusing to be defined by the worst way a man mistreated you.

Broadway at the Eccles presents the touring production of SIX at the Delta Hall of the Eccles Theater (131 S. Main St.) Jan. 9 – 21, with performances at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday – Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. & 8 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. & 6:30 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $79 - $199; visit arttix.org to purchase tickets and for additional event information. (SR)

• Courtesy photo

Glass Art Guild of Utah: Bling in the New Year
All the arts—even those that might seem solitary—benefit from mutual support. Sometimes that takes the form of literal collaboration, and sometimes it's more about providing an environment that helps promote artists' work, whether that involves providing ongoing education and materials, helping to write grants or getting artists into shows and art festivals. The non-profit Glass Art Guild of Utah and its membership of nearly 50 Utah-based glass artists provide all of that for the creators in this delicate form, including kicking off 2024 with the group showcase Bling in the New Year.

The work is the result of the "warm glass"/kiln-formed glass process, a creative form that dates back more than 4,000 years. The kiln-heating process can produce both decorative, artistic work and functional pieces like drinking glasses and bowls, in a wide range of styles based on temperature work and processes known as fusing, slumping and casting. The results are delicate and beautiful, spanning every possible color—and while the most obvious gift-giving season may be behind us, you can always consider treating yourself.

Glass Art Guild of Utah's Bling in the New Year show comes to the Utah Cultural Celebration Center's Bridge Gallery (1355 W. 3100 South, West Valley City) in conjunction with West Valley Arts, Jan. 5 – March 1. The exhibit is free to the public during operating hours, Monday – Thursday 9 a.m. – 5 p.m., with special hours noon – 8 p.m. for the Jan. 5 opening, and March 1 closing date, as well as Feb. 2. Visit glassartguild.org for additional event information. (SR)