For centennial, an epic dance

Dancers and a film crew from the Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts are filming in Glacier National Park this week for a piece to commemorate the Park's centennial in 2010.

The piece will be the sixth installment of its Face of America series.

The works are twofold. Wolf Trap crews first film and dance on location, and then have a live performance in front of the filmed footage, which runs on a screen behind the dancers.

Shooting, however, was off to a soggy start. It was pouring rain Monday and more rain — or at least a chance of it — is expected throughout the week.

"We work in all weather," said Wolf Trap president and CEO Terrence Jones with a smile. On Monday, crews were shooting in the Apgar and Camas Road areas of Glacier.

The premiere event, entitled "The Sun Road," will also feature performances by Montana artists, including Blackfeet Indian singer-songwriter Jack Gladstone; cowboy singer Rob Quist; and Emmy Award-winning pianist Philip Aaberg.

Wolf Trap commissioned choreographer Trey McIntyre to produce the piece.

McIntyre said the bad weather was actually what he was hoping for — at least for the footage in the dark forest and burns. He said the idea is to show humans out of their element and how what we do in the modern world impacts the Park.

And so there was a dancer in a ballgown and several in tuxedos in the burned woods of the Robert Fire — a surreal scene to say the least.

Jones said the crews will shoot 30 to 40 hours of high definition video footage that's pared down to a 20 minute video.

The performance debuts Wednesday, Aug. 19 at 8 p.m. at Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. Then it travels across the country, arriving in Billings on Oct. 21 for a performance at the Alberta Bair Theater, and at the Myrna Loy Theater in Helena on Oct. 12, 2010.

No Flathead Valley performances have yet been announced.

The performance is designed to put the Park, and some of its plights, in the national spotlight.