Skip to main content

June 30, 2016

Compendium

Our Nationally Best-Selling Children's Book Inspires a Stirring Dance Performance

This past May, the Tanner Dance Program of the University of Utah performed our nationally best-selling children's book What Do You Do With an Idea? as a dance routine with an entirely original score. What Do You Do With an Idea? is the story of one brilliant idea and the child who helps bring it into the world. Tanner Dance adapted the book for its biggest event of the year, and we are so honored to have been a part of it.

Tanner Dance put on three inspiring performances in just one day. More than 500 dancers used ballet and modern dance to show how ideas come to life. Each dance had different choreography, and what made the performances especially incredible was that every dancer had the freedom to improvise parts of their routine and integrate their own ideas into the performance.

"Throughout this whole process, the children have been delighted with discovering their own ideas, creating their own ideas and dancing their own ideas," said Joni Wilson, program director of Tanner Dance. Built into the program’s foundation is the dedication toward creating imaginative humans—one dancer at a time. By offering classes to people of all ages and abilities, Tanner Dance gives its students the skills to take their dance ideas and grow them into beautiful, impactful works of art.

Kobi Yamada, the book’s author, was thrilled to attend the event and witness the amazing production. Kobi signed books after each performance, and even went backstage for a peek behind the scenes. "It was a lifetime highlight to be invited into the circle of hundreds of dancers backstage," said Kobi. "It was humbling to see these young talents in costume so earnest about their roles."

Nothing makes us happier than to see how our products are inspiring other people. Tanner Dance's production of What Do You Do With an Idea? is a wonderful example of how anyone can take an idea and turn it into something incredible. The performance has resonated with us here at Compendium, and we thank Tanner Dance for such an inspiring production!

Read Next