By Jenny Neyman
Photos by Jenny Neyman, Redoubt Reporter. Peninsula Artists in Motion members practice a belly dance in preparation for their performances this weekend in Kenai and Nikiski.
Redoubt Reporter
Peninsula Artists in Motion is chiming in with a new dance style for their annual performance this weekend, one that can be heard as well as seen.
The women’s nonprofit, community dance troupe is unveiling a Bollywood-inspired, belly-dance number, complete with jingling chimes and gold-colored coins affixed to their intricate costumes.
“It’s hard to walk around backstage and not make noise, is the unfortunate part,” said Katrina Carpenter, co-artistic and costume director for PAM, and choreographer of the belly-dancing number.
She’s been teaching belly-dancing classes at Encore Dance Studio for the past three years, and this year decided to try a number with the PAM women. The organization is all about exposing members and the community to new dance styles and expanded opportunities, so she thought it would be a fun challenge.
“It seems like they’re all really excited to do it. Everybody was going, ‘Oh, I hope I can be in that one.’ It’s nice to kind of broaden their horizons, as well. I think everybody is eager to do anything and everything they can,” Carpenter said.
The style of dance has a strong Indian influence, but Carpenter’s choreography also borrows heavily form lyrical, jazz and modern movements.
“It’s a definite mix. It’s nice to be able to experiment with movement and different music styles and what not, too,” Carpenter said. “It’s definitely fun as a choreographer to bring something different to the table.”
Amy Tovoli, a PAM dancer, said she suspects Carpenter’s motivation came from watching the movie “Slumdog 
Millionaire,” which ended with an elaborate, Bollywood-style dance number.
“When you hear that music, you can’t help but shake something. It’s a fun number, really energetic. Hopefully the audience will feed off that energy,” Tovoli said.
As is usual with PAM shows, this one will incorporate several dance styles, including jazz, modern, lyrical and hip hop, as well as a variety of ensemble and full-troupe pieces.
“That’s what’s nice, it’s not only about styles, it’s number of people on stage — solos to whole-group dances,” Tovoli said. “It’s a nice mix of people on stage and performance styles. There’s a difference between big production numbers and having four or five people on stage. You get a different effect.”
Guest artists Anchorage Classical Ballet Academy and Encore Dance Academy will also perform, and there will be a storytelling piece choreographed by Chris Morin, of Kenai.
“We’re hoping the audience will enjoy that. It’s not just about movement, but also to give people something to let their minds grow and let dance tell a story, instead of words,” Carpenter said.
Along with a growth of dance styles, PAM is undergoing growth in the organization — from about six members when they first formed to 19 this year — and individual members are growing in what they do.
This show marks the debut of two new choreographers within PAM. Heather Schloeman is presenting a contemporary, hip-hop piece, and Katie Reichert helped Carpenter choreograph the belly-dancing number.
“Heather is really excited about this being her first time choreographing. With the belly-dancing piece, it was kind of a joint venture for Katie and I. It’s definitely a little step up the ladder for her. What we want PAM to do is encourage people to experience other levels of dance, to not just be a dancer,” Carpenter said.
PAM has been taking that sentiment out into the community this year. Starting last spring and continuing this fall PAM offered a series of dance classes as part of the Soldotna Community Schools program.
“It’s a really fun thing, kind of getting ingrained in the community in Soldotna a little more, to cultivate dance to fulfill our mission. The ages of those students varied from one end of the scale to the other. It was just kind of a really good way to get PAM out there a little bit more. We got a really good response. People are interested in taking more dance classes and coming to shows and are really excited about dance in general, so that’s been really fun to see,” Carpenter said.
PAM will hold its annual fundraiser ball Jan. 30, and will have auditions for new members at 7 p.m. Dec. 7 at Encore in Kenai, for women ages 18 and up with prior dance experience. Coming to the show this weekend is a great way to find out what PAM is all about, or to just see what PAM members have been working at so hard over the past months, Carpenter said.
“Just come. It’s going to be really a great show,” she said. “We’re feeling a lot more confident and being in the bigger space (onstage) helps a lot. Nineteen girls in a studio gets a little bit cramped, so it’s nice to be onstage, but we’re thankful to have anyplace to dance, and families who will let us be gone for so many hours, and all the guests that will come join us, and all the dancers’ hard work, too. Because we’d have nothing without them. We’re just ready.”
PAM will perform at 7 p.m. Friday at the Renee C. Henderson Auditorium at Kenai Central High School and at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Nikiski High School Auditorium. Tickets are $12 for general admission, $10 for students and seniors, and free for kids 5 and under. Tickets are available at Encore Dance Academy and Charlotte’s in Kenai, River City Books in Soldotna, and at the door.
