On 1982 the Dusty Road Dancers and Zenith Dance Theatre merged to become Trillium Performing Arts. Beth White was with Dusty Road and Carli Mareneck was with Zenith. They decided that collaborating would be good for the community and it has been for 35 years.
Pictured above: Michael Buttrill and dancers in “Aftermath”
The name Trillium, which is a West Virginia flower, shows the merging and blending of different people from different parts of the country. It also means “of the mountains”.
They started in church basements, then moved to the old bank building on the corner of Washington & Court Streets in downtown Lewisburg. In 2007 Trillium moved into the historic Lewis Theatre on Court Street North. There is a live event almost every month, including 3 annual performance concerts, Friday Night ALIVE!, DJ Dance Parties, and other special events.
Trillium has grown from mostly dance to a true performing arts organization that includes dance, music, theatre and film. They celebrate and collaborate in the creation of original performance works. Their mission is to encourage artistic expression and creative opportunities through education, participation and performance.
In 1999, Beth decided to create Trillium Performing Youth. Carli is the current director. TPY is for ages 13-18 years of age and are conducted like a professional dance company. Carli says, “Young dancers work with several teachers and choreographers…the training emphasizes self-expression.” TPY travels to schools, senior centers and festivals to perform original works.
Several former TPY students have continued on to college majoring in dance and are now professional dancers, teachers and choreographers.
In May, Trillium will be presenting a new work for schools and the public called “Weathering the Elements”. This show incorporates science, dance, movement and theatre. There will be plenty of special effects too! Third graders from around the county will come into the Lewis Theatre for the free concert. Then on May 19 & 20 at 7:30 pm the show will be open to the public. For ticket information call 304-645-3003.
Like Trillium Performing Arts on Facebook to keep-up with all the events. There is even a Murder Mystery Night coming soon! For more information about Trillium visit trilliumperformingarts.org
– HashtagWV May 2017.
HASHTAGWV ART & ENTERTAINMENT Publisher/Editor-in-Chief, Christina Entenmann-Edwards has been a WV resident since September 2008. She was born and raised in Fairfield County, Connecticut, and is no stranger to hard work and the entrepreneurial spirit. In 2006, she graduated from Quinnipiac University (Hamden, Connecticut), Cum Laude, with a B.A. in History. In 2010, she graduated with an M.B.A. from Liberty University (Lynchburg, Virginia). In February 2012, Christina launched HashtagWV as the area’s first full-color, free arts and entertainment tabloid + online platform. Christina completed the Leadership West Virginia class of 2021, which is an innovative program that grows, engages, and mobilizes leaders to ignite a life passion to move West Virginia forward.