The members of Perpetual Motion bring their love of dance to the stage with Satori, an evening concert filled with modern and aerial dance works.

While the Buddhist term “Satori” means enlightenment, the decade-old dance company aims to embody the idea with a conceptual show bearing two primary themes.

“All the works presented explore the ideas of self-discovery and identity,” said choreographer Michelle Dexter. “We will use several new aerial apparatuses, including bungee, hanging iron ladders and an invented apparatus called an aerial carousel.”

This 10-year anniversary show has special meaning for the troupe.

“It took several years to really develop our identity and artistic goals, and now that we have that in place, it is just about pushing forward,” said Dexter, one of its five founding members.

She and four fellow University of Central Oklahoma graduates started Perpetual Motion in 2002. She said company members are focused on continuing to move their happy feet to entertain audiences for years.

“While we enjoy touring, and plan to continue to do so,” Dexter said, “our focus is really on providing quality, innovative dance to Oklahoma.”

And that mission has prompted Perpetual Motion to seek new talent and build bonds with the community through its education program, pm2.

“Pm2 creates a professional dance experience for dancers ages 13 and older,” Dexter said. “Through pm2, dancers gain insight into the inner workings of a professional dance company, as well as learning modern, contemporary ballet and aerial dance technique.”

The company is also part of the Performing Arts Corps grant project with the Oklahoma Arts Council, which Dexter said “covers 75 percent of the fees so that schools can provide students [with] arts exposure for a minimal cost.”

She and her team work with various age groups to show it’s never too late to two-step toward dreams.

“We love to reach out to young dancers, but we also want to nurture the creative aspirations of adult dancers and non-dancers alike,” she said.

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