Park district's Winter Revelry explores the art of dance

There's something different going on here.

Talk to Melissa Sallée and Katherine Skleba for even a few minutes and you can hear it in their voices, sense it in their manner.

The two are co-directors of Winter Revelry, the annual performance by Naperville Park District's Concert Dance Ensemble set for 3:30 p.m. Sunday at Naperville North High School.

Trust us, they know what you're thinking: Who on earth would willingly go to a park district dance recital featuring girls ages 13 to 17 unless you're related to one of the 19 performers?

But give Sallée and Skleba a chance to explain why you might be wrong.

Listen to them talk about how the show will stress the "art" of dance. Let them describe how this group of young performers has taken dance beyond a recreational pursuit and begun to feel the true depth of it.

This isn't "Dancing With the Stars" and it isn't your mother's dance recital. If the co-directors have their way, this will be a chance for you to see dance in a way you wouldn't expect from a park district -- dance that entertains but also challenges you and makes you think.

Listen to Sallée and Skleba long enough and you begin to believe something different really is going on here.

No-risk trial

This year's Winter Revelry will be a little like one of those sampler boxes from Fannie May -- you know, a taste of this, a taste of that.

It doesn't matter how old you are or what your level of dance sophistication, organizers think you're going to find something to chew on.

The performance won't run longer than 90 minutes, Sallée says, and tickets are $6.

"The great thing about this show is it's going to be short so anybody can sit through it," she says. "There's no risk. Spend an hour and a half and try it out."

The show features some of the best young dancers in the city who are among more than 400 students who participate in park programs.

Half the concert will feature familiar music from "West Side Story," but Skleba says performers also will touch on everything from lyrical to jazz to contemporary ballet.

Skleba says she's excited about a piece she choreographed called "Hero" that combines numerous dance styles and was inspired, in part, by the reaction from her students.

Sallée choreographed two contemporary ballet pieces, including one called "Forward" that features classical piano music and excerpts from great speeches.

"I believe what we're doing is a lot more rooted and nurtured than a simple recital," Sallée says.

Skleba says she's hoping this year's Revelry causes the audience and community to look at dance through different eyes.

You may not like everything you see, she says, but that's OK.

"It's like art," she says. "It's your opinion. It's like looking at a piece of sculpture in movement."

The directors

This isn't a hobby for the show's co-directors. Both Sallée and Skleba have a long history in dance and both are eager to share that passion with their young performers.

Skleba has been a professional dancer for more than 28 years. She's been an instructor for the Los Angeles city school system, Columbia College and now at College of DuPage.

A Wheaton resident, she says she began her pursuit of the stage with an eye toward acting. Then she was cast as a dancer in a production of "The Music Man" and that all changed.

"Dancing came more easily to me than acting," she says. "It was so much fun to use your body in a different way to tell a story."

Sallée, a Bolingbrook resident, says she's in her 15th year being "heavily invested" in choreography.

She's been head choreographer for the Renaissance Faires across the country and has worked with dancers who are in wheelchairs and are visually and hearing impaired.

Sallée joined the park district last year -- but not without some trepidation.

She admits she was hesitant because of the stigma sometimes associated with the perceived quality of park district dance programs.

"But the district is willing to take it further than it ever has before," she says.

Sallée sees her top students moving beyond those who view class as a simple form of recreation.

"They're bringing more art to it," she says. "They're learning about dance outside the studio, too."

Working with young dancers who are just coming into their own is a thrill, she says.

"I need to give them what they need to go on," she says. "I treat them the same way I would treat professional dancers."

Skleba says that approach will pay dividends on Sunday when the young performers demonstrate what theater dance is all about.

"You want to be moved," she says. "You want to be inspired."

If you go

What: Winter Revelry dance performance

Who: Naperville Park District Concert Dance Ensemble

When: 3:30 p.m. Sunday

Where: Naperville North High School, 899 N. Mill St.

Tickets: $6, available at park district administrative building, 320 W. Jackson Ave.

Info: (630) 848-5000