Dancing Thru the Decade

Photo Credit: Four the Joy Photography

By Olivia Bertino

Staff Writer

It’s no surprise that after 10 years, LiRa Dance Theatre Company has become one big family. What started as an idea between two friends has become a cohort of dancers that thrive on connecting with each other and embracing individuality through art.

At the end of July, LiRa will celebrate their last decade of work with their annual showcase titled LiRa in Flight. The performance, which takes place at 7 p.m., on July 31, and again on Aug. 1, will feature LiRa’s greatest dances curated by co-founders Lisa Conlin and Raena Rasmussen.

Lisa Conlin

“I thought that it would be such a cool thing to start a professional company in Sioux Falls, S.D.,” Conlin said. “Sioux Falls is so artsy, and now the arts have really taken off over the last 10 years.”

Conlin comes from a professional dance background. She trained at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet of Canada as well as in New York, Chicago, Minneapolis and Los Angeles. For the last 30 years, she’s been teaching dance and theater throughout the midwest.

Rasmussen started dancing at a young age to help with an abundance of energy and fell in love with the practice.

“I ended up going to college to get my degree in dance, and I just kept falling more and more in love with dance,” Rasmussen said.

After studying in Bali, New York, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles and more, she went on to open Balleraena Dance Studio in 2001. It’s at that studio that LiRa found its beginnings.

When Conlin and her husband considered moving to Sioux Falls, she joined one of Rasmussen’s dance classes. Rasmussen was pregnant with her daughter and was in need of someone to take over classes until she returned. She asked if Conlin was willing to help. Conlin stepped in for Rasmussen while she was caring for her newborn.

Shortly after, Conlin and her family made the move to Sioux Falls. That’s when she asked Rasmussen if she’d be interested in starting a dance theatre company with her.

“ She didn't even hesitate a beat, and she said yes,” Conlin said.

And so LiRa was formed in 2015.

“ I didn't know at our first auditions if anyone was even going to show up,” Conlin said. “And we had 31 dancers.”

Of the 31 dancers who auditioned, 15 joined the first LiRa company. This group became the foundation of the LiRa family. LiRa kept an open-door policy, letting dancers step away when life demanded. But they always had a place with LiRa.

“We have dancers that have danced with us for 10 years and they're still here with us,” Conlin said. “And then we have dancers that have had babies or taken time off to get their PhDs and that kind of stuff. Now they're dancing again in this 10-year show.”

Thomas Nguyen performs in LiRa’s outdoor showcase in 2021 at the Washington Pavilion Sculpture Garden (Photo Credit: Rachel Person)

This season, the company includes 35 dancers from a wide range of backgrounds and ages spanning from 18 to 40.

“ Some of these dancers that we have in the company are doctors and scientists and teachers and attorneys,” Rasmussen said. “Just all over the map. And it's so cool to see that this one thing — the love of dance — brings us all together.”

Conlin and Rasmussen said they’re always amazed at the talent in Sioux Falls when they bring together a new season of dancers.

“What's special and unique about LiRa is that it gives you a chance to meet people in Sioux Falls that you might not normally meet,” Rasmussen said. “ I miss this dance world where I can just be me and express myself and be vulnerable again with people in Sioux Falls who are feeling the same.”

LiRa has now performed more than 100 different pieces between their annual showcase and other events. They don't just focus on one type of dance, either. Performances include ballet, contemporary, tap, musical theater and much more.

“The dancers get to step out of their comfort zones and do other styles that they haven't maybe done before, and they end up learning a lot and growing a lot,” Conlin said. "It's just really fun to see.”

Both Conlin and Rasmussen choreograph and teach dances, but all of the dancers work together to create a unique performance.

“I learn from the dancers and the dancers can learn from me,” Conlin said. “We all have different training and different backgrounds, and I feel like I learn just as much from my dancers as they learn from me or Raena, and it's fun to watch them blossom.”

This year, Conlin and Rasmussen created the opening piece of the showcase as a representation of their shared difficulties and confusing feelings that come with adult life. All 35 dancers are featured as interwoven pieces of a brain as it sorts through conflicting thoughts.

The piece came together in just three hours.

Raena Rasmussen

“Both of us love dance so much,” Rasmussen said. “And both of us are willing to put in whatever we need from our hearts and souls just to make the dance how we see it.”

With the annual showcase coming at the end of July, LiRa is already preparing for next year. Auditions for the 11th season take place on Aug. 2, at Balleraena Dance Studio. The dancers begin preparing their pieces in November and work on them throughout the year.

Next year, LiRa also hopes to expand further. Conlin and Rasmussen are always looking for new performance opportunities and collaborations. No matter what, there will always be the love of dance at the center.  Conlin said she loves to focus on the dancers and the talent in the company, letting them take the art and run with it.

“I can give them the movement and the choreography, I can give them the steps, but it's the dancers, it's their artistry,” Conlin said. “You really learn a lot about your dancers, watching them take on a piece of movement and seeing how they respond to it.”

Rasmussen said LiRa has been an escape for her where she can be around other people who get the same adrenaline rush from dancing and being on stage. Being with her LiRa family allows her to express herself in a way that she otherwise can’t.

“I'm so thankful I have this LiRa family, and I'm so thankful that I'm able to dance and move my body,” Rasmussen said “There are so many blessings and hidden things that have helped me along the way because we started this company.”

Find out more about LiRa’s annual showcase, July 31-Aug. 1, in Sioux Falls at the company’s website.