BEYOND THE SOUND

A ‘Pretty. Odd.’ Experience – Maddy Petz

Panic! At the Disco hit the nail on the head when titling their 2008 album, “Pretty.Odd.” Peculiar yet highly entertaining, the album offers the perfect sound score for an even more peculiar and entertaining production. Watch along as nine dancers traverse through what Entertainment Weekly could only describe as, “an admirable ambitious musical bonanza.” BEYOND THE SOUND will feature the first half of A ‘Pretty. Odd.’ Experience, a project that will eventually produce the complete choreographed story of Panic! At the Disco’s entire “Pretty. Odd.” album. Guided by lyrical narration, an energetic cast brings the music to life through athletic and liberating movement. Pop punk, folk, whimsy, and a dash of theatricality are remixed and reproduced in the form of contemporary dance, daring you to guess what will happen next.

This work portrays both the mundane aspects of life, as well as the intersection of these patterns in the natural world. Elements of nature become personified through human bodies, establishing whimsical and fantastical performance. With tendencies to be consistently “doing the most”, the piece reflects an individual’s journey through the rat race of our current culture. But what happens when external forces guide them reconnect with their juvenile spirit? If nothing else, A ‘Pretty. Odd.’ Experience will leave you artistically energized, visually stimulated, and, perhaps, dancing right alongside us in your seat.

Excerpts from “Pretty. Odd.” by Panic! At The Disco – “We’re So Starving”, “Nine in the Afternoon – Single Mix”, “She’s A Handsome Woman”, “Do You Know What I’m Seeing?”, “That Green Gentleman (Things Have Changed)”, “I Have Friends In Holy Spaces”, and “Northern Downpour”