Fresh Off Their Collaboration with Britney Spears, Pilobolus Dance Company Books a Dallas Show

We're almost a month out from the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards, but if you're still thinking about Britney Spears' shadowy performance of her new song "Make Me," a collaboration with Connecticut-based dance company Pilobolus, you'll have an opportunity to see parts of it again at the Dallas City Performance Hall in January.

The company's show Shadowland , which — as seen at the VMAs — uses moving screens to merge dance with shadow theater, is on tour. Tickets are on sale now for their Dallas shows on Friday, Jan. 13, and Saturday, Jan. 14.

While there was no shortage of high-energy and crowd-pleasing performances at this year’s VMAs, Spears' was one of the most memorable. Despite her tantalizing VMA performances in the past, such as her 2003 kiss with Madonna, Spears had been absent from the awards for nine years before this one, and to help her make up for lost time she asked for the help of Pilobolus and Shadowland.

Spears had four back-up dancers moving with her as she performed a mash-up with rapper G-Eazy, featuring her single “Make Me” and his single “Me, Myself & I,” but the silent stars of the show were the giant shadows that Spears danced with and against during her set.

At the beginning of the performance, the arms of the Pilobolus dancers appeared on a large screen, but none of their other body parts were visible. The arms appeared giant themselves and seemed almost to touch and caress Spears' body while she danced in front of the screen. Later, the shadow figures danced gracefully in tandem with her. 

Pilobolus Dance Company has spent the last few years developing Shadowland, which combines “multimedia, projected shadow play and front-of-screen choreography in a wild evening of storytelling." The dynamic show was created by the dancers and directors of Pilobolus, the lead writer of SpongeBob SquarePants and composer David Poe.

Shadowland employs theater, multimedia techniques and the technically skilled Pilobolus dancers to tell the story of a young girl who gets lost in the world of her own shadow. There will be plenty for people without a wealth of dance knowledge to focus on, whether that means your fairytale-loving child or parents looking for a night out solo.

In addition to the VMAs, Pilobolus has performed their work at the Oscars, the Olympics and in many TV shows and movies. The company has recently been touring Shadowland in Europe and Asia. Whether you're an avid lover of dance concerts or not, their show in Dallas is something to get excited about.

See Shadowland at 8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 13, and Saturday, Jan. 14, at the Dallas City Performance Hall, 2520 Flora St. Tickets are $25 to $75 at attpac.org.