Students and community members can see a unique twist on dancing, when the Pendulum Aerial Arts comes to Eastern.

The Pendulum Aerial Arts will perform their show High Art at the Doudna Fine Arts Center in The Theatre on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.

“The performance group is a dance group, but it’s a little bit more,” said Dan Crews, director of patron services at the Doudna Fine Arts Center.

Crews feels the Pendulum Aerial Arts offers a unique experience for Eastern students.

“If you start with the flexibility of a contortionist and fearlessness of a trapeze, the athleticism of a gymnast and the grace of the dancers makes it unique,” Crews said. “It is really unique, especially for our stage. What we try to do is offer unique experience for students and the people in the community.”

Suzanne Kenney, the artistic director and founder for Pendulum Aerial Arts feels High Arts is a journey.

“(High Arts) is a surreal portrait of the soul. It is the journey of someone’s life,” Kenney said.

Kenney said the program is called “High Arts” because the story is told through works of art. Some of works that inspired the performance include eight paintings, such as Gustav Klimt’s “The Kiss” and Pablo Picasso’s “A Girl Before a Mirror.”

“They (the Pendulum Aerial Arts) recreate works of art on stage through dance movements,” Crews said.

A gallery of the artworks that inspired the show will be displayed outside The Theatre before each show.

“The show is inspired by works of art because I believe the human body to be a work of art,” Kenney said. “And the dancers are the canvas.”

Kenney said she thinks the audience will be amazed by the pure athleticism of the dancers.

“I think the audience will find it interesting,” Kenney said. “I’m a really good story teller and there is a strong emotional connection to the story.”

This is the first time Pendulum Aerial Arts: High Arts has been performed outside its hometown of Portland, Oregon.

“Our stage seems tailored for them,” Crews said.

Crews also said that the height and the equipment available in the Theatre work well for the performers.

“The stage is wonderful, and Doudna Fine Arts Center is beautiful,” Kenney said. “The crew has been great and even the student staff has been so nice.”

The High Art group is made up of 11 dancers.

“I’ve been a performer for 16 years,” Kenney said. “Most of the dances have been with us for four or five years. The least someone has been with us is almost a year,” she said.

There will be a question and answer session with the performers after each show, Kenney said. The show is about two hours long with an intermission and a “talk-back” session, she said.

Performances will be held on Thursday and Friday at 7:30 p.m. and on Saturday at 2 p.m. Tickets are $10 for students and $20 to the general public and can be purchased at the Doudna box office.

Samantha McDaniel can be reached at 581-2812 or slmcdaniel@eiu.edu.