In 2005, Trey McIntyre founded his dance company, Trey McIntyre Project, which first appeared at the Vail International Dance Festival in Colorado. The company was initially a summer touring company, but its national and international success led McIntyre to establish the company as full-time and year-round in 2008, based in Boise, Idaho. Now, in its 10^th year, the Trey McIntyre Project will take its final bow as a full-time company at Jacob’s Pillow this June as the company transitions into a new phase. McIntyre plans to continue creating pieces on a freelance basis, but the dance aspect of his company will scale down as he pursues other artistic venues such as film, photography, and writing.

With more than 90 works created, McIntyre is one of the most sought after choreographer’s working today, best described as a witty ballet choreographer who’s innovative works fuse timeless physicality with a sincere exploration of human nature. His artistic statement as a dance maker voices eloquently his vision in the beauty of the humanness of movement and performance:

“I use dance to explore what it means to be a part of the human experience. I believe that what we do, as artists in the studio, is a metaphor for the journey of self-discovery. Through an open and meaningful exchange of ideas and emotions, the dancers and I evolve our understanding of what it means to be alive, allowing us to bring greater depth and insight to our work. Any product of this kind of process is a manifestation of our search for truth and grace, one that we gratefully share with our audience."

In his choreographies, McIntyre explores the human condition by exploring ideas such as religion, family, and love, furthering the mission of his company to engage individuals and communities in the experience of art. The marker of McIntyre’s aesthetic that gives him an edge among contemporary dance artists of today, is his reimagining of the ballet genre by infusing its classical form with the freshness of personal impulse. By utilizing both the balletic prowess and precision of his dancers mixed with quirky movements outside of the ballet textbook, McIntyre achieves a contagious freedom that both the performers and audience members are able to experience together. 

The Trey McIntyre Project will be performing at Northrop on Tuesday, April 22, at 7:30 pm. Reserve tickets now for one of the last opportunities to see the company perform together. Tickets are FREE for U of M students.

Following a riveting comedy routine, which subjected the two thousand college students present to two hours of sidesplitting laughter, the stars of the CollegeHumor Live team sat down with some of our staff for an interview. We discussed a number of intriguing aspects of the wild comedic lives they lead, as well as their thoughts on college life in general. Some general notes I took from our discussion with Jake, Amir, and Streeter:

-  Jake said I have a cool name.
- They had a crazy driver on the way to Northrop.
- Jake’s sweatshirt matched the couch they sat on for the interview. A.K.A. he’s a chameleon.
- The three comedians appear to like jokes.

 Moving past these preliminary observations, we gathered several other helpful tips and insights from the CollegeHumor team. For those of you wondering how to best prank your friends (or enemies), Streeter suggests the classic “Axe Bomb,” the details of which you can find in our video. In response to our inquiry regarding the best advice for aspiring comedians, the trio said, “start early and do it as often as you can.”

All in all, Jake, Amir, and Streeter were a delight to meet and interview. They’re a fun group of guys that are laid back and clearly enjoy joking around – probably an appropriate characteristic given their profession. The characters they play on their videos are obviously the products of some hyperbole, but the men themselves are just as colorful and entertaining in their own right.