In preparation for the upcoming “Unheard of Practices 5” event at Dogwood Dell, choreographer Audrey Farmer has been preparing her dancers by telling them the truth.

“It’s going to be scary and it’s going to be hard,” Farmer says. “We might be terrified, but it’s also going to be electric and exciting and we might not ever get this opportunity again.”

Farmer works with Richmond Urban Dance, one of three companies that have been collaborating with Robbie Kinter, the mastermind behind “Unheard of Practices,” choreographing new work to perform together with Kinter’s band, Rattlemouth.

Most of the time, dancers perform to recorded tracks, so working with a live band is a rare, and challenging, opportunity. “Even the Richmond Ballet isn’t dancing to the symphony all the time,” says Farmer. “So what I told my dancers is that they need to know the music backwards and forwards because it’s not going to be the same every time.”

As one might guess from the “5” in the title, there have been four “Unheard of Practices” events in the past but Richmond newcomers won’t remember them: the last one happened in 2014. “That one was huge,” remembers Kinter. “I did most of the choreography. I also made a film that we showed. And I was dancing a duet so I had to get someone to play the drums for me for that piece.”

Kinter has been a multi-hyphenate mainstay in the Richmond cultural world for decades. The musician/composer/choreographer has played percussion for groundbreaking bands like the Ululating Mummies, composed dozens of scores for local dance troupes and was music director for the Department of Dance at Virginia Commonwealth University for years. He first came up with the idea of pairing choreographed dance with live music back in 1990.

“A friend of mine had choreographed a piece called ‘Unheard of Practices’ and we just ended up calling the whole performance that,” says Kinter. For the first event, music was provided by  Kinter’s eclectic percussion ensemble Ruckus Watusi. He would revive the idea every few years until he burned himself out with the 2014 iteration.

“I was organizing the entirety of it down to making the posters,” says Kinter. “It ended up being a huge success: two sold-out nights. So it was great but it was just too much. I bit off way more than I could chew.”

But the idea started to percolate again thanks to a conversation with Cameron Booth who programs the Festival of the Arts at Dogwood Dell. “Cameron was interested in having Rattlemouth perform at the Dell,” says Kinter. But Booth also knew about Kinter’s involvement in the dance world.

“He asked me, ‘how can we bring dance to the Dell?’ He said ‘we’ but I knew he meant me,” laughs Kinter.

Kinter sold Booth on a revival of the “Unheard of Practices” formula but he knew he couldn’t take on so much of the creative burden this time. So he reached out to local dance troupes for partners.

In addition to Richmond Urban Dance, Starr Foster Dance and Concert Ballet of Virginia have developed new works for the event. Kinter provided each company with a collection of Rattlemouth songs for them to choose ones they’d like to choreograph for.

The result will be an eclectic mix of performances where hip-hop style dance will alternate with modern and classical pieces.

“Unheard of Practices” also finds Rattlemouth celebrating 35 years together. The core of the band has always been Kinter on percussion and Danny Finney on saxophone and vocals. While oftimes performing as just a trio, the current lineup has expanded to seven members, including newest member, Armila Laco on percussion and vocals.

“At the beginning, Danny and I were writing music that was more difficult than we could play,” says Kinter. “It was not so much about our talent, it was more about our spirit. That’s why we love Armila so much because she’s got that spirit. I love having a multi-generational band.”

Farmer says that she was thrilled to get the chance to work with Kinter.

“Rattlemouth has such an incredible history of music in the community. They have a huge following,” she says. “When we got the email about this event, I was like, ‘We have to do that.’ There was no question about it.”

“Unheard of Practices 5” is a free event happening on Friday, Sept. 5 at 8 p.m. at Dogwood Dell, 600 South Arthur Ashe, Jr. Blvd. More information can be found at https://rva.gov/parks-recreation/dogwood-dell.