ISHIDA Dance Company Plays with Poetic Narratives in “mutability”

Dance is no stranger to the eternal ritual of change. Since its launch in 2019, ISHIDA Dance Company has become a shining example of change in the dance world, and the face of new dance in Texas. What makes ISHIDA standout is how the company takes transformation to heart by offering productions that highlight different […]

Barnstorm Presents Dance From Beyond the City Limits

Barnstorm Presents Dance From Beyond the City LimitsHouston’s Dance Festival Draws Out-of-Town Artists Houston dance enthusiasts look to the annual Barnstorm Dance Fest to see the current mainstays and up-and-comers of the city’s community of movers. This year’s festival, May 28 through June 1, will be no different. For this preview however, we wanted to […]

Three New Dance Artists Step Out of Residency, and into the (Barn)Storm

When Lauren Serrano moved to the Houston area to pursue an MFA from Sam Houston State University, the city and its arts scene were shuttered by the COVID-19 pandemic. Much of her early Houston dance experience was through the lens of a community navigating new dancemaking and dance presenting processes while balancing social distancing protocols. […]

A Tapestry of Femininity: Exploring The Pilot Dance Project’s Aureate

I imagine each member of the audience for The Pilot Dance Project’s evening-length work Aureate leaving The DeLuxe Theater in Houston’s Fifth Ward mentally clasping their own tendrils of meaning. Within the tapestry woven by Artistic Director Adam Castan͂eda and choreographer/designer Ashley Horn, one might focus on individual themes like the natural world, sacred iconography, […]

Silambam Examines Eastern and European Traditions Through Connection

On June 7, 2024 at the Miller Outdoor Theatre, Silambam Houston presented a curious and intriguing theatrical thesis in mining the commonalities of South Indian and Baroque dance and music. I was eager to see Artistic Director Lavanya Rajagopalan’s vision come to life in The Baroque-Carnatic Connection, as both worlds live as disparate entities in […]

Jasmine Hearn Dances Generational History in Memory Fleet

I have been thinking a lot about personal history lately. I have been interested, not so much in genealogy, but the architecture that goes deeper than bone, the family myths that make everyday life extraordinary. When you live in the same community your entire life, you understand that the past, present, and future often exist […]

Rama Vaidyanathan’s ‘New Dimensions to the Maargam’ presented by Samskriti

The Maargam in the south Indian classical dance form of Bharatanatyam has always held a fascination for me. Conceived as a format for the traditional solo recital, the Maargam represents the idea of an emotional, spiritual journey undertaken by a dancer through her repertoire, on which, if the performer is sufficiently skilled, the audience is […]

When Dancing Takes on Politics in POP DEMO

6 Degrees Artistic Director Toni Leago Valle explores the three-ring circus that is contemporary politics in her latest show, POP DEMO, which runs through September 23 at the MATCH (3400 Main Street). The show’s characters are rendered as political cartoons who inhabit a 1920s-style speakeasy; Travis Prokop as Monsieur Ballista preening at the entrance reinforces […]