Kathak Multiplied: Innovation and Connection in Kalpana Subbarao’s 5×5 Performance

When we consider the purpose of dance and other art practices, we usually discuss their value as expressions of ideas and emotions, contributions to the cultural discourse, creative explorations of a subject, or awareness of a particular point of view. And this is good; if art needs justification, these purposes are more than enough. Sometimes, […]

Group Acorde’s Premiere “Beat” Explores What’s at the Heart of Mental Health and Resilience

There’s an intriguing link between the heart and your mental health. Studies reveal that a consistently elevated resting heart rate may signal anxiety, depression or even PTSD, long before other symptoms appear. The rapid pulse during moments of stress is not just a physical reaction—it’s a window into the mind’s struggles. For Group Acorde, this […]

Mind The Gap Celebrates 30

Dance Source Houston (DSH) will present the 30th edition of the Mind The Gap series at Midtown Arts & Theater Center Houston (MATCH) on Tuesday, September 10 at 7:30pm. Founded in 2005, DSH is entering its 20th season and is excited to celebrate the milestone program and anniversary with dance supporters. The evening’s performance roster […]

Chapman’s Entanglements Resonates on Both a Human and Quantum Scale

“We’re in the universe and the universe is in us.”  Resonating over projected images of the cosmos, Neil deGrasse Tyson’s breathy baritone poetically summarizes our connection not only to the stars in our vast universe but to one another. Science, it turns out, posits what mystics, spiritual teachers and artists have suggested all along: We […]

Choreographing Memory: Mark Aguilar Explores His Sister’s Experiences

Choreographing Memory: Mark Aguilar Explores His Sister’s Experiences “Metamorfosis”Choreographer – Mark AguilarPerformer – Aniya Wingate Mark Aguilar’s six-and-a-half minute dance, “Metamorfosis,” starts with a montage of home video, at least one of which is date-stamped in 2009. The focus is children. Driving kiddie racecars and bumper cars. Swinging in a backyard. A family activity taking […]

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 […]