2024 Groundwork Grant Cohort Spotlight
The 2024 Grounwork Grant cohort is more than halfway through their grant term and we are eager to share the impact of these organizations and fiscally sponsored projects. Between the 18 grantees, there are consistent themes of creative community engagement, carving bold new pathways, and inter-cohort collaborations. Learn more about what our grantees have cultivated this year and what’s on the dance horizon.
Hear From The Grantees
Art Uniti is partnering with Pilot Dance Project to present “Shades of the Blues,” featuring modern dance performances with choreography by Adam Castanada on November 9th at East River Nine. The music event has a local all-star stage of musicians with headliner Carolyn Wonderland. Art Uniti is also working on a community interactive project “Pink Place,” creating a healing pink and red environment at St. Arnolds with live jazz music and dance performances on December 22 and 23, in conjunction with an arts market by Shop Local.
Ashley Horn collaborated with Adam Castaneda on a new, evening-length work, Aureate, which was presented in June. Earlier this month Horn held the second yearly installment of Mise en Scene, a three-night experimental dance improvisation event and performance. Later this fall she will host a series of workshops and classes aimed at dancers who have become parents and find it hard to make time to pursue their artistic work.
Bay Area Houston Ballet & Theatre will produce the full-length musical Beauty and the Beast in September. In December, the company will present its annual production of The Nutcracker with a cast of up to 140 performers, including professional dancers, student company members, and community members ranging from 5-95 years of age. The Nutcracker will be performed 19 times during the run and also include ballet lessons with the Sugar Plum Fairy. The Best of BAHBT will take place in the spring, highlighting the diverse classical, contemporary, and musical theater company.
Bayou City Ballet Youth Company celebrated the premiere of Caleb Mitchell’s newly commissioned work “Jubilee 2024,” which was presented at MATCH in March. The company held free community ballet classes at Woodchase Park on Sundays throughout April and May. Melody Mennite was commissioned to create “The Giving Tree” with set design by Olga Saldivar. BCBYC welcomed three new board members this year, including Tova Alladice, Diana Brown-Pham, and Austin Ishee.
Over the past year, Frame Dance has brought innovative, site-specific performances to Houston, including “Bach on the Lot” performed in a parking lot, “At Play” with Kinetic Ensemble at the MATCH, and the experimental “Mise en Scene,” where artists from various disciplines collaborate in real-time. This November, Frame Dance will host its annual Film Fest, Frame X Frame, showcasing the best of screendance from around the world. Frame Dance recently launched its first teacher training and professional development programs. The company is also inviting artists of all ages to join the Frame Dance Ensemble, now a robust year-long program that inspires innovative, thought-provoking work.
In January, Group Acorde premiered Entrainment, a work commissioned by Performing Arts Houston’s New/Now program and performed at the Cullen Theater. The company also presented two pay-what-you-can performances at Archway Gallery in March. Group Acorde is in a creative process that involves new collaborations with a recent showing on August 9 as part of the Met Dance showcase and a new full evening production, Beat, set to premiere on October 3 and 4 in MATCHbox 2.
In February, Houston Contemporary Dance Company produced their first evening-length immersive dance experience, The House, which was held at the historic Heights Ironworks and featured choreography by former Houston Ballet soloist Nao Kusuzaki. HCDC brought 3 new guest artist dancers on board for their 6th season and saw Dr. Rachel Tova Winer MD step into a Board Member position from a Board Advisor role. The company is also partnering with Open Dance Project in October at Asia Society Texas Center.
Houston Met Dance began the new year by hosting an Excavating Research Week with jhon r. Stronks and a retreat-style Writing Workshop with Lori Yuill and Jax Neal focused on language around dance practices. In April HMD collaborated with DiverseWorks to present Jasmin Hearn’s MEMORY FLEET: A RETURN TO MATR. Adult Studio and Recital Showcases were held in August at the Heinen. This fall HMD will present Nicole McNeil and Lori Yuill’s project company NMLY dance. They will host an ERW, present at Mind The Gap in September, and a fuller production in October.
Indian Performing Arts Samskriti has already presented 4 programs – Aikya by Arushi Mudgal (India), Bhavayami Raghuramam featuring 3 Houston dance schools, Magic Bow (India), The Idea of God by Apoorva Jayaraman, and Krishna: Fire to Frost. Samskriti will be presenting the following 3 – Transcending Borders: The Ramayana Project (a cross-cultural presentation under the auspices of Asia Society – August 30, Miller Outdoor Theatre), Anubandh, featuring Malavika Sarukkai, in collaboration with Asia Society Texas Center and Classical Arts Society Houston, and Margam: The Path, by Vaibhav Arekar (India) on October 27 at MATCH.
In January, ISHIDA shared the world premiere of “keepsake,” presented by The Hobby Center. The company also premiered of “Mutability,” presented by Asia Society Texas Center, in June. The upcoming season includes a world premiere in January at The Hobby Center. Artistic Director Brett Ishida has been commissioned by Houston Ballet to create a new work to premiere in December 2025. This year the company hired Managing Director Jamal Madden.
Mezclada Dance Company led several free classes in HISD schools with six-week sessions throughout the spring. Additionally, Mezclada has offered two free performances of their newest educational show: The Each One, Teach One Show. Mezclada performed it at the Museum of Fine Arts in April and Houston Children’s Museum in May. In September, Mezclada will perform a new work in Bayou City Dance at Miller Outdoor Theater on September 20. The company will also offer free community classes at local studios and free sessions in HISD this fall.
This spring, Nia’s Daughters Movement Collective’s signature performance, “The Fairytale Project,” was presented by the Sugar Land Civic Arts Division, followed by “Nature Around Us” premiering through a partnership with Discovery Green, and restaged Lori Bujung’s “Angelitos Negros” at the Black Houston Symposium. NDMC partnered with Rising Stars Academy and Houston Health Department to offer wellness events in the Hiram Clarke community. NDMC’s Homecoming performance of “The Fairytale Project” in Shankleville, TX was featured on NPR’s Texas Standard and All Things Considered. The company was added to the Texas Touring Roster and announced Jennifer Colvin as Rehearsal Director.
NobleMotion Dance’s collaborative research with dance, music, and neuroscience was performed in May at the United Nations’ AI for Good Global Summit in Geneva, Switzerland. In August, Noblemotion will premiere Stalactites, a new evening of dance, design, and music at the MATCH.
Open Dance Project kicked-off 2024 with ALICE at MATCH and Miller Outdoor Theater and closed the performance season by premiering Red Landscape, in collaboration with Moody Center. ODP will perform in Bayou City Dances at Miller on September 20 and in Butterfly Effect, a collaboration with Houston Contemporary Dance Company, at Asia Society October 18-20. ODP continues its commitment to Houston schools, teachers, and students with “Project Imagine Dance” and to Houston’s professional dance community through ongoing classes at Hunter Dance Center. ODP will also launch the “IMMERSIVE ACCESS INITIATIVE,” providing staff development, community engagement programs, technical resources and training, and accessibility support.
In the first half of 2024, The Pilot Dance Project was invited to perform at the First Annual Mix + MATCH Festival, produced the Fourth Annual Texas Latino/a/x Contemporary Dance Festival at the Deluxe, and produced a new evening-length work by Adam Castaneda and Ashley Horn, Aureate.
Rivkah French Choreography has collaborated throughout the year with Houston Met to facilitate work-in-progress showings, gathering valuable feedback from fellow artists. This fall RFC will launch the Limitless Festival, featuring a diverse lineup of performances and workshops from various organizations, including a RFC premiere, Unbound, a powerful new group piece featuring queer and trans dancers. Get ready to witness a groundbreaking performance that challenges societal norms and celebrates diversity!
In June Silambam Houston presented The Baroque-Carnatic Connection, a cross-cultural music and dance conversation featuring four ensembles spanning Baroque and South Indian classical music and dance. The company was recognized as a ‘Houston Cultural Treasure‘ by BIPOC Arts Network and Fund! Silambam Houston is now on Texas Commission on the Arts’ Texas Touring Roster.
Wild She Dances hosted three Healing Movement classes at The Women’s Home in April and May, providing support in recovery journeys. WSD premiered immersive full-length work, SOM with five shows at Garage 713. The work will also be performed in Austin in late 2024/early 2025. Looking ahead, the company will present a three-part ‘SOM Series,’ teaming up with DJ D-Fi Logic and local visual artists to create an evening of music accompanied by an art gallery and dance performance revolving around the themes of dreams.
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