FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Marlana Doyle, (713) 804-6646 ext 3, marlana@houstoncontemporary.org
HOUSTON CONTEMPORARY DANCE COMPANY Presents RESOLVE
APRIL 12TH, 2025 AT 7PM
RESERVED TICKETS: $25-$50
HOBBY CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS
800 BAGBY STREET, HOUSTON, TX 77002
(713)-804-6646
Houston, TX – On April 12th, 2025 at 7PM, Houston Contemporary Dance Company will present Resolve, at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts for one night only! This concert will feature a world premiere by two powerful leading women choreographers and artists, Natasha Adorlee and Taryn Vander Hoop. We will also include an expansion of the work, Forget Me Not, which premiered in April, 2024 by local choreographer, Andrea Dawn Shelley with Elise Haukenes, Associate Principal Second Violin, Freda Levine Chair with The Phoenix Symphony. Adorlee is a Jacob’s Pillow Choreographic Fellow and a Joffrey
Ballet, Winnings Works Choreographer and Hoop is not only a choreographer and producer but is the co Artistic Director of Summation Dance which is based in NYC and Los Angeles. Her dancers from her company, Summation Dance, will be our Guest Artists for this evening. Don’t miss these amazing leading women artists and creators come together for one night only!
RESOLVE is funded in part by the Houston Arts Alliance through the City of Houston, Texas Commission on the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, Mid America Arts Alliance and Dance Source Houston. We would also like to Thank Bob Boblitt, Bobbie Nau, Shirley and Brian Colona, Remington and Sarah Tonar, Bank of Texas and Amegy Bank, for their support this Season. This event is being performed at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts, sponsored by Houston Area Lexus Dealers and United Airlines.
Read more about the 3 Guest Choreographers below.
Natasha Adorlee, is an Emmy Award-winning choreographer, filmmaker, composer, and educator in San
Francisco, CA. A first-generation Asian American woman, she was the final Artistic Fellow with Amy Sewiert’s Imagery. Natasha began choreographing in 2016 while maintaining an award-winning dance career with Robert Moses’ Kin, ODC/Dance, Kate Weare and Co., and The San Francisco Symphony. After winning over ten international awards for her acclaimed short film “Take Your Time” in 2018, she has been a sought-after filmmaker, choreographer, and composer ever since. After attending SUNY Purchase and graduating from UC Berkeley, Natasha was invited to join ODC/Dance. As a performer, Natasha has danced a vast repertoire of works and contributed original choreography, sound design, and art direction to over 20+ ODC/Dance repertory works. In addition, Natasha has created over 20 original dance-based works- spanning stage, film, and immersive performance mediums. Most recently, she was commissioned to create for Joffrey Ballet’s Winning Works, Kansas City Ballet, BalletX, Ceprodac (Mexico), Kawaguchi Ballet (Japan), Ballare Carmel, Ballet22, and Imagery. In addition to working for dance companies, Natasha has created original work for Pixar Animation Studios, Occulus, National Geographic, and New Yorker Magazine. Natasha founded Concept o4 to create multimedia dance-based experiences advocating for more accessibility to the arts. Awarded an NEA Grant, Jacob’s Pillow Choreographic Fellowship, a two-year residency with Zaccho Dance, and multiple commissions for new works in 2024, Natasha is pursuing a prolific creation period while sharing her deep knowledge of movement and film with the greater community through Dance on Camera workshops. She is also an Artistic Advisor for Ballet22.
Taryn Vander Hoop, is a dancer, choreographer, educator, and producer. She received a B.S. in Dance, English Literature, and Spanish from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a M.F.A. from NYU Tisch School of the Arts in Dance Performance and Choreography. She is the Co-Founder, Executive Director, and Associate Artistic Director of Summation Dance, an NYC/LA based modern dance company, called “full of energy and creativity” by The New York Times. Summation has performed at Baryshnikov Arts Center (BAC), Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), Judson Memorial Church, Jacob’s Pillow, and more, and received commissions from numerous venues and universities across the country. Additionally, Taryn has performed the works of Bill Evans, Andrea Miller/GALLIM Dance, Larry Keigwin/Keigwin + Co, Gus Solomons jr, and Sydney Skybetter/skybetter & associates, among others, and has been involved in projects with Gerald
Casel Dance and Laura Peterson Choreography. Taryn has studied throughout her career at the Dance Education Laboratory (DEL) at the 92nd St Y in New York City and is a DEL Facilitator. With DEL, she has choreographed large-scale Movement Sentence Choirs in collaboration with Sidra Bell, Monica Bill Barnes, Larry Keigwin, Urban Bush Women, Nicole Wolcott, and Yin Yue. Taryn is an E-RYT 500 certified yoga instructor, and has led 200hr certifications in Costa Rica, New York, South Korea, Vietnam, and New Jersey. She wrote her own certification curriculum in 2017 and started Lila Flow Yoga, which is recognized by the Yoga Alliance.
Andrea Dawn Shelley, born in Miami, Florida, received her classical ballet training predominately from
Magdalena Maury and Magda G. Auñon. She studied dance at the University of South Florida under Gretchen Ward Warren and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Dance Education from Florida International University. Andrea began her professional career with Southern Ballet Theatre as a member of the corps de ballet and has since danced as a principal artist with Maximum Dance Company, Miami Contemporary Dance Company, Dominic Walsh Dance Theater, State Street Ballet and iMEE performing throughout Americas and Europe. She is the Co-Founding Director of iMEE Dance Company, est. 2009. As a choreographer, Shelley has created original works commissioned by professional dance companies and festivals such as: iMEE, Ballet Florida, Miami Contemporary Dance Company, Dominic Walsh Dance Theater, State Street Ballet, O Dance, Ad Deum Dance Company, The Dance Gallery Festival / Level UP, palcoscenico danza, METdance, Island Moving Co., the black box INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL THEATRE & DANCE, Festival Ballet Providence, Bellingham Repertory Dance, 16th Annual Mid-Atlantic Choreographic Showcase, Houston Contemporary Dance Company and Vitacca Ballet. Her choreographic works have been presented throughout the United States, Mexico and Europe: including California, Florida, Texas, New York, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Washington, Virginia, Italy, Bulgaria and Mexico City. She has participated in Residencies and created original works for dance programs such as: Sam Houston State University, Salve Regina University, Providence College and Western Kentucky University. As a dance educator, Shelley had the distinguished honor of serving as an annual preliminary panelist for the National YoungArts Foundation, Young Arts program in Choreography, Ballet and Modern for five consecutive years. She has served as Adjunct Ballet Faculty at Salve Regina University in Newport, RI and assumed the roles of Resident Choreographer and Company Director for the University’s junior company. Currently, Ms. Shelley serves as the Resident Artist Program Director and Faculty at Vitacca Vocational School for Dance in Houston, TX and is Ballet Faculty at Institute for Contemporary Dance in Houston, TX. Additionally, Shelley is in her first season with Vitacca Ballet as the company’s Rehearsal Director and in her second season with Houston Contemporary Dance Company as Ballet Mistress and Rehearsal Assistant to the Director.
ABOUT HOUSTON CONTEMPORARY DANCE COMPANY:
Houston Contemporary aims to lead and innovate performing arts in Houston by drawing upon the director’s long tradition of inclusiveness and diversity within all facets of the organization. HCDC sets itself apart by employing high caliber performing and choreographic artists from across the country. In setting high technical and artistic standards, HCDC is currently the only contemporary repertory company to provide Houston audiences with opportunities to view works created by some of America’s most exciting dancemakers that speak to and are representative of the full spectrum of Houston’s diverse populace, while supporting talented Texas based artists as well.
Marlana Doyle, Founding Artistic and Executive Director, is originally from Massachusetts and graduated from Point Park University in 2001 with a BA in Dance. Marlana is the former Artistic Director of Met Dance, where she held various positions for seventeen years. Under her direction, Marlana’s vision and leadership catapulted the company to new levels of excellence and growth while holding tightly to the company’s long tradition of diversity and versatility in its dancers, choreographers, collaborators, and content.Marlana is the President & CEO of the Institute of Contemporary Dance which houses Houston Contemporary professional concert dance company and HC2, a youth training company. Marlana is a member of Dance Source Houston, International Association of Blacks in Dance, Texans in the Arts and Dance USA, spending
2009-2012 as an emerging leader at Dance USA. She was awarded the Dance USA Leadership Mentee Fellowship for the institute of training in 2012 and was a mentor for the same program in 2019. She served for three years as a Dance USA Board of Trustee member and served as the Artistic Director Council Chair. Marlana has also serving on the Performing Arts Houston’s Educational Committee, San Jacinto College Dance Advisory Board and the Leadership Committee for Arts Connect. As a performer, Marlana has danced and generated roles in a range of works by renowned choreographers and artists. Marlana is also a guest teacher and an award-winning choreographer for her many students in Houston and throughout the United States. She has choreographed for the City of Houston, Levi’s and Walmart, Mercury Ensemble, Apollo Chamber Players, Houston Chamber Choir, Houston Symphony, TUTS, Loop38, Kinetic Ensemble, ROCO, University of Houston, Sam Houston State University, Lamar University, RICE University and University of St. Thomas. She lives in Sugar Land, TX with her husband Ben and her two adorable daughters Olivia and Evie.
For more information about Houston Contemporary Dance Company and how to purchase tickets, please see below: Houston City Book Article
Houston Contemporary Promo Video
FOR CALENDAR LISTING:
Who: Houston Contemporary Dance Company
What: RESOLVE
When: April 12th, 2025
Times: 7PM
Where: Hobby Center for the Performing Arts
*Tickets are on sale at: https://www.thehobbycenter.org/events/resolve/
Why: To be an innovative non-profit repertory dance company transforming how Houston experiences dance as an art form that moves, unites, and inspires.
Contact: Marlana Doyle (Founder & Artistic Director) marlana@houstoncontemporary.org
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