A Mix Tape of Next Generation Dance Artists

BOOT’s Break-In Dance Fest Showcases Young Choreographers from Texas

Midtown Arts and Theater Center Houston (MATCH), Matchbox 2
August 6-7, 2026

I recently interviewed Meg Booth, President and CEO of Performing Arts Houston, for an article and she referred to an evening shared by different performing artists as a mix tape. I immediately wished I’d come up with the metaphor. 

It’s why I love festivals or programs like Dance Source Houston’s Mind the Gap evenings. They’re mixes of different “tunes,” so to speak, from choreographers currently working in the Houston area. In the case of BOOT (Building Opportunities for Outstanding Texas Dancers) Dance Project’s Break-In Dance Fest, we got to hear from artists across the Lone Star State (even if most were still concentrated around Houston.) 

Part of the format for the evening was to have the choreographers step out and introduce their piece. Some of the information repeated what was already in the printed program, some let us in on the personality of the choreographer in a way that, at least for me, colored how I watched the dance that followed. I have mixed feelings about this sort of thing, but I think for some it is helpful. More about that at the end. 

Here’s a bit about the nine pieces presented. 

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Photo by Allison Canales – Two Twenty Two Media.

Luna
Loam Dance Company, Dallas 
Choreographers: Faith Magee, Hanah Staton

An easy, flowing dance opened the program. The two dancers dressed in loose blue jeans and white blouses and performed their water-based movements, at times undulating softly, other times, pushing and pulling with the strength of tides. The movers and music found enough dynamics in their theme to keep it all interesting, shifting into soft surprises just when you thought it was settling into monotony. 

Oasis
Dallas/NYC
Choreographer: Alec Marianek 

A thin, rectangular “rug” of green turf took center stage and Marianek’s cast of dancers, throughout the choreography are in relationship with it. Whether the dancers are on the green or feet away from it, the grass green on the black floor can’t help but take focus and present a magnetic focus for them to return to again and again. There are moments of simple occupation of the green space, or active sharing of it, occasionally seeming disregard for it, but to my delight, I never sensed any competition for it. This played out in the movement vocabulary as well. There was plenty of what I would call vigorous or even forceful activity on the stage, but nothing that I interpreted as violence. This was refreshing as having a limited, demarcated space like that would lead one to that expectation. Equally satisfying was the ending where the dancers end up sprawled on the stage, resting, not all fitting in the green rectangle, but all accessing it, peacefully. 

Alberio
Houston/Sam Houston State University
Choreographers: Macy Watts, Emersyn Hansen 

The program notes on this one uses astronomy terms. “ . . . stars . . . gravitating . . . orbiting . . . “ as well as such human terms as “intimate connection.” In job as “writer in the dark,” I wrote very little during this piece, which means I was deeply engaged. Three words that are legible in my notebook are: Care. Protection. Strong. I apologize for not having more to report on this piece, but those three words make me wish to see it again. 

Photo by Allison Canales – Two Twenty Two Media.

Calibur
Houston
Choreographer: Dillon Bell

The title is a play on the Arthurian sword, Excalibur, but I think the dance could be watched without that knowledge. The lights come up on the cast of three dancers in a circle, all facing outward, hands clasped, straining forward. The dynamics of the dance shift from tension like this to exhaustion, to high energy movement, a confusion of collaboration and competition. The opening image repeats but two collapse, leaving one standing, presumably the winner, but also appearing worn out, possibly unable to enjoy being the last one standing. 

Unlearned 
Houston
Choreographer: Karina González

While most of the choreography in the program was firmly in the contemporary/modern camp, this piece was definitely using ballet vocabulary. This makes sense since the choreographer is a major player in the Houston Ballet. This pas de deux is a romantic story of two lovers, asserting individual identities while learning to be together. For those who find the ballet vocabulary a secure anchor for their dance viewing, this was the perfect end to the first act. 

Weathering
Austin
Choreographer: Drew Phipps

Of all the dances, this was the most visually distinctive in that the dancers had costumes that were clearly not (carefully chosen) street clothes. The quartet of dancers were in dark grey pants, lighter grey tops, with yet another shade of grey stylize poncho piece that was cut short and at an angle. On the arms were lighter yet shades of grey sleeves that we soon learned could be removed and discarded. It was a lyrical, emotional piece. The sleeves and the ponchos were slowly removed and gathered throughout the piece. Even if we weren’t told before it began that it was a meditation on aging, we would have seen that it was a rumination on letting go, reclaiming, and considering what we carry. 

Photo by Allison Canales – Two Twenty Two Media.

Mascululs
Spaces of Fontana, Austin
Choreographer: Evelyn Joy Hoelscher

Choreographed by a mother of boys and danced by two men, this piece explores the nature of masculinity in a world that questions and dictates so much about manhood. Riffing on a poem, “Dangerous Men” by Lucas Jones, we watch two men navigate discomfort with contact that is more tender than rough-housing. It was a cishet male duet, which is difficult in a world where dancing men are too often assumed to be queer-coded, but the queer coding is threaded throughout the subtext, the fear of male-to-male tenderness. Such simple gestures as hands on shoulders and full body spasms away from such attention spoke loudly. As a queer writer/dance viewer, I brought my own histories to the piece so it’s difficult to write about after only one viewing but I deeply appreciated the attempt here. I recognized the layers and struggles of the piece. 

Apply Pressure and Wait
Houston
Choreographers: Jen Passios, Jacob Regan

This duet, a piece the choreographers first made for themselves and now transferred to another pair, played with many dynamics as the title might suggest. There is tension and stillness, but also quite energetic movements and runs. The relationship between the two dancers was unclear to me at first, as by the end there had developed distinct roles. One wanted to go, the other wanted the first to stop. There was partnering of lifts and drops, runs that ended in the still, immovable body of the second, one pressing forward, one holding back, pulsing with the lights into darkness. 

DPRTRE7
Houston
Choreographer: Jessie Ferguson

The closing piece (pronounced “departure 7”) takes place in an airport terminal, starting at what appears to be the check-in desk. It is the most organized moment in the dance. The energy and chaos of an airport is part of the piece and humor plays it part, but so does the anxiety and tension. Luggage is dropped and lost and picked up. There are farewells and hellos. Amid the wildness, there are quiet moments that easily get lost in this place that is by nature made of transitions. 

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Overall, it was a strong evening of dance, a lot of new names and faces for me. Being a festival of Texas choreographers, I couldn’t help but notice that these were mostly of a certain age and none of the Texas choreographers that I’m familiar with, but I’ve noticed other dance festivals having a certain circle of choreographers participating. It’s a shame and, I suppose, somewhat inevitable. But as an introduction to a new generation of choreographers, this was a great showcase. 

It’s hard to write in the dark inconspicuously. Most of the time, I’m politely ignored, but sometimes it generates comments, also polite. This evening, someone sitting next to me asked about it, getting that I was obviously there to write a review. After the performance, I decide to ask her a question. “Are you here to see someone in particular or are you a regular dance-goer?” Turns out she was new to professional dance. She said she had never seen anything other than small children’s recitals and was surprised by what she saw. She said she hadn’t realized it could be so emotional, particularly citing Weathering. She found the device of removing pieces of clothing and then regathering them to be evocative of many emotions. I appreciated and was moved by her response to the evening. 

I couldn’t help but wonder if the introductions to the pieces helped someone like her, experiencing dance like this for the first time. I find people often don’t know how to find their way into contemporary dance, but this person did. I was glad I asked.