Adam Castañeda is a dancer and arts administrator in Houston, Texas. He is the Executive and Artistic Director of the Pilot Dance Project, a non-profit arts organization with the mission to empower and transform communities through innovative dance, theater, and visual art. With his company he has performed in evening-length works by Ashley Horn, jhon r. stronks, Jennifer Mabus, Jaime Walne-Fruge, and Heather VonReichbauer. When not with the Pilot Dance Project, he
enjoys performing with Suchu Dance/Jennifer Wood.
A few weeks ago I wrote about the work of Elisa De La Rosa, and considered her Tortillas y Lagrimas in the context of a few questions that I’ve been asking myself recently, particularly, what is the focus of a life in dance? I would also extend this conversation to, what makes a successful dance […]
METdance has attracted a string of high-profile choreographers over the past decade, in large part to the diligent efforts of Artistic Director Marlana Doyle to broaden the scope of the company, but on April 13 and 14, she unveiled a program dedicated to dance rooted in Texas. METdance was joined by Bruce Wood Dance of […]
For Rathna Kumar, there is no comparison between classical forms and contemporary pop culture trends. “There is an eternal quality about the classical dances,” says Kumar. “They are always beautiful. They are ever-changing, and always evolving because nothing is ever static. But the changes don’t take away from what it truly is.” Kumar is a […]
Next weekend, February 15 – 17, at the Midtown Arts and Theater Center Houston (MATCH), Core Dance brings two compelling works to the city, including the stunning Two Room Apartment by Israeli powerhouse duo Niv Sheinfeld and Oren Laor. The company’s continued contributions to the Houston community are not only affectionately appreciated, but essential. Core […]
For a working dance artist, every show is a milestone. For a choreographer, every produced piece is a victory. And for or a director of a dance company, each conquered season is a blessing. But what does it mean to notch twenty years of consistent quality production? Few ever get the opportunity to answer this […]
The imagery of Jessica Lang’s The Calling is simple, yet, arresting. A single dancer moves in the center a giant cream dress that expands into the reaches of the solitary spotlight. As the dancer spirals and reaches out into the expanse of space beyond the light, the dress contracts and then breaths out again, […]
Memory is a tricky thing to grapple with. While memory is key to understanding the past, it’s not infallible and without suspicion. If no two memories recreate a single event in the exact same way, then how is the accuracy of memory measured? Or does accuracy even matter when so much of this human time […]
Lynn Lane is a man of many talents, but since returning to his hometown, he has primarily made a name for himself as a photographer of dance, theater, and opera. But his work in New York City, during his almost 2 decades in residence there included film, experimental music, and furniture design. After a series of invitation-only […]
by Adam Castaneda Houston’s dance community has seen many notable shifts in the past two years, with presenting organizations changing the methodologies in which work is programmed and seasons are created. But for artistic director Nancy Henderek, there is continued relevance in the signature format of her Dance Salad Festival, presented by the Houston International […]
by Adam Castaneda This year’s Valentine’s mayhem was marked by a number of love-themed dance concerts by several companies, including CORE Performance Company, METdance, VauLt, and Houston City Dance. The trend is not surprising. Love means many things to many people, and the physicality of dance certainly has a lot to say on matter. One […]
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