Behind The Scenes With Mind The Gap 37
Dance Source Houston continues the 2025/26 season with Mind The Gap XXXVII on October 7 at MATCH. The program includes solo and ensemble pieces influenced by a range of dance forms. Learn more about the 6 works that will be presented on the program directly from the artists and get your tickets at matchouston.org/events/2025/mind-gap-xxxvii.
Madeline Isch
“My piece, ‘Jesus at the Gay Bar,’ is about my experience as a queer woman in the south, and takes inspiration from many LGBTQ+ icons like Venus Xtravaganza and Octavia St. Laurent. I arranged the music myself, and it features sound clips from RuPaul, The Last Unicorn (1982), and videos from my high school years when I was discovering my identity as a queer woman. I feel that even though being queer is so joyful and freeing, it can be difficult to come to terms with. This piece represents the turmoil going through my heart as a 15-year-old trying to figure out who I was.
My main goal as an artist is to make people see and feel my authentic self. I want people to experience my complex emotions and thoughts through my movement on the stage. I have things I want to say, but this is the only way I can express that.”
Amanda Monteith
“Parsing out beauty from the severity of its environment seems impossible – separating the good bits of profoundly sad memories and dreams fallen short. ‘The Weak Diagonal’ explores how we cope with endings and come to terms with loving something so much without reciprocation. This work spans the gamut of emotions surrounding loss, change, and coming up short.
I wanted to create this work as a form of my own processing of revisiting the deepest depths of my soul to create the most fully involved work I can. I am immensely interested in accessing complex emotions to create honest and meaningful art. Thus, this work aims to be more than an interesting dance piece; rather, it pushes towards bearing one’s soul. I want audiences to feel the full spectrum of their feelings through this work and find some morsel that really resonates.”
Prerna Shrivathsan
“This piece, ‘Ardhanaarishwara – The Unity,’ honors the sacred union of Lord Shiva, the Lord of Dance, and his consort, Goddess Parvati — a bond that embodies balance, grace, and cosmic harmony. It is a work that lives close to my heart, revealing something new each time I perform it.
My deepest aim as a performer is to share the beauty, soul, and cultural legacy of Bharatanatyam. As an Indian classical dancer, I see it as both a privilege and a responsibility to bring to life the essence of stories from mythology that, though born centuries ago, speak truths still profoundly relevant today. This traditional piece is a tribute to the eternal harmony of masculine and feminine energies, each incomplete without the other. In a world still shadowed by division and prejudice, the deity and consort are portrayed as one pure, unified form — an embodiment of the truth that life’s purpose is fulfilled only in balance and unity.”
Giuliana Velez
“‘Interconnection’, a passion project of two friends turned collaborators, a duet that explores the loss and rediscovery of community. In times of struggle, we often retreat into isolation—pushing away those who care and forgetting the shared humanity that binds us. This was a passion project of 2 friends turned collaborators, and we are excited to share it with you.
As we witness the underappreciation of the arts in Texas and nationally, we find it essential to pour into our communities and remind ourselves art matters. The arts are a reflection of society, and we want to continue to uplift the audience and encourage thought-provoking conversations.”
Isabel Villegas & Soren Rivero
“We were inspired to create this work, ‘Invisible String Theory,’ from experiences with relationships in our lives. In both romantic and platonic relationships, we have seen people come and go, and magically reappear. Relationships often do not follow a linear trajectory, and we become intertwined with the people we come in contact with, whether we know it or not. We wanted to explore the curious nature of the people we can’t let go of and how we end up getting wrapped up in each other’s worlds.
We have felt the fear of letting go and the pain of attachment. We know how much our souls deeply thrive in connection and long for the people we are tied to, thus the need to put these feelings into movement. We want the audience to know that connection is life.”
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