Chapman Dance Presents SANCTUARY

Chapman Dance  

PRESS RELEASE 

For Immediate Release 

Teresa Chapman 

Artistic Director of Chapman Dance – Houston 

Teresalynnchapman123@gmail.com 

www.chapmandance.com 

(713) 297-1529 

CHAPMAN DANCE PRESENTS SANCTUARY 

Houston, Texas October 22-24, 2021 Chapman Dance presents an evening of contemporary  dance featuring repertory works and premieres at the Midtown Arts Theater Center Houston  on Friday, October 22, 2021 and Saturday, October 23, 2021 at 8pm and Sunday, October 24^,  2021 at 2pm.  

After spending a year in isolation due to the pandemic, Artistic Director Teresa Chapman  gathers an exceptional group of dancers to return to the studio for an artistic endeavor spanning a decade of Chapman’s creations. Sanctuary is a collection of dances that celebrate  the complexities of human interactions. 

The Covid pandemic has resulted in an overarching feeling of isolation. After dancing for over  40 years in a studio training, teaching, and creating with others, Chapman states “I never  realized just how spiritual the dance studio is for me. When Covid put us all into quarantine, I  no longer had the opportunity to dance with others, feel their energy, and experience a true  sense of ‘Flow’ in the creative process. I felt like part of me was missing. Now that I am back in  the studio, my Sanctuary, I feel like myself again.”  

At its very essence, dance is a communal art form. To continue creating in 2020, Chapman  began working with individual company members on dance for camera projects. Sanctuary includes three short dance films shot on site at various locations around Houston. The evening  also includes repertory such as “Exquisite Corpse (2012), “Stop Copying Me” (2018) first  performed at the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, and “Don’t Touch My Planet” (2020)  presented at Kaplin Theater just before the Covid lockdown. New works include “Momento  Mori” danced to an original score composed by George Heathco, and “The Tom Waits Trilogy.”  Joining the company of dancers this year are Brittany Bass, Jessica Figeuroa, Somya Gupta, Lianette Madrazo, and Davis Stumburg Returning members of the cast include seasoned  professionals Roberta Cortes, Kristen Frankiewicz, Lindsey McGill, and Brit Wallis. “I enjoy  working with dancers who add their own artistic flavor to the work” says Chapman. “They are  all exceptional performers and I feel incredibly blessed to work with them.” 

“Exquisite Corpse” was created in 2012 for an evening-length performance in collaboration with  renowned visual artist Lucinda Cobley. “Exquisite Corpse” is veiled in delicately painted panels  of silk that alter the performance space to conceal, reveal, and confine dancers as they move  between sections. The dance builds upon emotional states of being, such as isolation and discomfort and ends with an ecstatic explosion of movement. 

“Stop Copying Me” is a trio filled with charming awkwardness and tender moments of  partnering inspired by visual artist Cary Liebowitz Museum Show exhibit at the Contemporary  Arts Museum Houston. “It does feel strange, being in someone else’s space again,” says  Chapman. Every dance has been modified to respect the individual feelings of the dancers in  response to Covid and everyone is wearing masks.  

“Tom Waits Trilogy” includes three short dance vignettes that range in intensity. In the new  duet “Is it Him or Me?” there’s a feeling of being caged, no doubt a response to the frustration  of feeling confined to small spaces for over a year. Loneliness laced with small sparks of hope  best describes the solo excerpt from Balance (2016) titled “Laughing Heart” performed by Brit  Wallis. A sense of longing lies beneath the surface of “Real Gone,” the trio that rounds out this  trilogy. 

In “Momento Mori,” Chapman takes on the challenge of meditative movement. There is a  hyper-physical approach to Chapman’s movement that underpins much of her choreography.  For “Momento Mori,” Chapman commissioned George Heathco to create an original score  about transformation. In this extraordinary piece of music, there is a delicacy layered with a  relentless drive to survive that Chapman seeks to mirror in the choreography. Ashley Horn Knott’s costume design creates pools of color that spill onto the stage simultaneously  separating and connecting the dancers as they dance in Butoh-esque fashion with movement  that defies interpretation.  

The evening closes with the fast-pace and playful “Don’t Touch My Planet” (2020), a work that  Chapman considers a “signature” dance. “This is where I find my true self, in the sanctuary of a  dance studio and in my choreography on the stage,” Chapman confesses.  

Proof of vaccination may be required. Chapman Dance respectfully asks that all audience  members wear masks for the entire performance and leave at least one seat in between  attending groups. 

This project is funded in part by the City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance and the  University of Houston Small Grants Program.

Chapman Dance presents Sanctuary at the Midtown Arts Theater Center Houston, 3400 Main  Street, Houston TX 77002. 

Friday, October 22, 2021 at 8pm 

Saturday, October 23, 2021 at 8pm  

Sunday, October 24^, 2021 at 2pm 

For tickets, go to https://matchouston.org/events/2021/sanctuary or call 713-521-4533. General admission: $20 

Student admission: $10 

Kids under 10 get in free on Sunday, October 24, 2021. 

For more information, please visit www.chapmandance.com 

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