Groundwork Grantee Spotlight – August 2025
As summer fades, the 2025 Groundwork Grantees is gearing up for a new season of performance, education, and community engagement. Learn more about what some of our grantees have been up to and what’s coming up next!
6 Degrees
6 Degrees/Choreographer Toni Leago Valle, Composer George Heathco, and Singer-Composer Misha Penton will premiere Testimony at the Midtown Arts Theatre Center Houston (MATCH) on September 25-28, 2025. Testimony is an artistic response to the protests and vandalism surrounding the sculpture “Witness” by Pakistani-American artist Shahzia Sikander. Testimony is an aerial/contemporary dance performance and art installation featuring an innovative music score. The work celebrates the intention behind Shahzia Sikander’s sculpture “Witness” to honor the strength and resilience of women in a patriarchal society and affirm the importance of feminism and bodily autonomy.
Bay Area Houston Ballet & Theatre
Bay Area Houston Ballet & Theatre is proud to announce its landmark 50th season, a celebration of five decades of dedication to the transformative power of the performing arts. Since 1975, BAHBT has inspired generations through world-class performances, educational outreach, and unwavering community engagement. This golden anniversary season is more than a milestone—it’s a tribute to the spirit of the Clear Lake/Bay Area community and a bold step into the future.
Season Highlights:
*Inaugural Tutu Fun Run – June 14 · David Braun Park, Nassau Bay
*Season Kick-Off Celebration – NASA Rocket Park
*Swan Lake – October 10–12 · UHCL Bayou Theater
*Sugar Plum Fairy Gala – November 22 · South Shore Harbour Resort
*The Nutcracker – December 5–21 · UHCL Bayou Theater
*50th Anniversary Celebration – January 31, 2026 · Lone Star Flight Museum
*Golden Hour: The Best of BAHBT · Lynette Mason Gregg Black Box
*Oklahoma! The Musical – April 24–May 3 · UHCL Bayou Theater
BAHBT launched the Golden Circle campaign, a grassroots fundraising effort to engage 1,000 individuals in giving. Visit bahbt.org for season details, ticket sales, and event information.
Group Acorde
This summer, Group Acorde will premeire “A cave in the moon” in a first-time collaboration with interdisciplinary artist Jasmine Hearn. Created and presented at Houston Met Dance, this new work has its entire set built with recyclable materials by Allison Miller and an original sound score by Thomas Helton. A dance to remember and imagine, A “cave in the moon” is a duet that travels time with choreography by Jasmine Hearn that melds ballet, improvisation, and dances of the familiar to bridge personal herstories between sistering sirens. The company has been working with Jasmine and is excited to premiere this new work on August 29th at the Houston Met Dance studios!
ISHIDA Dance Company
In June, ISHIDA premiered “inside my walls” which received positive reviews and audience feedback and sold out in Houston. ISHIDA continues to gain momentum.
Paper City Article / Broadway World Review
Karen Stokes Dance
KSD welcomes Ben Morris to the artistic team of the upcoming evening-length project “4 Corners.” Ben Morris is a composer and jazz pianist whose music tells unconventional stories and crosses genre boundaries. His projects include chamber and large ensemble works, operas, and music for dance, theater, film, and multimedia. He recently lived in Oslo on a Fulbright Grant and received an American-Scandinavian Foundation Grant to study the influence of folk music on Norwegian jazz. His music has garnered two Downbeat Awards, two ASCAP Herb Alpert Awards, and a Morton Gould Award, a commission from New York Youth Symphony’s First Music, and an invitation to perform at the Newport Jazz Festival. A versatile film, theater, and opera composer, Ben scored the documentary films American River, which premiered at Montclair Film Festival, and Saving the Great Swamp. For further information on Ben visit benmorrismusic.com/.
Mezclada Dance Company
“Mind, Body, & Soul” is a new evening-length dance work presented by Joel Aguilera and Mezclada on August 28, 29, & 30, 2025, at Midtown Arts & Theater Center Houston (MATCH). This three-act dance concert uses breakdancing’s newest Olympic criteria, “Mind, Body, & Soul” as a framework for multi-styled choreography following breakdancing’s debut in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. Learn more at mezcladadancecompany.org.
Nia’s Daughters Movement Collective
Nia’s Daughters Movement Collective has continued to grow and blossom in 2025. The company is especially proud of producing its inaugural “The Official Juneteenth Return” in Galveston, TX, commemorating the 160th anniversary of Juneteenth with over 400 attendees from across the nation.
This year, Nia’s Daughters deepened its interdisciplinary work—premiering new choreography as part of a double-feature exhibition curated by founder, Stacey Allen, at the Community Artists’ Collective during Black Mama Creative Week. NDMC also commissioned a new original song, “Wrapped Tight” by Sha Davis, now available on all major streaming platforms with an accompanying music video.
Arts education programming has expanded significantly, with residencies and performances in Aldine ISD, Houston ISD, and Harris County Youth Village. Allen also celebrated the release of her children’s book, “D is for Dance: Dancing Through the Diaspora,” now available in independent bookstores and online.
NobleMotion Dance
NobleMotion recently held its annual Summer Dance Intensive and presented its second company, NobleMotion 2, in their end of the season performance, KIN at MATCH. In July, Andy and Dionne traveled to Lucca, Italy to teach at Dance Italia. NobleMotion is gearing up to present Pressure Point in August at MATCH and a shared evening with Musiqa at Miller Outdoor in September. In January, NMD and Musiqa will present Free Rein (the third phase of their dance, music, neuroscience research) for the Discovery Series at The Hobby Center and for the public at MATCH. Additionally, NobleMotion Dance has just named Steven Bogard as their new Board President!
Open Dance Project
ODP continues its 10-year celebration with fan-favorite immersive productions DADA GERT (November 7-22) & “”Bonnie & Clyde”” (May 1-9) @ MATCH. The 25-26 season includes the world premiere of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, featuring aerial silks, puppetry & an original score, January 30-February 8 @ MATCH for all ages. ODP joins The Hobby Center’s Discovery Series, an educational program providing free arts experiences to 5th graders, to present The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Sep 24-26 @ Sarofim Hall.
This Fall, ODP is bringing in AXIS Dance Company, one of the nation’s most acclaimed ensembles of disabled & non-disabled performers, for a teacher training focusing on inclusive teaching methods, language & strategies to make dance accessible to all bodies. ODP will continue providing community engagement events, open rehearsals, adaptive dance theater workshops & on-demand accessibility services surrounding their 25-26 season.
ODP continues its commitment to supporting schools, teachers & students through “Project Imagine Dance,” with more than 380 ODP artist hours in 8 HISD schools in the 25-26 school year.
This season, ODP is proud to announce the inauguration of 4 full-time salaried artist positions, a strategic move towards equitable incomes for artists & increased programming capacity for ODP.
Social Movement Contemporary Dance Theater
This summer, SMCDT participated in Pride Houston alongside Congressman Al Green and performed at Super Saturday: Experience Taiwan and Miss Black Houston Pageant. Social Movement will present Dance Hunger Action Festival on September 5 & 6, featuring performances, classes, and opportunities to volunteer with the Houston Food Bank.
This season, SMCDT welcomed new dancers from New York, Tennessee, Florida, Colorado, and Houston, bringing fresh perspectives and expanding the company’s national reach. In addition, SMCDT is excited about Company Manager, Jermey Edmonson.
Learn more at socialmovementdance.com.
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