Houston Dance Company Premieres Works By Internationally Celebrated Artists Andre Silva and Chet Walker
HOUSTON, TX – On Friday September 23rd, 2016, Uptown Dance Company will kick off its 17th Season with “Dance Infusion,” the company’s annual mixed bill that presents diverse choreographic voices from around the world, performed by one of Houston’s premiere contemporary dance companies.
Andre Silva, current principal dancer with Texas Ballet Theater, has created emotionally charged choreography for the company, set to music by John Cage and Nils Frahm. Using articulate contemporary movement influenced by European masters, Mr. Silva’s work Wherever you go, there you are evokes moods of playfulness, aggression, tenderness, and the sublime. Mr. Silva says of his new work: “[It] deals with discovering how to live in the present moment, how to take risks and challenges, and then how to overcome these challenges to arrive at a higher understanding of oneself, and each other.”
The choreographer envisions this work as part of a full-evening creation in the making, to be called “To the Moon and Back.” The eventual trilogy will include Mr. Silva’s Cosmos, created last year for Uptown Dance Company II, and which was performed at the Young Tanzsommer Dance Festival in Austria this summer.
Artistic Director Beth Gulledge-Brown speaks with great enthusiasm for Mr. Silva’s work: “I’m thrilled to be able to present Andre’s beautiful new creation at Dance Infusion this year. His choreography inspires our dancers and challenges them to explore their full movement potential in exciting new ways. With Andre’s work, there is always an emotional idea that initiates a movement.”
Mr. Silva has performed as a member of Texas Ballet Theater, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montreal, and Ballet Augsburg. He was the first recipient of the Booz Hamilton International “Rising Star Award” for excellence in dance, and was a Silver Medalist at the International Ballet Competition in Shanghai, China.
Taking the audience to a completely different movement genre, Artistic Director Beth Gulledge-Brown presents her newest work, Redirect. Using music from Maurice Ravel’s String Quartet, Ms. Gulledge-Brown’s work explores the idea of finding unexpected ways around obstacles, be they figurative, literal, or artistic blocks in life. The company shines in Ms. Gulledge-Brown’s signature style, which features intricate partnering and highlights the dancers’ strength and technique.
Rounding out the evening, Tony-Award-Winning Chet Walker returns to Uptown Dance Company for his third creation on the company. Mr. Walker is the creator of FOSSE the musical, and choreographer of Broadway classics such as Pippin, Annie Get Your Gun, Chicago, A Chorus Line, and many more. Always an audience favorite, Mr. Walker infuses his jazz based choreography with detailed musicality, and requires his dancers to perform with a distinct theatrical style.
One hour before the main show, the pre-professional Uptown Dance Company II will perform its own show. Highlights include a new work by Chet Walker created for the youth company, the American premiere of Ms. Gulledge-Brown’s Tapestry set to selections from Mozart’s Requiem, and the “Grand Pas Classique Hongroise” from the third act of Marius Petipa’s ballet Raymonda.
Uptown Dance Company was originally founded in 1999 by Beth Gulledge-Brown. Ms. Gulledge-Brown understood the need to supplement her students’ training with performance skills and founded the company to provide a performing outlet for her advanced students. Uptown Dance Company has since grown and now comprises of eight professional dancers from around the world. Ms. Gulledge-Brown’s students continue to perform as the pre-professional company, Uptown Dance Company II.
FACT SHEET:
CONTACT:
Beth Gulledge-Brown
713-686-0334
info@uptowndance.org
WHAT: UPTOWN DANCE COMPANY PRESENTS DANCE INFUSION 2016
WHEN: Friday, September 23, 2016, and Saturday, September 24, 2016
7:00pm – Pre-Professional Show
8:00pm – Professional Show
WHERE: MATCH (Midtown Arts & Theater Center Houston)
3400 Main St, Houston, TX 77002
TICKETS: $30 General admission / $25 Senior/ $15 Student w/College I.D.
https://matchouston.org/events/dance-infusion-2016
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