Mind The Gap XXIX Preview

Dance Source Houston’s (DSH) will present the 29th edition of the Mind The Gap series at Midtown Arts & Theater Center Houston (MATCH) on Tuesday, March 19 at 7:30pm. The evening’s roster includes local choreographers and companies, including Jai Alexander / choreobyjai, Keeley Dunnam Dance, Persi Mey, Sara Draper, Shruthi Mohankumar, and Steps For Dancing. The hour-long program will feature a mix of solo and ensemble Bharatanatyam, contemporary, Kathak, and modern dance works by first-time and returning Mind The Gap dancemakers. Hear more from the choreographers in their own words about what Mind The Gap XXIX has in store for audiences and why they chose to share work on the program. 

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Jai
“Kesha’s lyrics ‘If hating me helps you love yourself, do you worst, baby gimme hell…’ were the foundation and inspiration for fabricating this work. Those lyrics resonated with me and helped generate a section of this work. After that, I decided to compute an additional layer to it by expanding on this concept of hate, therefore, creating “abhor. I applied to Mind The Gap because this is my first time premiering work on stage outside of school and I’ve heard wonderful things about MTG. I also attended a Dance Source Houston workshop where I was encouraged to apply to MTG to help me start putting my work on stage.”

Keeley Dunnam
“Have you ever experienced a disagreement between your head and your heart, or perhaps really unsure about how you feel about a situation/relationship? This contemporary work explores the conversations between the head and the heart when they aren’t in harmony. Towards the end of my last relationship, I had a strong internal struggle because I was in love, but I knew it wasn’t quite right. I started creating this piece to help me process and understand the situation and it unfolded not only into a beautiful work of art but also served as therapy to help me work through this breakup. I have had the pleasure of performing and submitting works to various MTG performances, and the experience is always organized, inclusive, and well-documented. I appreciate the support of Dance Source Houston in my journey as a choreographer.”

Persi Mey
“In my studio time and work process lately I have found myself drawn to thoughts of existence and, more specifically, the balance of life. Death as a means to sustain and create life. I wanted to make a piece that characterized the unabating relationship between the forces of nature that rule the cycle of life, highlighting in this depiction the feeling of vast neverending. I am grateful for DSH creating this opportunity to show works and works-in-progress in a professionally produced evening. I wanted to submit my piece, “Dual Nature,” to solicit feedback, gain a visual understanding of the work as it appears on a stage versus in a studio setting, and gauge the potential for this idea to be expanded.”

Sara Draper
“After a ten-year break from creating fully produced professional works for the stage, I am grateful to have the support of Dance Source Houston’s Mind the Gap as I take my first step back into the choreographic arena. This modern dance/physical theatre work explores navigating a male-female relationship.  I’m so happy to be working with my beautiful dancers on this duet!  Our process is joyful, playful, respectful, experimental and, in many ways, collaborative. One of my artistic interests is exploring ways that performing arts might somehow facilitate healing in relationships between men and women. Because this subject can be so heavy and sensitive, for this first fully produced experiment, I wanted to explore the possibility of approaching the topic with a light touch, perhaps even some whimsy or a bit of humor.”

Shruthi Mohankumar
“The art form of my presentation is Bharatanatyam. What the audience will get to experience is joy and happiness through the song and corresponding movements. I hope to connect the audience to me, with this art as the language. Even for first-timers watching Bharatanatyam, I hope for the audience to feel my pulse and intent. I have heard great things about MTG from friends who have performed in the past. For any artist, it’s a terrific opportunity to perform at one of the premier venues in the city. MTG is a wonderful series that I wish to be a part of and experience.”

Steps For Dancing
“Indian classical dance which is an ancient sacred art form but still relevant and unique in its fusion and collaboration with the modern time and popular among Gen Z & Gen Alpha. Kathak dance is not only a dance form from ancient India which was generally used to tell stories of deities in temples by using music, dance, and expressions. Kathak is more about learning a proper technique of footwork and generating sounds of nature, amalgamation with percussions,  twisting and tapping of feet in a rhythmic cycle, and a sense of oneness with twirls. MTG is now part of our annual project. Being part of the MTG series and working on a new theme for the audiences is giving challenges and new ideas to work and explore. There is so much learning hidden with the organizations like DSH and this series. 

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Join Dance Source Houston for the final Mind The Gap program of the 2023-24 season on Tuesday, March 19 at 7:30pm, either in person at MATCH or via livestream. Ticket sales from each Mind The Gap program are shared between the dancemakers and tickets are available on a sliding scale range at matchouston.org.

About Dance Source Houston

Dance Source Houston is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering the diverse individuals and organizations working in the field of dance throughout the Greater Houston region by means of advocacy, inclusive community engagement and support services. Founded in 2005, Dance Source Houston is a resource for all things dance in the Greater Houston area and provides programs and services to address the evolving needs of the local dance community. Dance Source Houston is funded in part through support from The City of Houston through Houston Arts Alliance, Cullen Trust for the Performing Arts, Heimbinder Family Foundation, Houston Endowment, the National Endowment for the Arts, and Texas Commission on the Arts. www.dancesourcehouston.org

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