Nicolay Dance Works Presents Timeline

Nicolay Dance Works is a new company with deep roots in the Houston dance community.  Artistic Director Dana Nicolay first came to Houston in 1978 as an apprentice to the Houston Ballet under Ben Stevenson.  He went on to become a member of Space/ Dance/ Theater with Jim Clouser and then to Winnipeg, Canada where he toured internationally with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet under the direction of Arnold Spohr, and across Canada with Contemporary Dancers Canada directed by Bill Evans and Tedd Robinson.  He has since been an integral member of the thriving dance department at Sam Houston State University.  During the 90’s his repertory company the Raven Dance Project, performed frequently in Houston, around the state and across the region.

With this performance, entitled Timeline, Nicolay reintroduces himself to the Houston dance scene with works from across his 30-year choreographic career.  Award winning works such as Vivaldi Trois, the 2013 Houston Fringe Festival Critics Choice award winner, punctuate the evening.  Cynthia Thomas of the Houston Chronicle praised Vivaldi Trois when she saw the piece in the early 90’s, saying, “The choreography followed the music comically and relentlessly, responding to every note with a shake of the head or hips, or with the fluttering of hands.  In its humor and musicality it was reminiscent of work by wonder boy Mark Morris…”

Other award-winning and critically acclaimed works on the program include:

– Anthem and Into Darkness both group works to music by neo-minimalist composer John Adams; and three duets,

– Sakura a duet to a Japanese melody performed on flute and harp by Jean Pierre Rampal and Lilly Laskine;

– Chiaroscuro a pas de deux performed to the second movement of Ravel’s String Quartet in F; and

– Estrangement another duet performed to the music of Giovanni Battista Pergolesi.

Two other group works that will be new to Houston audiences round out the program.

– Alone, Again, Anew performed to the songs of Glen Hansard, and

– Chaordinum to a piece entitled ‘Chain to the Rhythm’ again by Adams

An enduring theme that runs through all of Nicolay’s work is the idea that human life is rich and deep and poignant.  He strives to comment on our collective situation in ways that present a crystallization of meaning that will resonate with a broad audience. Each dance on this program holds within it a kernel that strikes home.  With its range of choreographic themes and musical styles, Timeline will take the audience on a journey of imagery and emotion that will illuminate some of the hidden, and not so hidden, corners of what it means to be human.

Company members Miranda Colley, Kaylee DeMetrotion, Allie Dorsey, Tim Holecek, Alyssa Morales, Cody Miley, Adorina Nguyen, Dat Nguyen, and Carina Torres breath life and imagination into each of the works on the program.  Technical Director/ Lighting Designer Tawnya Kannarr provides a firm hand on the tiller and guides the performance seamlessly from beginning to end.

Performances are February 28 and March 1, 2014 at 8:00 PM at The Barn, 2201 Preston Street two blocks east of Minute Maid Park in Houston.  Tickets are $15 general admission, $10 advance purchase and $5 for DanceSourceHouston members.  They can be purchased by calling (936) 581-3657, or online at nicolaydanceworks.com.