Bellas Danzas

Great dancers aren’t great because of their technique; they are great because of their passion – Martha Graham

Above All House of Dance

You could immediately feel the excitement walking through the front doors of NCI Ripley House. The excitement from the audience could be seen on their faces. The excitement was only intensified as everyone ran every which way in order to make sure the show moved along smoothly. The crowd was diverse. From parents, to students, to dancers, to teachers, everyone had come for a different reason to fulfill the same purpose: Bellas Danzas. Some came because they enjoyed the cultural background of the different dances. Some came because they wanted to show support to their loved one. Others came simply out to explore their curiosity. Regardless of their reasons, each individual was extremely enthusiastic.

The food was served at six along with entertainment including festive dancing and music. As everyone ate, the dancers started to get ready for the doors to open at seven. The line outside the performance hall had already started to grow around six. Everyone was extremely eager to watch the performance.

Andrea Cody and Patrick Walsh

Behind all the excitement of the enthusiastic audience, the dancers were all getting ready for the performance in the dressing rooms: putting on extravagant costumes and running through the performance one last time. All the dancers were busy and full of anticipation. For some, it was their first time dancing. For others, they had been practicing for years. Either way, all the dancers were both excited and nervous, but ready to perform for the audience waiting in the performance hall. Each dancer came from a different background and was performing a different style. While some companies did modern, others did folk. From children around the age of 5 to adults who had years of the cultural experience behind every dance move, each dancer had rehearsed and was ready to perform.

The performances were amazing and the hall was packed full, not a seat was left open. Each dancer and each company presented talent and culture. Every performance was unique with a story to be told through the movements of dance.

a week at dance houston

We just posted a bunch of videos from our city-wide festival.  Check em out at www.youtube.com/dancehouston.  It was such a great show and it’s been exciting to relive the experience!

On that note, Sammie and Fiona mailed out all the DVDs that people ordered from the city-wide festival.  Scott did an awesome job on the shoot and edit, as always, and Rusty designed a slick cover sleeve.  Go team!  Sammie would love to make a special one just for you, so if you want one, order it online at www.dancehouston.org/Shop.htm and he’ll get it.

With a DVD fresh in hand, Andrea showed her little students at Project Row Houses the video of Dominic Walsh Dance Theater’s performance at our city-wide festival.  One of the four-year olds commented they looked like they were ice skating.  Good call, little man!

Monday and Tuesday we organized all our equipment from Bellas Danzas and schlepped it to our storage unit on W. Dallas.  Even for a relatively small show, it still takes a lot of stuff to pull it off!  In fact, the smaller the show, the more of our own equipment and supplies we have to bring.

Best part of Monday was Henry’s cash report from our show.  All in all, we spent $2405 and got back $2442.  We banked $37!  The profit was icing on the cake after the experience of producing a very enjoyable event.  We loved meeting so many new dancers.  Fiona made sure to find them on facebook and send them a friend request.

Big news: Pandora sucks today.  Four thumbs down in a row.  Just saved by “Soul Meets Body”.  It’s kinda about dancing.  Go Death Cab.

Darcy, a Dance Houston board member, came over Monday night for a dance session.  She’s getting a jump on her wedding plans with the most important part–the first dance! 

Tuesday we wrote thank you notes to all the generous contributors for Bellas Danzas.  A million thanks goes to My Fit Foods for donating healthy and delicious dinners for all our 425 guests and 100 dancers.  Sara Lerma and Bolivar Fraga at the Ripley House were absolutely amazing.  They went the extra mile at every turn.  Jesse Sifuentes and Matt Manalo contributed beautiful and interactive art to decorate the event.  And our volunteers Stephanie, Albento, Shenequa and Tonie, deserved our most heartfelt thanks for all of their help.  We would have been hard-pressed to pull off that show without them.

Wednesday night Andrea went to the screening of last Spring’s Dance Salad and met up with Kamran, another board member, and Steve Derry, a longtime supporter.  The piece that stood out the most had a guy act as a girl’s prop for everything from the heel of her shoe to a puff of her cigarette.  Ingenious!

Allie and Andrea had a long planning lunch on Thursday at Brasil to talk about plans for Dance Houston’s Spring.  We hope to get back to Discovery Green for another free outdoor event for the whole family. The two are also brainstorming other top secret ideas that they’re confident will further engage dance audiences and spread the word about the amazing dance community in Houston! Stay tuned for updates on their progress!

Our teachers David and A.D. finished up classes at our residency program at Jackson Middle School.  The 6th graders will perform the hip hop and salsa pieces they learned at a pep rally next week.  David (a.k.a. King David) stopped by yesterday to pick up his final check and chat about his experience at Jackson.  He said it was a lot of fun and a bit of a challenge because the kids had never taken dance classes before.  Good work David and A.D. for teaching the kids their first dance classes–they surely won’t forget you guys!

Andrea could hardly sit still in her seat since she found out that longtime Dance Houston favorite Nick was returning home from a 6-month contract on Royal Caribbean.  He sailed in last night and can’t wait to get back to work and out in the scene.

All week long we tried to think of a name for our hip hop show.  Leading candidates are Vibe and Street Exclusive.

B-boy powerhose Joel Martinez and his crew gave an eye-pooping breakdance performance this morning in Needville.  Back in May, we got a call from the PTA president looking for a reward for students with good behavior.  Dance Houston coordinated this special dance treat.

We’re normally pretty organized, but it took us 4 hours to find our video camera today.  It was right in the closet all along, right behind Coco’s life jacket.  The weird thing is she modeled it for us this morning and we still didn’t see the camera.  Anyway now we’re starting a new project where reporter Erin will go out in the scene and cover what’s going down live on camera.  She’s going behind the scenes to find out what really goes on backstage at concerts, and she’ll be reporting from the house about audiences real reactions to the shows.  Not sure where these videos will end up but when we figure it out we’ll let you know.

So now it’s Friday afternoon and Dance Houston is eating pizza and wrapping up another productive week of everything to do with dance!  We’re excited to be attending Fall Mosiac tonight featuring Revolve, Uptown Dance Center and Ad Deum at Barnevelder.  Merde to the performers tonight and we hope you all have a great weekend!!

Yeah we said eye-pooping.  Nobody reads this thing anyway. 

All week long we tried to think of a name for our hip hop show.  Leading candidates are Vibe and Street Exclusive.

Dancing to Fulfill a Dream

Success by definition indicates achievement. For some, success is followed with fame, fortune, or happiness. Every success story starts with a different goal, with a different purpose, with different intentions. For Zinnijah Guadalup, her story of success is defined by fulfilling personal goals and measuring up to personal standards. For her, success is one’s own. It cannot be defined by the opinions of others or compared to the work of any one else. Success is only achieved through one’s own capability and learning experience. Zinnijah believes that in order to succeed, you must use what talents you have been given and what things you learn through life combined with passion to achieve great things.

Dancing since the age of three, Zinnijah lacks neither motivation nor experience. Her parents, who were both performing artists, gave her exposure into the arts; her mother was a dancer and her father, a musician. Moving to Houston in 2004, Zinnijah performed for Planet Funk, Electric Light Circus at Hobby Theater. Following, Zinnijah was given many more dancing opportunities including dancing with Muumtu Company, a West African dance company.

However Zinnijah had more dreams in mind, since high school when she was given the opportunity to choreograph her cheerleading team. She had a dream to become a famous choreographer and to open her own studio, teaching the community the way of dance. For Zinnijah, dancing is a way to have fun. She says “Do what makes you happy, even if it takes you on a painful road. Sometimes this painful road will let you know yourself on an internal level.” To be different is an experience that one must face to understand oneself. This experience lets you know who you want to be and who you are. Only when you know who you are can you know who you want to be, and this knowledge shall lead you to finding your goals and achieving success. “You can do anything in life as long as you put work into it”, Zinnijah believes.

Zinnijah teaches by this philosophy at McGregor Park and Shah Houston Fitness Center.  With her four sisters: Leora, Hannjah, Liosha, and Iyania, they have started their own dance company, Kucheza Ngoma Dance Company.  They teach many different styles of dance including:  hip hop, modern, Caribbean, house, West African, and tap.  Although these styles might be familiar with other companies, Zinnijah adds a twist, dancing to reggae music.  These dance styles are original to where she came from.  Although different, she finds it to be a way to connect with the community.  She believes that dancing is a way to “take care of your body”, promoting being healthy to the community through dance.

On Saturday, November 14^th,  Kucheza Ngoma Dance Company will be performing an original  Caribbean Folk dance native to Jamaica called Kumina. It is a Jamaican ritual dance choreographed by Zinnijah Guadalup.

Above All House of Dance

“It is the heart afraid of breaking that never learns to dance.”

-  Betty Midler, American Actress and Singer

Dancing can be a determination of expression, an outlet for emotions, a desire for glory.   In expression put together by forms of movement, no matter the style, you can find a message being declared.  Emotions of the dancer, of the work, of the music–all let out.  And glory… it’s the sense of accomplishment to not just the audience, but also in oneself.

You will never see the work behind a dancer’s performance on stage; the weeks and hours full of sweat and blood are never found on the faces of a dancer or the floor of a performance.  As an audience you can only capture the final essence, the beauty that is portrayed by the dancers.  So what is the drive for a dancer?  Agnes De Mille of the American Ballet Theatre would tell you that it “is power, it is glory on earth and it is yours for the taking.”  Do not be mistaken, for the power and glory is not only from the audience, but more from the dancer.  Power and glory that can be found through dancing, as the will to dance, to explore, is strength itself.

Here in Houston, this kind of motivation is embodied in Jessica Galvan, founder of Above All House of Dance.  Upon graduating in 2005, Jessica went back to her own neighborhood in the East End of Houston to establish her own studio and dance company.  The purpose of her company is to serve the community by creating an environment where kids can reach their full potential.

Jessica likes helping kids explore the different styles of dancing.  Although Jessica’s own strength is within the modern style, the studio also offers jazz, ballet and hip hop classes. Her focus is to let students experience and explore the different styles and to grow through art. She believes that as dancers learn to dance, they build character, and for that reason dancing should be taken seriously.  What’s better is that the students love it. And that is her goal. At the studio, Galvan treats each student as her own, giving them the necessary motivation and the required technique.

“I can make a dancer out of anybody,” says Jessica Galvan.  And this she has done.  Shaping and molding dancers, Galvan will be presenting her company at this year’s Latin Dance Festival: Bellas Danzas con funk on Saturday, November 14th.