Yeah, it’s hot, we know but if you missed the show, no worries, we have DVDs available to purchase on our website!
Featuring: Soreal Cru, Wyld Styl, Planet Funk, HIStory, Ghost Crew, Ill-Ovation, The 8th Edition, Fyasko and Inertia.
Click the link below, you know you want to.
Dance Houston is excited to present Houston’s biggest hip-hop festival, February 28th at the Wortham Center. Featuring some of Houston’s most talented dancers and hometown favorites, Wyld Styl, Ghost Crew, and Planet Funk. Joining the ranks are up-and-comers HIStory, The 8th Edition, ILL-Ovation and Fyasko. Championship high school team Inertia Dance Company round out the festival with impressive skill and artistry. Headliner So Real returns to Houston for this special one-night engagement. After winning 2nd place on America’s Best Dance Crew last summer, the crew has been touring the nation with nonstop performances.
Check out the video and visit our website to purchase tickets. You won’t want to miss this!!!
James Wiseman offers a four part seminar on dance photography on February 28th at the Wortham Theater. Topics include equipment, stage lighting, composition, camera technique, and camera settings. The workshop is a unique opportunity to access and photograph technical rehearsal and the Wortham Center. It is on February 28th from 3-5pm while dancers are rehearsing for our concert, The Edge. Professional and aspiring photographers are encouraged to attend. Registration is $50 and limited to 10 participants. More information at www.dancehouston.org/photo.pdf.
Register now at www.dancehouston.org/photo.htm.
On January 24th we saw “Triple Focus”, a show featuring Revolve Dance Company, Urgeworks, and Uptown Dance Company. It was a nicely balanced show, as each company was given a chance to show its own uniqueness and individual strength. The objective of the show was to present an evening of current contemporary dance by commissioning a new work from each company as well as presenting a work from the groups’ repertoire. There were some experimental choices made by the choreographers but none that went so far as to alienate the enthusiastic crowd. As a whole, the experimentation yielded positive results, giving the audience a nice, fresh program that esacped dance cliché.
Revolve is always a stand out and tonight was no exception. The dancers with stunning technique were all flawless, each one displaying a personal understanding of the material and a sensitivity to the movement. The choreography was inspired and fit each of the dancers very nicely. Matt Dippel really brought both of Revolve’s pieces to life, effortlessly sailing through Amy Cain and Dawn Dippel’s inventive choreography. Revolve had an informal air to their pieces that was very refreshing. There was a particularly strong audience reaction to Urgeworks. What a group! This is not your typical hip hop company. In addition to the spins, popping, locking and the “how did they do that” tricks, both pieces remained focused on the music and stuck to successful choreographic ideas, never losing the sense of artistry. And these guys each stole the show in their own way, with strong performances across the board.
Also of interest, Ray Dones premiered a piece for Uptown with brooding electronic music and undulating, almost serpentine movement that was off-kilter and a little subversive. It was a nice contrast to the lighter themes in other the other pieces on the program. The sometimes tortured movement communicated a sense of uneasiness and uncertainty. The dancers seemed to repel each other like opposing magnets, drifting from one section to the next. And Dones was able to use the lack of movement for maximum effect in this piece as well, escalating the amount of emotional tension.
All around the program was enjoyable and relaxed, with some unexpected surprises and lots of audience satisfaction to offer. There was a very pure sense of the natural love of movement in all three companies which made the evening seem more like a celebration of dance for the audience and dancers alike.
by Nick Nesmith
Chucke’s Choreography, located right here in Houston, will be showcasing their amazing salsa moves on MTVTR3, Mondays at 9pm for a latin version of the popular My Sweet 16 called Quiero Mis Quinces. Chucke’s specializes in providing dance instruction for Quinceaneras and has worked closely with us in several shows. Check em out!
It’s that time of year again, a brand new start, a brand new focus. We, at Dance Houston, hope all of you had a safe and happy holiday season and are as excited as we are about all the amazing, wonderful dance opportunities coming up in 2009.
To better serve you, we have revamped our website by creating an entirely new look and have added many new resources like an improved archive so you can stay in touch with all the awesome events we’ve had in the past, user-friendly search options to locate dance studios and events in the Houston area and tons and tons of beautiful photos of all our amazing dancers and companies!
In other news, we’ve added some beautiful folders to our myspace and facebook sites showcasing some of the wonderful events and dancers we experienced in 2008.
Stay in touch for more updates about our upcoming hip-hop show in February, The Edge!
Andrea recently introduced me to something I’d never seen before: Chinese Acrobat Ballet. Incredibly flexible, lithe, dancers promenade en pointe ON TOP of their partners heads. No strings, cgi or faking. Honestly. It’s unbelievable. But don’t take my word for it.
The fourth day of Kwanzaa 2008 was celebrated today with friends and loved ones this afternoon at Dupree Park. Hosted by Project Row Houses, the neighborhood gathered together in recognition of the values of community, creativity, faith, unity, and responsibility.
The whole community gathered together on this sunny day to spend a leisurely afternoon together in the park. Everywhere you looked, there were smiles and skips and giggles. How lucky we felt to live in a place where we can have a wonderful outdoor celebration in the midst of Winter!
The kids in the park sported elaborate, magical face-paintings ranging from hello kitties to black panthers. The little ones also enjoyed drawing and sewing of African-inspired fashion garments, jewelry making, and above all DANCING!
Ghost Crew made quite a scene when they jumped up on stage to lead the crowd in celebration and artistic expression. Everyone was thrilled with their presence and cheered them on as they performed their latest routines.
Director Pat Garrett invited the littlest ones to join him on stage. Here’s a photo of one of the kids showing off his cool style. Photo by Whirling Hand Photographics.
To learn more about the history and Kwanzaa in houston, read about it at http://www.shape.org/.
Sunday December 21st, 2008 we went to a spectacular private holiday party where the stage and yard were set with beautiful lighting designed by Jeremy Choate and all sorts of other holiday cheer.
Dancers Mario, Jaramillo, Joel Martinez, Chris Gamez CoolCutz in SuckerPunch couture all of dance group Urge Works, Zheng Yifan, Mao Xian Fang [both of Dance of Asia America], Mike Baerga with Jessica Salvato and contortionist Olesya Webb gave some pretty amazing performances!
On this clear, cool night, you could see every star in the sky. Yet the real stars were the dancers.
Photos courtesy of Whirling Hand Photographics.
Great. Just what we needed. Another dance show. (No really, we really did need another dance show.) Here’s the press release:
UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif., November 14, 2008 – NBC will broadcast “Superstars Of Dance” a breathtaking international dance competition led by executive producers Nigel Lythgoe and Simon Fuller, two of the masterminds behind “American Idol” and “So You Think You Can Dance” and hosted by Michael Flatley (“Lord of the Dance”). For broadcast in early 2009, the unique series will pit the masters of various dance genres from eight countries against each other. Equal parts sporting event, rock concert and artistic exhibition, “Superstars Of Dance” is poised to become one the greatest spectacles of dance performance ever seen on television.
The announcement was made by Craig Plestis, Executive Vice President, Alternative Programming, Development and Specials, NBC Entertainment.
“This dance competition is very much like the Olympics,” said Plestis. “The physical feats these athletes and artists pull is mind-blowing, and we’re so excited to form what we hope will be the definitive dance competition to decide which nation has what it takes to be the best of the best in the world. With so much at stake, this is sure to be a roller coaster, and you never know what will happen next. Plus, with Nigel and Simon running the show, it will be done first class all the way.”
“This is the most challenging and exhilarating project I’ve ever done,” said Lythgoe. “Nothing of this magnitude has ever been attempted before on television. We will bring to America different cultural styles of dancers — each performer the best in their genre — and the sheer mosaic of styles and energy is going to be nothing short of awe-inspiring.”
Eight countries will participate in the competition with each team comprised of two soloists, one duo and one larger group. Viewers will get to know the competitors and the coaches through the trials and tribulations, both behind the scenes and on the stage. The stakes are high for these artists, as they are not only representing themselves, but also their dance form and their entire nation.
The eight countries currently scheduled to participate include: Ireland, India, USA, Argentina, China, Russia, South Africa and Australia. The dance styles that will be represented on the show will be announced at a later date.
“Superstars Of Dance” is from 19 Entertainment. Nigel Lythgoe (“American Idol,” “So You Think You Can Dance”) and Simon Fuller (“American Idol,” “So You Think You Can Dance”) are the executive producers.
The show will premiere on January 5th and air through January 26th.
