Nancy Wozny

Musiqa and Open Dance Project present the world premiere of 'Inside/Out' Musiqa and Open Dance Project have announced the February 13 premiere of two short dance films set to music by Andrew Norman and Hawa Kassé Mady Diabaté.

Jacob's Pillow, home to the longest-running dance festival in the United States, launches a Virtual Festival with eight weeks of free programming, July 7-August 29.

The ninth annual Houston Cinema Arts Festival hosted its Launch Party at Chapman & Kirby in East Village, Ancorian's new mixed-use complex in bustling East Downtown. Houston trendsetters, cinephiles, influencers, and thought leaders gathered together to discuss the exciting lineup for HCAF17, which will take place from November 9 - 13.

In February 2017, longtime friends, theatre artists, and educators Matt Hune and Stephanie Wittels Wachs launched Rec Room Arts, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization committed to the creation and development of new work across artistic disciplines.

Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival brings FLEXN, an electrifying street dance to the Ted Shawn Theatre stage, August 17-20. Created by flex dance pioneer Reggie (Regg Roc) Gray with visionary theatre and opera director Peter Sellars, FLEXN confronts today's complicated social justice issues by combining raw personal perspectives with powerful and provocative movement. In order to contextualize the topics addressed in the performance, the show will open with an onstage panel discussion with artists and community leaders debating the current socio-political climate and its impact on Berkshire County.

France-based Compagnie Herve KOUBI makes a rare U.S. appearance in the highly physical evening-length work, What the Day Owes to the Night (Ce que le jour doit a la nuit), August 3-7 in the Ted Shawn Theatre.

Following the critically acclaimed "reaccession" of pioneering modernist choreographer Ted Shawn at The Museum of Modern Art, and recent performances at Tate Modern Museum as part of "20 Dancers of the 20th Century", Adam H Weinert returns with MONUMENT, an imaginative and dynamic new dance piece exploring legacy and identity. While others seek to turn museums into theatrical spaces, Weinert transforms the proscenium stage into an archive with stunning scenic design by Paul Tate dePoo III and lighting by JAX Messenger . The program includes historic choreography by Ted Shawn, Doris Humphrey and Jose Limon dating back to the early 20th century as well as creative re-imaginings of these events by Weinert and others - effectively transfiguring the site into a living archive, investigating ideas of mediation, memory and space.

The legendary Martha Graham Dance Company (MGDC) will kick off its 90th Anniversary year in a seven-show engagement at Jacob's Pillow's historic Ted Shawn Theatre, August 26-30. Celebrating the company's pioneering past and trail-blazing reputation, MGDC's program features a diverse set of works including Graham's dramatic classic Embattled Garden, the world premiere of AXE by eminent choreographer Mats Ek, the powerful Depak Ine by Nacho Duato, and Echo by Greek choreographer Adonis Foniadakis.

Liz Gerring, the 2015 Jacob's Pillow Dance Award winner and artistic director of Liz Gerring Dance Company, returns to Jacob's Pillow for her company's performances of glacier, August 19-23 in the Doris Duke Theatre. Gerring has garnered praise by dance enthusiasts and critics alike for her abstract choreographic style and keen use of musical and visual elements.

Contemporary ballet company Jessica Lang Dance, led by founder, choreographer, and Artistic Director Jessica Lang, returns to Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival for an extended two-week run of The Wanderer, July 29-August 9 in the Doris Duke Theatre.

Melody Mennite, who portrays Katherina in Houston Ballet's THE TAMING OF THE SHREW, was given the responsibility of bringing emotional content to senseless violence and etching butt kicking into your memory. As you'll see in our discussion, she worked very hard before she delivered.

HOUSTON – On Saturday, January 17, 2015 Houston Ballet's documentary Houston Ballet: Breaking Boundaries will air on KPRC Channel 2 from 7:30 – 9:00 p.m. The 85 minute documentary travels through the rich history of Houston Ballet starting with the city's budding interest in ballet in the 1930s and continues to the present. The film traces the directorships of each of Houston Ballet's five artistic directors since the company's founding in 1955. In the documentary, the voices of many key players, including not only the artistic directors but dancers, board leaders, and dance critics who helped propel Houston Ballet to its current international stature. The documentary had its world premiere at the Houston Cinema Arts Festival in November 2013 with wonderful success and demands for additional showings.

VON USSAR danceworks presents the 5th Annual The Dance Gallery Festival: Texas Experience, featuringoriginal works from emerging and renowned choreographers in the Houston area and around the world this weekend, October 17 and 18, 2014 at 8pm at Sam Houston State University Performing Arts Center, 815 17th Street, Huntsville, TX.

VON USSAR danceworks presents the 5th Annual The Dance Gallery Festival: Texas Experience, featuringoriginal works from emerging and renowned choreographers in the Houston area and around the world on October 17 and 18, 2014 at 8pm at Sam Houston State University Performing Arts Center, 815 17th Street, Huntsville, TX. Tickets are $15 (general admission and are available at www.dancegalleryfestival.com or by phone at 936-294-2339.

From Italy, the innovative dance-theatre group Compagnia TPO travels to Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival to present Bleu!, a wondrous interactive production that will delight children, parents, and the young at heart. Directed by David Venturini and Francesco Gandi, TPO invites audiences to a journey under the sea with this spectacle of light, animation, and movement. Through immersive technology and imaginative set design, Bleu! brings viewers into a mythical world of sea creatures and ancient legends. Audiences of all ages are welcomed onstage to engage with the dancers and the responsive set, or they can choose to sit back and enjoy the adventure. Bleu! is presented in an expanded ten-show engagement in the Doris Duke Theatre from July 2-6, with $10 youth ticket pricing available for all performances.

A bold company with a strong Jacob's Pillow history including five engagements since 2005, Trey McIntyre Project will make its final appearance as a fulltime dance ensemble today, June 25-29 in the Ted Shawn Theatre.

Following a successful opening week of Festival 2013, Dance Theatre of Harlem returns with an all-new program. DTH gave its first professional performance at Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival in 1970; since that date, DTH and the Pillow have enjoyed a longstanding and fruitful artistic relationship. The company, led by Artistic Director Virginia Johnson, performs Donald Byrd's smooth yet power-packed contemporary ballet Contested Space, which features a plethora of solos and duets. past-carry-forward, created for DTH by Tanya Wideman-Davis and Thaddeus Davis, conveys the spirit and significance of the Harlem Renaissance. The cornerstone of this dynamic evening is the late choreographer Ulysses Dove's moving, elegiac ballet Dancing on the Front Porch of Heaven, danced to "Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten" by Arvo Part. The company appears in a special seven-show engagement in the Ted Shawn Theatre at Jacob's Pillow, July 9-13.

From Italy, the innovative dance-theatre group Compagnia TPO travels to Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival to present Bleu!, a wondrous interactive production that will delight children, parents, and the young at heart. Directed by David Venturini and Francesco Gandi, TPO invites audiences to a journey under the sea with this spectacle of light, animation, and movement. Through immersive technology and imaginative set design, Bleu! brings viewers into a mythical world of sea creatures and ancient legends. Audiences of all ages are welcomed onstage to engage with the dancers and the responsive set, or they can choose to sit back and enjoy the adventure. Bleu! is presented in an expanded ten-show engagement in the Doris Duke Theatre from July 2-6, with $10 youth ticket pricing available for all performances.

A bold company with a strong Jacob's Pillow history including five engagements since 2005, Trey McIntyre Project will make its final appearance as a fulltime dance ensemble June 25-29 in the Ted Shawn Theatre. Called "engaging and provocative" by Karen Campbell of The Boston Globe, Trey McIntyre's dances overflow with fresh intelligence, unabashed physicality, and spirit. TMP's Festival 2014 program features The Vinegar Works: Four Dances of Moral Instruction, a new work inspired by the surreal art and writings of Edward Gorey, and the East Coast premiere of Mercury Half-Life, set entirely to the music of legendary rock band Queen.