Today@Sam Article
Dance Gallery Texas To Set Stage For Nation
Sept. 22, 2015
SHSU Media Contact: Romney Thomas
The international dance community will congregate on the Sam Houston State University campus for the sixth annual Dance Gallery Festival: Texas Experience, Oct. 2-3, in the Gaertner Performing Arts Center.
The Dance Gallery Festival, produced and curated by von Ussar danceworks, in conjunction with the SHSU Department of Dance, features original works from 10 dynamic choreographers from across the nation.
Performances will begin at 8 p.m. each day, in the GPAC Dance Theater.
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| Companies scheduled for this year's Dance Gallery Festival, scheduled Oct. 2-3 in the Gaertner Performing Arts Center, include (from top) California's Kevin James (photo by Keith Sutter), New York's Manuel Vignoulle (photo by Nicolas Pirata) and Houston's MET Dance (photo by Ben Doyle). |
The Texas venue of the festival creates a valuable exchange between the students at the university and the artists who participate, according to Dionne Noble, assistant professor of dance.
“What we offer the artists who come to the Dance Gallery Festival in terms of production capability and our beautiful facilities at Sam Houston is really incredible,” Noble said. “In return, the students in the department have the opportunity to learn from and network with these artists. We have many alumni who have secured jobs for themselves as a result of these connections.”
This year, the choreographers and companies featured in the Texas festival were narrowed down from 189 applicants and include: CB+ by El Human Anim, from New York; Dark Circles Contemporary Dance, from Dallas; James Morrow, from Massachusetts; Keith Johnson, from California; Kevin James, from California; Manuel Vignoulle, from New York; MET Dance, from Houston; project agora, from California; Robert J. Priore, from Washington, D.C.; and Shaun Boyle, from California.
In addition to classes and performances, a juried panel of faculty and area artists selected choreographer Bliss Kohlmyer to conduct a two-week guest residency at SHSU. Kohlmyer previously toured with the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company in New York.
During the residency, Kohlmyer will choreograph a new work for SHSU’s upper-level students, which will be performed at their fall concert, and will teach technique and choreography classes.
The Dance Gallery Festival was created in 2007 to address the scarcity of suitable and affordable performance venues in the modern dance community, and the festival showcases the works of both established and emerging choreographers in a state-of-the-art theatre. In 2011, Andy Noble, SHSU associate professor of dance, became the festival’s associate artistic director.
Tickets are $15 and are available by phone at 936.294.2339.
For more information, visit dancegalleryfestival.com.
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