DANCE

Hope Stone Dance Company under the direction of artistic director Jane Weiner will present the world premiere Village of Waltz on October 23 & 24, 2009, 8:00 p.m. on the Cullen Stage at the Wortham Theater Center Downtown.

Village of Waltz, set to all live music, is an exquisite evening length dance & performance piece, choreographed by Jane Weiner. The piece takes a turn from the linear walk of life, the back and forth and back and forth, and directs the motion into a circular and cyclical pattern. Village of Waltz presents itself into another time and place: Past? Present? Future? It is an examination of time and the cycle of time: a piece that attempts to reconcile the enjoyment of life. It is a look at the circular pattern time takes and it is a study that time has complete contentment in producing itself: time.

The piece is set completely to the live compositions of Peter Jones. Jones's musical creations are based upon his many years of work as pianist, composer, teacher, and performer in the field of modern dance. The music is a blending of innovative rhythms with open and inventive harmonic progressions. Also performing with the company will be guest soprano Ana Trevino-Godfrey, adding her vocal talents while musicians Chris Howard, Terrance Karn and Noel Martin complete the musical ensemble.

Performing on stage are Hope Stone dancers/performers: Bonnie Collins, Roberta Cortes, JoDee Engle, Patrick Ferreri, Spencer Gavin Hering, Christian Holmes, Danny Magner, Lindsey McGill, Joe Modlin, Candace Rattliff, Penny Tschirhart, and Brit Wallis. Also collaborating with Weiner is Bessie award winning lighting designer Roma Flowers and set designer David Graeve.

One vital part of each evening is the offering of 400 free seats to at risk children and youth from local Houston schools and after school programs. Completely underwritten and implicit in the mission of Hope Stone, Inc. is the objective of reaching out to children who don’t often get the opportunity to see or participate in dance and theater. Providing free seats at these performances is one way Hope Stone, Inc. brings the voice of art to low-income youth.

Hope Stone, Inc. is a threefold organization consisting of (1) the choreographic endeavors of Artistic Director Jane Weiner; (2) Hope Stone Dance Company, a dance and theater ensemble; and (3) Kid’s Play, an artistic outreach venue for children and youth at risk. Founded in 1997, this organization strives to join dance/theater in the traditional performance setting, with the teaching of art in the lives of our children today. At present, Hope Stone, Inc. is continuing its development of new dance/theater works along with the outreach projects with local children and youth.

Funded in part through:
Meet The Composer's MetLife Creative Connections program.
National Endowment for the Arts.
Houston Jewish Community Foundation on behalf of anonymous fund managed by HJCF