DANCE

Uptown Dance Company and Uptown Dance Company II present their fall concert, Dance Infusion, on Sunday, October 10, 2010, at 3:00 p.m., at the I. W. Marks Theater Center - Kaplan Theatre. Under the direction of Beth Gulledge-Brown, Dance Infusion is a contemporary and classical ballet, jazz, and modern infused dance concert with works by Gulledge-Brown, Adrian Ciobanu, Alex Pandiscio, and Chet Walker.

Artistic Director Gulledge-Brown premieres Voices, a contemporary work of different styles of jazz mixed with sharp angles of the body. Voices depicts a relaxed, fun atmosphere, where each individual dancer creatively displays their inner voice. Gulledge-Brown reprises Batuki, a quintet clothed in traditional African costumes made of batik fabric, featuring a combination of low floor work, fast foot work, and classical modern shapes. Gulledge-Brown also premiers a new ballet displaying the training progression of the classical ballet repertoire, featuring young students from Uptown Dance Centre.

Famed Broadway choreographer Chet Walker returns to Uptown Dance Company with the premiere of an engaging, fun-to-watch work featuring Musical Theater Jazz. Award Winning Director/Choreographer Chet Walker has garnered acclaim across the globe, in television, film, music video and commercial media. Best known as Creator and Co-Choreographer of the Tony-and-multi-international-award-winning Fosse, Chet has directed and choreographed original new musicals with unwavering success, as well as having mounted recreations of classic musical productions in collaboration with the shows' original creators. His original works range from Cirque du Soleil, to dance pieces created for Compania Internacional de Teatro Musical, the international Jazz/Musical Theater Dance Company which he co-artistic directs in Argentina, to Jacobs Pillow where he serves as Director of the Jazz/Musical Theater Program.

Alexander Pandiscio of Houston Ballet presents Allegro, a Contemporary Ballet for 5 Females and 2 Males with music by Jerome Moross. Pandiscio joined Houston Ballet in 2003. Pandiscio has worked with Stanton Welch, Ben Stevenson, Christopher Wheeldon, Glen Tetley, and Mark Morris. Pandiscio teaches at the Houston Ballet's Ben Stevenson Academy and the Greater Milford Ballet in Milford, MA. He is now teaching for Uptown Dance Centre and attending Rice University.

Adrian Ciobanu rounds out the evening with his Fun and flirty Enfants Mars, a Character Ballet for 10 Females and 1 Male. Ciobanu worked with the Romanian Opera Ballet for one year before moving to the Hungarian Opera Ballet. He toured throughout Europe including France, Hungary, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Romania, and the Czech Republic. In 1996 Ciobanu moved to Sarasota and became a member of the Sarasota Ballet. Ciobanu is now teaching and dancing as a company member for Uptown Dance Company.

The pre-professional Company II with professional guest artists has performed nationally and internationally at the World Jazz Dance Congress in Chicago, Costa Rica, and Monterey, Mexico. In 2001, Gulledge-Brown's Company II performed in three cities in China and was broadcast nationally over Chinese television. The Company II also had the opportunity to perform in Austria at the Tanzsommer Festival.

Uptown Dance Company was originally founded in 1999 by Gulledge-Brown. Gulledge-Brown understood the need to supplement her students' training with performance skills and founded the company to provide a performing outlet for her advanced students. Gulledge-Brown's studio has grown and her vision has grown right along with it. Following the lead of Houston studios such as Houston Metropolitan Dance Center and Ben Stevenson's Houston Ballet Academy, Uptown Dance Centre now houses two companies: one for advanced students and one for professionals. Her students will continue to perform in the pre-professional company, now Uptown Dance Company II, as Uptown Dance Company continues forward as a professional company. Professional Company members include Lindsay Cortner and Adrian Ciobanu.

Beth Gulledge-Brown began dancing with her mother at the age of three. She continued her training with Joseph Giacobbe (Delta Festival Ballet) in New Orleans, Margo Marshall (City Ballet) of Houston, and Leo Ahonen and Soile Arvala (Texas Ballet). She studied jazz with Delia Stewart and Keith Cross, and was awarded scholarships to study with Broadway Dance Center in New York and Joe Tremaine in Los Angeles. Beth received her dance degree from the University of Capetown in South Africa. While there she performed with U.C.T. Ballet company and the CAPAB Ballet Company. Beth's performance experience also includes Delia Stewart Dance Company, Texas Dance Theatre, and Joan Karff's New Dance Group. Her choreography has been showcased in Houston as well as Austria, Costa Rica, Chicago and China. Her company performed in Triple Focus at the Kaplan Theater in January, 2009, and most recently in Houston's citywide festival, Dance Houston. Last season, Uptown Dance Company performances included its 2009 production of Dance Infusion, a tour in Vera Cruz, Mexico at the Youth American Grand Prix; the Illuminations Project 2009 at the Hobby Center, as guest artists for Revolve Dance Company's Fall Mosaics at Barnevelder Theater, and its 2010 production of Spring Dance Fusion.

Uptown Dance Company and Uptown Dance Company wiII present Dance Infusion on Sunday, October 10, 2010 at 3:00 p.m.; at I.W. Marks Theatre Center - Kaplan Theatre, The Jewish Community Center of Houston, 5601 South Braeswood Blvd., Houston, TX 77096. Tickets are $25 General admission / $20 Senior/Student. For tickets and information, call 713-686-0334 or visit the website at www.uptowndancecentre.com.