DANCE

DiverseWorks presents The Return of 12 Minutes MAX!  Your prayers have been answered – 12 Minutes MAX! returns to DiverseWorks March 3 and 4 with a stellar line-up of new and seasoned choreographers. The dance/ performance evening showcases new works, works-in-progress, and excerpts from 2011 Houston premieres.

Curated and co-produced by Dance Source Houston and DiverseWorks, 12 Minutes MAX! features Daniel Adame, Lydia Polhemus Hance/ Frame Dance Productions, Maggie Lasher/ China Cat Dance Theatre, Karen Stokes / Travesty Dance Group and Toni Leago Valle/ 6 Degrees.

Performances will take place on Thursday and Friday, March 3 and 4, 2011 at 7:30 PM at DiverseWorks ArtSpace.

FEATURED CHOREOGRAPHERS:

Multidisciplinary artist Daniel Adame returns to 12 Minutes MAX! with the premiere of Touch Base, “a scatter work of calm chaos held together in a grid work of original sculptures, costumes and sound scores.” In 2002, Adame created his first dance piece, Breathe Light Lonestar, for 12 Minutes MAX! Since then, Adame has created over ten dance pieces for the stage that include performances at Big Range Dance Festival, Voyage Mars at DiverseWorks ArtSpace, Performance Art Houston, Too Much Cake (Austin) and many others. He studied sculpture at the University of Houston and his visual arts work has been shown all over Houston. In addition to creating sculptures, paintings, and performance works, he dances with Suchu Dance.

Frame Dance Productions, led by Artistic Director Lydia Polhemus Hance, presents an excerpt from her new evening-length work, Mortar, Sylphs Wrote. This work-in-progress will be danced to original music by composer Micah Clark, the winner of the 2010 Frame Dance Productions Music Composition Competition, (their creative process is visible to the public on their blog: blog.framedance.org.) Since its recent inception in May 2010, Frame has produced new works performed and screened at Rice University Dance Film Festival, Contemporary Arts Museum, Weekend of Texas Contemporary Dance at Miller Outdoor Theater, Washington & Lee University, Barnevelder, Frenetic Theater and Spacetaker ARC. Mortar will premiere in its entirety on April 16 and 17, 2011 at Hope Center as part of the HopeWerks Residency program.

Recently relocated from San Antonio, Maggie Lasher is the new faculty advisor for dance at Houston Community College and Founder/ Artistic Director of ChinaCat’s Dance Theater). ChinaCat has performed in Huntsville, Fort Worth, Austin, San Antonio, and Houston. As part of 12 Minutes MAX!, Lasher presents Avian Tendencies, a piece incorporating the movement of birds and lizards. Lasher comments, “Although these seem like two very different creatures, they share a surprising amount of similarities. The effect of lizard meets bird is heightened by the use of folding fans that mimic wings, tails, neck and dorsal frills.” Lasher’s ChinaCat’s Dance Theater was founded in 2006 at Sam Houston State University and has performed in Huntsville, Fort Worth, Austin, San Antonio, and Houston.

Houston dance scene veteran, Karen Stokes, Director of Dance at the University of Houston School of Theatre & Dance and Artistic Director of Travesty Dance Group/Houston, gives a sneak-peek at Purple, part of an evening length collaboration between Karen Stokes and composer Bill Ryan. Purple premieres October 20-22, 2011, at Zilkha Hall, Hobby Center for the Performing Arts. The work is funded in part by the Mitchell Center for the Arts at University of Houston.

6 Degrees, led by Artistic Director Toni Leago Valle, presents two works: a section from Cocoon, a work-in-progress, and Drowning, a solo excerpt from her evening-length, Baptism. Cocoon is Valle’s first work choreographed exclusively for video. Based on her experience in motherhood, Cocoon traces the process of letting go to the moment of conception. Baptism: Drowning focuses on a person’s downward spiral and inability to accept help. A video montage of artwork by Tim Chambers provides a luscious visual background.

About DiverseWorks ArtSpace
DiverseWorks is a non-profit art center dedicated to presenting new visual, performing and literary art. DiverseWorks is a place where the process of creating art is valued and where artists can test new ideas in the public arena. By encouraging the investigation of current artistic, cultural and social issues, DiverseWorks builds, educates and sustains audiences for contemporary art.

About Dance Source Houston
Dance Source is a service organization supporting the creation and presentation of contemporary dance in Houston. Other Dance Source Houston projects include: The Dance Card, a bi-monthly calendar of area dance events; The Dance List, a mailing list for dance audiences; the DSH Weekly e-newsletter; and the website Dance Source Houston for upcoming performances, previews and reviews.

Pictured above:
Excerpt from Baptism: Drowning
Photo by: Pier Vettorazzi
Performer: Kara Ary, Teresa Chapman
Courtesy of Toni Valle

Pictured below:

Image: 6 DegreesBaptismEricaOkoronkwo
Photo by: Pier Vettorazzi
Performer: Erica Okoronkwo
Courtesy of Toni Valle

Image: Danieladametouchbase
Performer: Daniel Adame
Courtesy of Daniel Adame

Image: FDP-Crease 218
Photo by: Lorie Garcia
Performer: Amber Whiddon
Courtesy of Frame Dance Productions