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Kristina Koutsoudas

Choreographer - Dancer

About the artist:

Academic Education M.A. Cross-cultural studies, Suma Cum Laude, University of Houston at Clear Lake. B.A. Major in History, minor cultural anthropology. University of Houston, Houston, Texas. Summa Cum Laude. Top 2% of class. Graduated with membership in the Honors College. Dance Education Classical and Folkloric Middle Eastern and North African Dance 1983- Linda S. Underwood, Houston, TX. 1984 Suhalia Salimpour, Dallas, TX. 1998, 1999 Vashti, (Dallas, Texas) Houston, TX. 1998 Mahmoud Reda, (Cairo, Egypt) Dallas,TX. 2001, 2003 Dalia Carrella, Dallas, TX. 2000-1999, Cassandra, (Minneapolis, MN) 2008 Houston, TX. 1994- Leila Gamal, (South Bend, IN), Houston,TX 1987-94 Ibrahim Farrah, New York City, NY. 1992-94 Jajouka, New York City, NY. Jihan Kemal, New York City, NY. Eleni Lentini, New York City, NY. Morocco, New York City, NY. Sahar, New York City, NY.. Yousry Sharif, New York City, NY. 2003 Tayyar Akdeniz, New York City, NY. 2003, 2005 Amel Tafsout, (London, England UK.) Phoenix, AZ,WashingtonD.C. 2004, 2005 Artemis Mourat, Silver Springs, MA. 2005 Qizlahon Dustamahova, (Tashkent, Uzbekistan, central Asian dance), Washington, D.C. 2006 Darshan, American tribal. NY, NY. 2007 MoMo Kuddus, (Egypt) Houston, TX. Classical and Folkloric East Indian Dance 1987-91, 1994 Rathna Kumar, The Anjali School for the East Indian Performing Arts, Houston, TX. Classical Balinese Dance (Topang Mask Dance) Summer 1992 Ida Bagus Anom, Maas, Bali Indonesia. Seventh generation mask sculptor, priest, dancer. Flamenco Dance 1997-98 Maria del Espadin, Houston, TX. Rodriguez Academy, Houston, TX. 1992 Marianno Parra, New York City, NY. West African Dance 1990-1992 Rfuaw Diarrah Houston, TX. Laini Ngoma Troupe, Nationale Ballet de Senegal Summer 1998 Amadou Thiam, Houston, TX. Spring 1997 Zak Diouf, Houston TX. Les Ballets AfricanesHouston,TX. Mor Thiam, Houston, TX. Yoga/Gyrotonic/Aerial 2008- Gyrontonic, Houston,TX 2009 Gyrokinesis & aerial dance, 2005- Houston Iyengar Yoga Studio, present Houston, TX. Teachers, Constance Braden & George Purvis. 2000-2004 The Yoga Body Studio, The Yoga College of India, Houston, TX. Dance Affiliations 2006- Congress of International Dance (UNESCO) 2007- Dance Source Houston (DSH), Texas. 2006- Dance Houston Inc. 2004- Mid-America Arts Alliance (MAAA), Performing/Teaching Artist 2004- Dance and the Child Intern, USA. 2003- Rice University, Lifetime Physical Activity Program (PE Dept.) 2000- Texas Commission on the Arts 2000-2002 Texas Institute for the Arts in Education 2000- The C. G. Jung Educational Center 1999-2005 Young Audiences of Houston, Inc. 2009-2010 Performing/ Teaching Artist. Selected Dance Performances 2010 “Festival of Lights,’’ excerpt and “The Partridge Dance” excerpt, Several Dancers Core –“Fieldwork” Winter 2010, Barnevelder Movement Arts Complex, Houston. “Vintage Raqs Sharqui,” in Dance Gathering Oct 2010, Barnevelder Movement Arts Complex, Houston, TX. Vintage Orientale and Bedouin, Saidi,Raqs Masri, in 1st Annual Arabesque Festival, Jones Plaza, Downtown Houston, sponsored by the Houston Palestinian Film Festival. 2009 “Memories of Spain,” Hobby Center for the Performing Arts, Houston, TX. “Shikaat,” Big Range Dance Festival, Houston, TX. 2008 Special Guest performance “Efrooh Bwadina”at “Muscle Memories,” Rice University, Hamman Hall, Houston, Texas. 2007 “Al-Andalus: The Legend!,” Barenvelder Movement Arts Complex, Houston,TX. 2006 “Egypt with A Twist of Jazz, “ Avant Garden, Houston, TX. Full length performance of classical Egyptian dance. Benefit show with celebrated local band Zwee, jazz artists Brennan Nase, Louis Juarez, and Dana Rogers. “Dance Houston Does Houston,” Hobby Center for the Performing Arts, Houston, TX. Sponsored by Dance Houston and the Cultural Arts Council of Houston. Premier new work, a.k.a. “The Mosquito” a narrative dance experiment fusing martial arts, modern dance, jazz dance, and dramatic arts. 2005 "A Passage through India: The Journey Continues," Miller Outdoor Theater, Houston, TX. Feature trad. Persian dance. “Passion.” Big Range Dance Festival, Barnevelder Movement Arts Complex, Houston, TX. Premier Middle Eastern theatrical choreography. “Mysteries Behind the Veil,” 2nd Annual World Music Festival, Orange County, TX & Lee College, Baytown, TX. 2005 Bayou City Arts Festival, Memorial Park, Houston, TX. 2004 IAG performance. 2005, “Middle Eastern Dance: A Celebration of the Sacred,” Rising Tide Intl. Austin, TX. 2002- Middle Eastern/North African ritual dance 2000 for annual Sufi Order Int’l conference. 2004 "Roses of the Desert: Women's Dances of the Middle East and North Africa." Patel Conservatory, Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, Tampa FL. Guest performer, lecturer, & teacher on the Mediterranean, North African, Middle Eastern dances. Bayou City Arts Festival, Sesquintenniel Park, Houston, TX. 2004 IAG solo performance. "Mysteries Behind the Veil" Montgomery College, The Woodlands, TX. & Lee College, Baytown, TX. Guest performing/teaching artist. "A Journey of Arts and Movement," Jones Theater, University of St. Thomas, HoustonTX Special guest performer in venue featuring master teacher/performer Artemis Mourat of Turkish Roma & Turkish-Orientale dance. TexasTanz Festival 2004, Jewish Community Center, Houston, TX. Turkish dance suite. "Everything but the Kitchen Sink," Hamman Hall, Rice University, Houston, Special guest artist. Rice Dance Theater. 2003 “Lifting the Veil: Women’s Dances of the Middle East and North Africa,” Sponsored by the Department of Dance, Rice Univ. of Houston, TX. Student recital of different styles of Middle Eastern & North African dance. 2002, Annual Turkish Festival, Jones Plaza, 2001 Houston, TX. Special performance of 2000 traditional Turkish Rom dance, regional Turkish dance, and modern theatrical Turkish/world fusion dance. 10th, 11th, & 12th Festivals. “Con Vivencia: Arabic,Christian and Jewish Songs of Love” with the East-West Ensemble & Isabelle Ganz. Ovations, Jewish Community Center, the First Unitarian Church, Houston, TX. Program created In response to the events of September 11th. Illustrates unity of Jewish, Arab, and Christian people. 2001 AACCC 2001 Consular Ball, Arab-American Cultural Community Center (AACCC), Houston, TX. Command performance at the grand opening/ribbon-cutting ceremony of the first Arab-American Cultural Community Center (AACCC), the first national AACCC. “Talking Drums” Miller Outdoor Theater, Indo-American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Houston, Houston,TX. Performance with live musical accompaniment by Terence Karn. Multicultural dance performance with the Anjali School for the Indian Performing Arts, Houston, TX; Kuumba House Dance Theatre, Houston, TX; Battery Dance Company, New York City, NY. 2001, "Festivals of Light ,” The Children’s 2000 Museum, Houston, TX. Specifically requested by the Children’s Museum, a special performance designed to illustrate the tradition and practice of Ramadan through dances associated with the culture of Islamic people of the Middle East. 2000 “Salome and the Representation of the Femme Fatale in 19th Century German Art,” Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX Dance performance embodying the stereotypical image of Salome and more historically accurate image of Salome. Performance accompanied lecture by art historian Wendy Grossman of the University of Maryland. Dance Instruction Current/ongoing 2000- “Égyptian Dance I & II,” The C.G. Jung Educational Center, Houston, TX. Providing instruction in classical/folkloric Egyptian dance, music, and culture. Courses & workshops offered:"Revealing and Concealing: The Mysterious Veil," "Whirling," "Roses of the Desert," & “From the Desert to the Plains” 2003- ""Middle Eastern Dance I & II", Department of Dance, Lifetime Physical Activity Program, Rice University, Houston, TX. Master classes and semester classes taught to fulfill physical education credits for elective credit. 2006- “Dance Houston’s Young & Intense Dance Camp for Teens,” Barnevelder Movement Complex, Houston, TX. Two-week intensive summer dance camp for teens. 2002- “Dances of the Middle East: On BodyImage & Movement, The Orient Vs. The Occident,” Dance Division of the School of Theater, University of Houston-Central, Houston, TX. Annual lecturer. Selected past workshops & residencies 2007 “Traditional Greek Folk Dance & Music,” Rienzi Society, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX. Workshop with live music from The Gypsies. 2005 "Dances from Ancient Egypt, The Land of the Eternal Sun," Museum of Fine Arts Houston, TX. Multi-disciplinary class for educators on the arts and culture of ancient Egypt. 2004 “An Evening of Beauty & Splendor: Dances of the Middle East,” Briarforest Elementary, HONDA Inc., DreamLab/STOMP Odyssey Project and Young Audiences of Houston, TX. National project to benefit children. Chosen to represent Houston; work displayed on international YA web site. 2003 “Danse Orientale”, Sirrom School for Middle Eastern Dance, Houston, TX. Artist in residence. 2002 “An Introduction to Middle Eastern Dance,” Dance Division of the School of Theater, University of Houston-Central, Houston, TX. 2002 “An Introduction to Traditional Egyptian Dance,” Department of Dance, Rice University, Houston, TX. “Faces of Beauty: Women’s Dances of the Middle East,”” University of Texas (UT) College of Health & Science ,Houston, TX 2001 “Salome and the Representation of the Femme Fatale in Middle Eastern Dance,” Texas Association for Middle Eastern Studies (TAMES) Conference 2001, University of Texas, Austin, TX. 2001 “World Cultures through the Arts,” Department of Middle Eastern Studies, University of Texas , Austin, TX. Additional programs with: 2005- Young Audiences of Houston, TX. 2000 Dance-in-education performing/teaching artist, three residencies (6-12 weeks) & workshops, “Exploring the World through Dance, “”Ancient Egypt,” & “Dances of the Middle East, & one performance program, Mysteries Behind the Veil.” “Desert Dances. 2001- Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavillion & 2000 Texas Institute for the Arts in Education, Dance-in education programs. 2000 World Dance Institute, Houston Community College, Houston, TX. Seminar for college/university dance educators. 1989-91 The Anjali School for the East Indian Performing Arts, Houston, TX. Dance instructor. 1983-86 Mahal Academy, Houston, TX. Dance instructor. 2007- Children’s residencies with: BriarMeadow 2000 Elemntary, Carroll Academy, Communities-In-The-Schools, The Greater Houston YMCA’s, The Rice School, St. Francis Episcopal, St. Steven’s Episcopal, Westchester Elementary, Will Rogers Elementary, Writers-In-The-Schools. Documentary/film/television 2002 “Mysteries Behind the Veil,” St. Francis Episcopal Day School, Houston, TX. KUHF Houston Public Television, TX. Documentary-Special feature presentation on individuals affected by the events of the previous September 11th, 2001 tragedies. Filmed on location during an artist residency on ancient Egyptian dance at St. Francis Episcopal Day School. 2001 "Abduction of the Seraglio," Houston Grand Opera (HGO), Houston, TX. Performance of Turkish Roman veil dance for HGO's commercial advertising the Spring 2002 performance of Mozart's "Abduction of the Seraglio." Grants and awards 2004, Individual Artist Fellowship Grant, 2000 Houston, Texas. Funded by the Cultural Arts Council of Houston/Harris County. Two awards granted for artistic excellence in choreography. 2001- Cultural Connections Grant/Educational 1999 Technical Assistance Program Grant (ETAP) (6) awards funded by the Texas Commission on the Arts and the Cultural Arts Council of Houston. Other 2010 Frank W Bearden Award for Teaching Excellence, Department of Dance, Rice University. 2006-7 Advisory board member, & Consultant, Dance Houston Inc., Houston, TX. Admin, production, & dance critique. 2005 KUHT documentary,“Post 9/11 in Houston” “Abduction of the Seraglio,” Houston Grand Opera. 2005 Grant Panelist, CACHH Organizational Grants/IAG Project Grants 2005. 2003- Collaborative dance presentations with: The Silk Road Dance Company, Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Arab-Anti Discrimination Committee, and the Arab Cultural Community Center. Kristina Koutsoudas 612 West Alabama Houston, Texas 77006 (T) 832.287.7011 (F) 860.606.8393 (E) andrianadances@andrianadances.com  www.andrianadances.com