The Dance Gallery International Festival showcases in both Texas and New York, with contributing choreographers from all across the world. The festival will premiere at the Gartner Performing Arts Center on Oct. 27 and 28, before moving to New York in early November.
This year, Sam Houston State University is well represented, with both alumni and graduate students being showcased. With such a wide, diverse array of performances and performers, the show promises something for everyone.
“It’s just beautiful, it’s always inspiring,” said Andy Noble, Associate Artistic Director of the Dance Gallery Festival. “You’ll see some work with humor, some work with intense emotion, some of the works have dance technology in it, so you’ll see some projection elements that are visually exciting. It’s a show that covers a wide range.”
For participating dancers and choreographers, the festival is a way to showcase their signature styles and talents. Local graduate student and choreographer, Victoria DeRenzo, will have her piece, “Exposure Therapy,” performed both here and New York City.
“My style tends to be raw and unrefined, blending athleticism, floorwork and partnering,” DeRenzo said, alluding to her piece in the show. “I want to see real people with eclectic backgrounds fully engaged in the task at hand on stage.”
Dance Gallery Texas will feature twelve unique acts, whose choreographers are scheduled to teach a Master Class exclusively for dance students. To register, dance students must purchase a ticket to the performance, then fill out the online registration form found at the Dance Gallery Festival website.
Audiences should be aware that the festival isn’t just an opportunity to see a show, it’s an opportunity at a sneak peak of the future and present faces of dance as they navigate their way in the professional world.
“It’s become a real platform for people to get their name out and get started,” Noble explained. It’s really great for our current students and alums to have opportunities to get on stage New York and be seen, and come back home and be presented.”
The festival also runs in both Manhattan and Brooklyn, at the Ailey Citigroup Theater and the Kelsey Kirkland Arts Center, respectively. The Sam Houston State University Dance Theater is right on-par with two of the most established theaters in New York.
When asked why people should be interested, Noble simply answered, “Because you can get exposed to culture outside of Huntsville. I encourage everyone to come and have a unique experience. There’s this wonderful sense of people coming together and getting to know each other.”
All tickets to the show are $15, and anyone can reserve tickets at the GPAC Box Office.
