Open Dance Project launches its 2022-23 season with Shortcuts, an evening of 5 world premiere dance theater "shorts" by ODP company members Joshua de Alba, Sonia Engman, Atticus Griffin, Lizzy McGoldrick and special guest choreographer Laura Harrell. “Our company members are a dream team of collaborators. They invent, transform, and develop movement ideas for our ensemble works all season long. Shortcuts gives us an opportunity to focus on their ideas from start to finish and to support the birth of new works by some of the very strongest new choreographers in the dance world,” says ODP Artistic Director Annie Arnoult. Younger audiences are encouraged to join us for our special Family Matinee on Saturday, October 1st at 4:30 PM with a special pre-performance “Behind the Scenes” workshop on stage with the choreographers from 4-4:30 PM.Read more

“Here all is strange.” 

Beckett’s existential tragicomedy Happy Days concerns itself with the plight of Winnie, a middle-class, middle-aged woman who is quite literally stuck, buried to her waist in crusted earth. Her husband Willie lives in a hole behind her mound, physically and emotionally out of reach. Even in his company she is essentially alone.

Armed with a shopping bag of everyday items and routines, a series of half-remembered stories, songs, and prayers, and a heroic capacity for optimism, she presses through an endless series of unforgiving days to the merciful night to come. The bell rings again and when the blazing sun comes charging back, she is buried up to her neck. Her last resources depleted, her arms and body sunk and gone, her predicament is irreversible, hellish, seemingly eternal. Through it all she perseveres, struggling with that which remains to make real her impossibly hopeful exclamation: “Oh this will be another happy day!”

The Houston Chronicle wrote that Catastrophic’s productions of Samuel Beckett’s plays “demonstrate exactly why this company and its artistic director Jason Nodler are so important to the city’s cultural life.” The Houston Press opined, “If man’s wretched existence ever needed a finer hand to paint comic despair, look no further than director Jason Nodler with his superlative interpreters all in the service of the apocalyptic vision from Samuel Beckett.”

Catastrophic’s co-artistic directors Tamarie Cooper and Jason Nodler reprise their roles as Winnie and director, as they did with Infernal Bridegroom Productions (IBP) 22 years ago. Greg Dean rounds out the cast as Willie.Read more

Director Sergio Bernal presents his "tutor," Director Eduardo Mata fascinating history through a life of conducting.

Director Eduardo Mata, Mexican native but World Citizen, took the Latin American contemporary music to higher levels around the world. Mr. Mata served as Director, Musician, Conductor, Composer, Cofounder of the Mahler Society Mexico, Resident Director of Phoenix Symphonic, Guest Director of the London Symphonic and Director of the Dallas Symphonic Orchestra. His work in Venezuela allowed him the opportunity to direct the Youth Symphonic Simon Bolivar Orchestra many times. From his passion for developing young musicians in Venezuela he was awarded the Andres Bello Award in Music in 1989. 

Sergio Bernal, a native Colombian and outstanding Latin American conductor, composer, and teacher, will take us by the hand and lead us through Director Mata's life experiences and colorful history. Director Bernal, Director of Orchestral Studies, and a Professor of Music at Utah State University, was an apprentice to the late Maestro Eduardo Mata at the Dallas Symphony and subsequently works as his assistant in recording projects of the Ibero-American symphonic repertoire.Read more

Intempo Dance Ensemble is honored to present the Eddy Marcano and Quartet Onda Nueva in concert honoring Director Eduardo Mata's love for the Latin American music.

Concert in loving memory of our TX Symphonic Ballet member - Lillian McLean.

A quartet of world known musicians performing delightful Latin American music under Mr. Eddy Marcano's direction. Mr. Romero's drums along with Mr. Morao's soothing piano, Mr. Puentes rhythmic bass and Mr. Marcano's warmth violin. All serving as a musical-notes frame for a very selected list of guest artists paying a tribute to Mr. Mata with singing and playing music from different Latin American Cultures which Director Mata had a special love bond with. Meanwhile, TX Symphonic Ballet will be decorating the ambience with dance pieces that bring reminiscense of Director Mata's conducting for full staged dancing programs.

A very special outstanding music night spent with Director Mata's friends, students and admirers of his magnificent work and legacy.  Read more

INTEMPO DANCE ENSEMBLE presents an evening of dance and music inspired in the magical world of the day of the dead celebration. Colorful Catrinas and Funny Sugar Skulls dance, surrounded by live music atmosphere and guided by imaginary beings - Alebrijes - as they journey to their new home.  

The Day of the Dead is a Mexican celebration of pre-Hispanic origin that honors the deceased on November 2. The festivities begin on November 1 and coincides with the Catholic celebrations of All Souls and All Saints. In Mexico, it is a celebration of life remembering loved ones who came before us, but with joy and devotion, dedicating an altar to welcome them back for their visit to the world of the living, once a year. The characters are La Catrina, El Catrin and the Alebrijes - imaginary beings made up of physiognomic elements of different animals, not only fantastic but also real that form a mesmerizing being full of magic and color that accompany souls in their voyage to their new home.  Read more

Change Happens! and IMPACT Collective bring to you a powerful and poignant documentary known as "Connecting the Dots," the first feature documentary of its kind to offer a raw and intimate look at youth mental health from a global perspective. With heartfelt poignant stories of lived experience, the film exclusively showcases young voices breaking barriers surrounding youth mental health. Through highly cinematic and youth character-driven storytelling, Connecting the Dots is emotional, reflective, and hopeful, and highlights youth mental health globally.Read more

Houston Voice Studio proudly presents its third performance of the 2022 performance season with a Fall Concert to showcase its singer's talent and artistry. Join us as our singers explore a variety of repertoire and vocal styles, including pop, musical theatre, hits from the movies, classical music, rock and roll, indie/acoustic, country, jazz standards, and more. The commitment, passion, and inspiration of the artists of HVS are contagious. This performance celebrates the tireless dedication of the musicians of Houston Voice Studio and the friends and family who support their dreams. Read more

6 Degrees presents SCORE, celebrating 20 years of choreographic works by Toni Leago Valle from 2002-2022, featuring signature favorites from Valle's evening-length concerts, "Tetris," "Cracked," "Baptism," and "Never Again," with a Sneak Peak of her new work, "Pop Demo." Read more

At the turn of the 17th Century, English people of every station were known to have practiced the occult arts, from alchemy and the Cabala to homespun spells and witchcraft. Join Severall Friends as they enchant with excerpts from contemporary diaries, diatribes, drama, poetry, and music, touching on magic of all sorts.Read more

Seven traditional Venezuelan songs, all translated into English as an homage to the warmth welcoming of Venezuelans immigrant into the United States. Traditional south American country 's rhythms sung in English language. Music by worldwide renown Musician and Directors. A night to remember!

Emerging Venezuelan artist Juan Carlos Ruiz will release in Houston the first volume of his third album titled Venezuelan Songbook, presented by Doray Castillo and Anny Paez, to connect and unify Venezuelan and American cultures. The first volume of the Venezuelan Songbook contains seven traditional Venezuelan songs, all translated into English as an homage to the warnth  welcoming of Venezuelans immigrant into the United States. Also, this concert will show outstanding contributions from other celebrities of Venezuelan and world music like Eddy Marcano, Leo Blanco, Gonzalo Teppa, and Juan Pablo Romero.Read more

The world-renowned composer of Zorbas the Greek, Mikis Theodorakis, is considered to have been the greatest Greek composer of the twentieth century, a symbol of Greece, and a hero in Greece’s political struggles. His music has travelled the world like that of no other Greek composer before him. His endless numbers of songs were sung by the Beatles, Shirley Bassey, Nat King Cole, Edith Piaf, and many more. The internationally renowned Greek contralto Alexandra Gravas has had the honor to work with the great composer on various occasions from the start of her career on stage and on recordings including the Symphonic song Raven with the composer himself conducting the St. Petersburg State Academic Capella Symphony Orchestra. She has travelled the world singing his songs in her recitals to high acclaim.  “Each of Alexandra’s interpretations is a thorough penetration into the most hidden aspects of my work.” -Mikis Theodorakis 

Following a brief introduction to the legacy of Mikis Theodorakis by Dr. Alex Kalamarides, Alexandra will interpret with her unique voice an assortment of songs representative and evocative of the great composer and his times, accompanied on the piano by Mexico City resident pianist, Mr. Jozef
Olechowski.

The event is sponsored and presented by the Hellenic Cultural Center of the Southwest (HCC-SW) and the Hellenic Professional Society of Texas (HPST). Read more