Dance Source Houston is excited to present the 31st edition of Mind The Gap on October 8, 2024, continuing the organization’s 20th anniversary season. This program will feature works by local dancemakers including Bronte Hopkins, Ekta Popat (Storytellers School of Dance), Tessa Salomone, Emalie Vann Thok (Museum H Studios), and Jamie Williams. Audiences will experience a range of dance forms including contemporary, Kathak, and Khmer.

Mind The Gap is a collaboration between Dance Source Houston and Midtown Arts & Theater Center Houston providing choreographers with a performance platform and the opportunity to expand production, marketing, and audience development capacities. To date, Mind The Gap has supported over 130 dancemakers.

MEET THE CHOREOGRAPHERS

Houston-based Bronté Hopkins teaches in the Department of Dance at Sam Houston State University while she is currently pursuing her Master of Fine Arts. Her thesis research includes immersive dance theater, storytelling, and inquiry-based learning. Prior to moving to Texas, she directed a High school dance department in Utah, choreographing and mentoring students while producing full-length evening concerts and sharing works at festivals. Hopkins was commissioned to choreograph for Wasatch Contemporary Dance’s “Illuminate” premiere and Brigham Young University’s “Straight on Till Morning.” She enjoys the collaboration process and has worked alongside other artists, musicians, filmmakers, creating film, projection, and immersive theater experiences. Hopkins was honored at the Cucalorus Film Festival in North Carolina for her role in Robert Machoian’s dance film short, “The Wind and the Kite.” Hopkins grew up in Southern California, has lived in France, and loves country music.

Artistic Dance Director Emalie and Exhibits and Media Director Karim lead Museum H Studios, a collective creating educational and artistic exhibits, media, and dance. They often incorporate their families’ Egyptian, Dutch, and Cambodian cultures into their artwork and performances that are showcased internationally. The dancers and musicians who perform with Museum H Studios are also interdisciplinary artists. Emalie is currently researching museum education through dance, studied at Harvard, Teachers College, Columbia University, the Cambodian language at the University of Hawaii, theater dance forms at Sam Houston State University, and various dance styles primarily at Houston and New York studios and with the Royal Ballet of Cambodia master class.

Tessa Salomone is a queer, neurodivergent dance artist and educator. They recently completed their MFA in Choreography from Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music & Dance in London as a Leverhulme Arts Scholar and hold a BFA in Ballet from Texas Christian University where they were a Nordan Fine Arts Scholar. Tessa received her early training from Fort Bend Academy of Dance and later studied year round at the Kirov Academy of Ballet in Washington, DC and the Joffrey Ballet School Trainee Program in New York City on merit scholarship. While in New York, they toured the tristate area and North Carolina as a dancer with Ballet for Young Audiences. Tessa has danced professionally in Houston with LEON Contemporary Dance Company, Juxtapose Arts Collective, and as a guest artist with NobleMotion Dance. She trained and performed in Rome with VIVO Ballet and spent two seasons with PDX Contemporary Ballet in Oregon where she had the opportunity to develop her first commissioned work. Tessa has facilitated choreographic workshops with iMEE blank | SLATE and the The Playing Fields. They are a 2024 Aimed Dance Emerging Choreographer Fellow and currently on staff at Bay Area Arts Conservatory in League City.

Ekta Popat, Founder and Artistic Director of Storytellers School of Dance has trained over 200 students in the Indian classical dance form Kathak. The school is affiliated with Bharti Vidyapeeth University in Pune, India, and offers a certification program through the university. Ekta takes pride in teaching this beautiful art form in the most authentic way possible to future generations.

Jamie Williams holds a Bachelors Degree and a Masters Degree in Dance from Sam Houston State University. She is a certified Laban/Bartenieff Movement Analyst through Integrated Movement Studies (IMS) and a Registered Yoga Teacher at the 200-hour level. Jamie currently serves as a dance professor and the dance program coordinator for San Jacinto College in Houston, Texas.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8 at 7:30 PM

Join choreographers, dancers, and fellow patrons for a post-show reception on stage to celebrate the Mind The Gap 31 program artists and Dance Source Houston's 20th year. 

RUNTIME:
Approximately one hour

Reception to Follow

TICKETS:
Pay-What-You-Can
$15 to $35

Ticketed income is equally split between the choreographers. Your ticket purchase, at any level, increases the amount of funds available to be redistributed directly to the artists.

Please note that each ticket is subject to a $3 fee at checkout.

LIVESTREAM & VIDEO-ON-DEMAND

Can't make the in-person event?
Purchase the livestream or video-on-demand option.

Livestream will take place on October 8 at 7:30 PM CST.
Video on Demand will be available no later than noon on Wednesday, October 9 and be availabe to watch until midnight on Sunday, October 20..

GENERAL INFORMATION

*Online sales will end 30 minutes prior to the scheduled curtain time. At this time tickets may be purchased in-person at the box office.

The box office opens 2 hours prior to the performance time for WILL CALL and walkup sales.

No refunds or cancellations available after purchase.

Why am I being charged a $3 per ticket fee? CLICK HERE for details.

Parking: For information on area parking click HERE.

Area Restaurants & Bars: CLICK HERE for a list of area restaurants and bars.