Musiqa and NobleMotion Dance, known for their innovative collaborations, present Free Rein - a fusion of music, dance, multimedia design, and cutting-edge neuro-engineering. Performances run January 23-25, 2026, at MATCH-Midtown Arts and Theater Center Houston.

The evening features music by Anthony Brandt, Pierre Jalbert, Badie Khaleghian, and Max Vinetz; choreography by Andy and Dionne Noble; and neuroscience research by the University of Georgia’s Creativity and Imagination Lab, directed by Anna Abraham, and the University of Houston’s Nordin Lab, directed by Andrew Nordin.

JANUARY 23 - 25, 2025

RUNTIME:
2 hours with 1 intermission

TICKETS:
Pay-What-You-Can

Please note that each ticket is subject to a $5 fee at checkout.

PROGRAM

FREE REIN (World Premiere)

Music: Anthony Brandt
Choreography: Andy & Dionne Noble
Multimedia and Data Visualization: Badie Khaleghian
Neuroscience: Anna Abraham, Andrew Nordin

What happens inside the mind of an artist at the moment of creation? How does inspiration move between music, dance, visual art, and audience - live and in real time? With Free Rein, Musiqa and NobleMotion Dance invite Houstonians to witness creativity as it unfolds, making the invisible process of artistic invention visible, audible, and deeply human.

“Free Rein is the first time original music and dance have been created to study the creative brain in a live performance. We invite Houston audiences to be among the first to see inside the mind of a performer as they improvise.”
- Anthony Brandt

Building on the acclaimed Meeting of Minds collaboration - which earned Chamber Music America’s 2025 Interdisciplinary Collaboration of the Year Award - the companies reunite to blur the boundaries between art and science. In the titular work, musicians and dancers shift between rehearsed and spontaneous performance, showcasing both individual and collective creativity. 

Each segment reveals a different facet of artistic inspiration, while scientists capture and project neural data for the audience to experience in real time. Embedded scientific research using mobile brain-body imaging and cutting-edge AI displays performers’ levels of creativity as the work unfolds.

“We’ve crafted choreographic prompts that push the dancers’ cognitive capacities. How they navigate these game-like structures is never predictable, keeping the audience on the edge of their seats.”
- Andy Noble

LIGHT, LINE, SHADOW (2018)

Music: Pierre Jalbert
Artwork: Edward Hopper, Road and Trees

A three-movement work inspired by Edward Hopper’s Road and Trees, each movement reflects a facet of the painting: the dynamic motion of landscape seen from a car (Landscape in Motion), the dense forest and layered brushwork (Brush Strokes), and the painting’s sense of solitude and openness (Open Road).

PHANTOM REACH (Excerpt, 2025)

Choreography: Andy & Dionne Noble
Music and Multimedia: Badie Khaleghian

Phantom Reach steps inside the fractured psyche of a man drifting through a fugue state, where towering projections of his hands expose the emotional undercurrents, he struggles to suppress. In this excerpt from the larger work, performed by Lindsey McGill and Jacob Regan, the man exists on one side of a wall and the woman on the other - neither able to break through, she fighting not to fade from his memory. With evocative multimedia design and an original composition by Badie Khaleghian, Phantom Reach immerses audiences in a hauntingly beautiful mindscape.

LET IT RING (2025)

Music: Max Vinetz
Choreography: Andy & Dionne Noble

Composed by multi-award-winning composer Max Vinetz, Let It Ring is a bold contemporary work featuring uplifting, virtuosic music and movement. The piece includes an ensemble of eleven guest dancers from Sam Houston State University’s Department of Dance.

PERFORMERS & CREATIVE TEAM

Musicians: Nanki Chugh (violin), Chelsea de Souza (piano), Caio Alvez Diniz (cello), Garrett Hudson (flute), Bensen Kwan (percussion), Austin Lewellen (bass), Maiko Sasaki (clarinet), Molly Turner (conductor)

Dancers: Jacob Regan, Lauren Serrano, Deontay Gray, Tyler Orcutt, Lindsey McGill, Kalli Loudan, Dillon Bell, and guest dancers from Sam Houston State University

Music and Multimedia: Badie Khaleghian

Scientific Team:
Dr. Anna Abraham - Director, Creativity and Imagination Lab, University of Georgia
Dr. Andrew Nordin - Director, Nordin Lab, University of Houston
Dr. Vicente Ordóñez-Román - Rice University
Dr. Simon Fischer-Baum - Rice University
Music, Mind and Body Lab - Rice University

SUPPORT

Free Rein is made possible by the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts; T.T. and W.F. Chao Foundation; the Creativity and Imagination Research Lab at the University of Georgia; the Nordin Lab at the University of Houston; the Shepherd School’s Music, Mind and Body Lab at Rice University; Sam Houston State University’s College of Arts and Media; Bowdoin College; and is funded in part by the City of Houston through Houston Arts Alliance; the Texas Commission for the Arts; Dance Source Houston’s Groundwork Grant Program; New Music USA’s Organization Fund (2025–26); the National Endowment for the Arts; and the state arts agencies of Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas.

PLAN YOUR VISIT TO MATCH

🎟️ BOX OFFICE & TICKETING 

• Online sales end 30 minutes prior to curtain. After this time, tickets may be available in person at the MATCH Box Office. 
• The Box Office opens 2 hours before curtain for Will Call and walk-up sales. 
• All sales are final. No refunds or cancellations after purchase. 
• Why is there a service fee per ticket? Click here to learn more. 

⏱️ BEFORE THE SHOW 

• MATCH Concessions opens 1 hour prior to the start of each event. 
  Enjoy a cocktail, wine, beer, or snack before the show. 
  View concessions menu. 
• Seating typically opens 30 minutes prior to curtain. 
• Please note: Some shows have a no late seating or re-entry after the performance has begun. Arrive early! 

🚗 LOCATION & PARKING: MATCH is located in Midtown Houston. Click here for directions and parking options, including garages and metered street parking.

🍽️ RESTAURANTS & BARS: Make it a night out! Click here for a curated list of nearby restaurants and bars within walking distance of MATCH.

♿ ACCESSIBILITY: MATCH is a fully accessible facility. For accessible seating or special assistance, please contact the box office in advance so we can help accommodate your needs. Click here to email the box office.