About ISHIDA Dance Company

ISHIDA Dance presents original ISHIDA poetic narratives as well as works by exciting new and internationally established choreographers working with some of the most sought-after dancers (Houston Ballet, Ballet BC, GöteborgsOperan, Wienerstaapsoper, Nederlands Dans Theater, tanzmainz, Ballett Basel, Rubberband) from Texas and around the world. Choreographers present engaging works that have never been performed for Texas audiences and in many cases are world premieres. These unique works invite empathy and introspection to lead to greater kindness towards oneself and the community.

About Brett Ishida – Artistic Director

Artistic Director Brett Ishida is a fourth generation Japanese American and grew up on a citrus farm in California’s Central Valley. Her love for dance inspired her to move away from home at age fifteen when she received a full scholarship to Kirov Academy and later to School of American Ballet in NYC. She danced with Boston Ballet, Oregon Ballet Theatre, where she first choreographed, and Les Grands Ballets Canadiens performing works by celebrated choreographers Nacho Duato, William Forsythe, Jirí Kylián, and Ohad Naharin, among others. She later graduated from UCLA earning a BA in Literature with emphasis in Poetry. She felt by combining these two worlds from her past, she could become a new voice in contemporary dance and started her own company, ISHIDA, captivating audiences in Houston and beyond.

From the onset, ISHIDA’s work has been critically acclaimed: Broadway World described her work as “stunning and compelling…an incredible boon to the Houston art scene.” Dance Magazine named ISHIDA in the venerated ‘25 to Watch’ and The Washington Post’s Pulitzer-prize winning dance critic Sarah L. Kaufman deemed ISHIDA’s work to be “remarkable.”