Creative Reset: The Possibilities

Creative Reset: The Possibilities

Education Frame | Work News & Updates

In 2019, ahead of a massive exhibit of his work appearing at the Tate Modern museum in London, artist Olafur Eliasson spoke with Mark Turner, art correspondent for The Guardian, about his installations, specifically about a piece titled “Your Blind Passenger.” The work is a room filled with fog and lit by colored fluorescent lights such that all that is visible to the viewer is a shallow, blurry colorscape. Only a few people are allowed into “Your Blind Passenger” at a time because it is so disorienting, making the viewer even more likely to feel detached and alone in an indistinct but colorful unknown. Eliasson said of the experience, “Very quickly you realise, and I mean this quite literally, that you are not completely blind after all, you have a lot of other senses which start to kick in.”

With this realization comes a shift, a transfer of attention. Something is taken away or blocked – in this case most of the visual information –  and the response of the viewer is to adjust how they engage with their surroundings. According to Eliasson, “it shows that the relativity of our senses is much higher than we think, we have it in our capacity to recalibrate or at least stop being numb” (emphases mine).

 

Eliasson’s work is often about jarring, all-encompassing alterations, like “Your Blind Passenger,” and they are often about connections that are simultaneous with fracture. Some of his visually quietest pieces sound the loudest social alarms. I feel like Eliasson’s work is made for coping with COVID and our ongoing strangeness. I feel like the quote above is instructional for living in a world where the the crisis alert is stuck at 11.

First – I think the quote is telling us – we need to be aware of these numb and underused senses. Then, bringing our attention to them, we can start to turn them on or turn them up. We can do work and practice actions to heighten the senses to the point that they become capable of nuance, of making and receiving meaning. Because our attention is finite – even when turned up to 11 – by attending to new areas, we are less reliant on the ones that used to dominate our awareness. We have recalibrated.

 

The issue of recalibration has been on Lydia Hance’s mind over the spring and summer. Accustomed to helping people bring attention to their (often underused, not quite nuanced) sense of movement, Lydia knows that practicing this set of sensations – practicing dance –  reduces stress and reduces the need to rely on other sensations for managing stress. Dance practice heightens the sense of the body in space, making movement more efficient and less stressful on the body. It also gives people another way to process and express emotion, again reducing the stress load we carry in our bodies and our thoughts. Lydia knew that during the stresses of quarantine and social unrest, people had lost some of their most powerful coping devices – face-to-face interaction with people we care for and freedom of movement both within and outside of one’s community. She knew that people needed a reset.

Lydia has a mighty set of creative friends, makers of one kind or another (or a whole bunch of kinds at once) who identified areas where a little attention to an underused skill goes a long way toward recalibration. Creative Reset is designed on these practices. Taken alone, the practices allow for recalibration. Taken multiply, you’ve got yourself a transformation!

Coming Soon, Creative Reset: The Practices

Cover image: Photo “Your rainbow panorama” By Harkolufs 

Inset images: From “Room for One Color” Tate Modern 1997, Photos by Anders Sune Berg from olafureliasson.net

Getting to Know Dance on Film: Recommendations for #FramerNation

Getting to Know Dance on Film: Recommendations for #FramerNation

Frame | Work Links We Like

Houston is a dance town; readers of Frame Work know that. But do you know about the massive territory being explored at the intersection of dance and film? And are you aware that now, with the opening of the second annual Frame x Frame Film Fest on October 4-6, Houston is becoming a locus for the particular art of dance on film (also known as dance for film, dance film, and dance for camera)? #FramerNation, this is a new and exciting way to be involved with dance, and we encourage you to jump in as artists and audiences. To provide a head start on your education in this field, and/or to satisfy your deeper dive after viewing the films on offer, we have assembled recommendations from our FxFFF jurors and dance on film luminaries, Rosie Trump, Laura Gutierrez, and Lydia Hance. 

 

Frame Work: Film-making and film-viewing friends, can you tell me some of the dance films – outside of the ones in our festival – that you find really exciting?

 

Rosie Trump: My favorite feature length dance on film is Blush by Wim Vandekeybus.  I saw it screen at Dance Camera West in 2006 and it blew my mind.  I also love Rosas danst Rosas choreographed by Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker and directed by Thierry de Mey.

 

Laura Gutierrez: Dance Documentaries really excite me. Most recent ones are Restless Creature by Wendy Whelan, and Bobbi Jene and a non documentary is Girl (2018) by Lukas Dhont

 

Lydia Hance: Right now I am really excited about ANIMA, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson and can be found on Netflix! I’ve always loved Pina. Feelings are Facts is a fantastic documentary about Yvonne Rainer, co-founder of the Judson Dance Theater who is a dancer and choreographer turned filmmaker.

 

FW: Can you recommend any books about dance or dance on film to help our readers explore the genre?

 

RT: I read a lot of books about dance history. Brenda Dixon Gottschild and Susan Foster are two dance theorists that completely changed how I think about dance. Misty Copeland’s biography is on the top of my reading list.

 

LG: Deborah Hay, My Body, The Buddhist is my favorite book about dance.

 

LH: I love books about community creativity and finding ways to engage people with dance in authentic and meaningful ways that validate all humans as artists. I love Liz Lerman’s book Hiking the Horizontal. Right now I’m reading Anna Halprin’s book Making Dances that Matter with the MultiGen Framers.

 

FW: Any other recommendations? Inspirations?

 

RT: The OA and Russian Doll.  These are not films, but the best small screen cinema I have seen in a while. I am currently reading Lucia Berlin‘s Evening in Paradise.  My last dance film was inspired by an essay in Kim Gordon’s Is it My Body? Selected Texts.

 

LG: seeing is forgetting the name of the thing one sees, a book by Robert Irwin.

 

LH: I’ve recently (finally) seen Junebug directed by Phil Morrison and i thought it was fantastic. I would recommend The Goldfinch (not a short read) for something fun and captivating, and I have been a fan of Virginia Woolf for many years. 

 

FW: Thank you, dance-on-film gurus, and we’ll see you in the theater!

 

Rosie Trump is a dance choreographer, filmmaker, and educator.  Her work is nostalgic in style, feminist, and deliberately understated.  Trump’s dance films have recently screened at ADFs Movies for Movers, San Souci Dance Film Festival, Extremely Short Shorts at the Aurora Picture Show, the Utah Dance Film Festival, the Philadelphia Dance Film Festival, RADfest, andDance Film Association’s Long Legs Short Films.  She is the founder and chief curator of the Third Coast Dance Film Festival. Trump is an Associate Professor of Dance at the University of Nevada, Reno. Rosie finds inspiration in pop culture, politics, and visual art.

Laura Gutierrez is a performing artist and choreographer and has been named one of Dance Magazine’s “25 to Watch”. Her most recent work “Center Aisle Blues” was named Best Placemaking of 2018 by Dance Magazine. She is a graduate of UNCSA and was on adjunct faculty at the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts from 2011-2019 where she is also an Alum. Since 2014, she has toured with Jonah Bokaer Choreography. Laura’s inspiration comes from her family, politics, history, nature, traveling, architecture and art. 


Lydia Hance is the Founder Artistic Director of Frame Dance. She has been named an Emerging Leader by Dance/USA and has led Frame Dance in performances from the Galveston pier onto the METRO light rail, in the backs of U Haul trucks, downtown tunnels, and into museums, stages, and warehouses for the past ten years. A champion of new music composers, her work deepens interdisciplinary and multigenerational collaborations, and investigates the placement of dance in our lives. She is a choreographer, curator, filmmaker, educator, and dance writer. Her. She holds degrees in Dance Performance and English Literature from SMU and trained at the Taylor School, Graham School, Tisch School of the Arts, Limon Institute and SMU. Lydia is inspired by people’s stories, vulnerability, textures, the dessert, behavioral science, and new music.

 

Dance Is

Dance Is

Frame | Work News & Updates

“…the hidden language of the soul”  – Martha Graham.

“…meditation in movement, a walking into silence where every movement becomes prayer.” – Bernhard Wosien

“…the only art of which we ourselves are the stuff of which it is made.” – Ted Shawn

“…for everybody. I believe that the dance came from the people and that it should always be delivered back to the people.” – Alvin Ailey

“…the movement of the universe concentrated in an individual.” – Isadora Duncan

“…strong magic.” – Pearl Primus

I believe that dance, like all arts, is whatever you need or want or use it to be. However, the words above come from some of the most thoughtfully engaged people in the history of contemporary dance, and it is significant that they see dance as a spiritual and/or universal act. It must be acknowledged that sacred considerations are in the DNA of modern dance, whatever the beliefs of the dancer. In fact, I don’t see how one would engage with modern dance without, on some level, confronting the Big Questions about why we are here and what differences our choices make. Dance is made out of the same physics that define all movement in our universe, and human decisions with the potentially to carry the finest nuance of meaning.

And perhaps something more, or perhaps to a higher purpose.

Sacred Dance in Houston

Planetary Dance at Hermann Park

This Sunday, June 2, 10 AM-12 PM in the field between the Houston Museum of Natural Science and the Miller Outdoor Theater at Hermann Park, Core Dance and Frame Dance host Planetary Dance 2019, the Houston chapter. This is the 39th iteration of the annual ritual dance originated by Anna Halprin in San Francisco, and we are lucky to have a local event to proclaim our intentions and join in the “group spirit” that can evolve out of participatory dance. Read about the origin story, the stages of the dance, and see a short documentary video here, and then register here, or just show up and join in this extraordinary “dance for a purpose.”

SA LE O at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

Held on Sunday, June 9, at 2 PM, this “Concert of Profound Healing Through Music, Sacred Chants, and Meditation” features musicians from Tibet and Nepal and a sacred dance from the Bon tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, wherein “[i]t is taught that when performing ritual dance, you should discard all notions of your ordinary self and assume the divine pride of the deity whose dance you are performing.” Tickets and information here.

Global Water Dances

On Saturday, June 15, all over the world people will be “dancing for safe water, for everyone, everywhere.” This is the eighth year that this awareness-raising event has been put on by dozens of choreographers who select a local body of water and create a dance for the community that interacts with it. In June 2018, Frame Dance participated in Global Water Dances in front of the Houston Museum of Natural Science. Hundreds of Houstonians and visitors were touched by the project, and Frame Dance remains committed to careful and forward-thinking use of all of our natural resources.

Ecstatic Dance in Houston

Ecstatic Dance Evolution hosts weekly (Sunday) “free-form sacred and conscious dance events”  for all ages and experience levels. It is an opportunity to dance without judgement and with the intention to connect more deeply to your own intuition and/or to a safe and supportive group of people.

Sacred Movements of Gurdjieff

The Gurdjieff Foundation of Texas – Houston chapter offers meetings around the “forms for study instituted by Gurdjieff such as practical craft work, cooking, discussion, exchange, and sacred dance.” According to practitioner Chandrakala, “the learning process of the sacred movements is a strategy to develop presence and awareness; a reconnection, an alignment of the mind with the body and with the feeling center in such a way that they become one reality.”

Maybe some of these ideas about dance feel very comfortable to you, or maybe they don’t. Dance always requires that we use our bodies to confront the space around us. Maybe you will choose to comfortably or uncomfortably challenge yourself to make that confrontation with a sacred intention and just, maybe, see where that takes you.

Do you know of other sacred dance practices in Houston? Share them in the comments.

See you on the Hermann Park Lawn, Lovelies!

a-May-zing!

a-May-zing!

Education Frame | Work News & Updates Uncategorized

How’s your pre-summer, Frame Family? I hope this month of Mother’s Day/Graduations/Summer Vacation Planning went and is going well, and I hope that your plans and celebrations include lots of dancing. 

Our summer plans at Frame Dance sure do! I mean, of course they do (it’s, like, our whole thing), but, still, we’re very excited about what we have to offer, so check it out: we’ve got kid dancing, adult dancing, and family dancing on the calendar, plus a party with a performance from our professional dance ensemble.

See you at the Soiree and in the studio, Summer Framers!

(I threw in a few suggestions for camps, etc, with some of Frame Dance’s best institutional buddies here in Houston. We believe that everyone is a dancer, and that all dancers are simultaneously a bunch of other things, so get those experiences!)

FRAME DANCE SUMMER

Movement for Families

Starting June 1 and running each of the five Saturdays in June, little dancers (ages walking-5 years) and their parents join Ashley Horn for Creative Movement for Families, 9:30-10:15 AM at River Oaks School of Dancing.  

And Can I Just Say…Ashley Horn is exactly who you want to teach your kid/s. She taught mine, and I remember the joy I felt hearing the little dancers at the end of each class: “I did a great job! You did a great job!” Dancing with your young child is a treasure. Get it while you can.

Multi-Gen

Summer-long Multi-Gen drop-in classes start Saturday, June 1 and run through August 17, 11 AM-12:15 PM at River Oaks School of Dancing. No class on July 4.

And Can I Just Say…Multi-Gen has my heart. This is the living ideal of dance for all. Myself and my child and a bunch of my favorite people will be there, and I hope you will, too.

Soiree

One night only! The Frame Dance SOIREE 2019 happens on June 20, 6-9 PM at Ronin Art House. This is our annual FUNdraiser, where we have the opportunity to celebrate our incredible dance company with our dancers, board members, family, and friends. Attendees will experience a performance by the professional company, share sips and nibbles with cocktail table hosts, and hopefully go home with a wonderful prize from the silent auction. Buy a ticket, or a table, here.

And Can I Just Say…The Frame Dance Soiree is a blast. First, Lydia is there! I love talking to Lydia. Second, the dancers are there! Frame has the best dancers. Third, it’s a relaxed hang with a little bit of fancy, which is exactly what I’m in the mood for in the weeks after the school year ends. Come and find me there. Tell me how you like the blog, what it does and doesn’t do well for you. I need and want to hear all about it and this is the perfect opportunity to chat!

Summer Camps

In July we get busy with SUMMER CAMPS, with Wiggle Worms camps for 3 ½-5 year olds running July 8-12 (full), and again July 22-26 (spots available). Leaping Lizards camp for ages 6-8 runs July 15-19 (spots available), and all camps meet from 8:45 to 11 AM at River Oaks School of Dancing. Registration and more information available here.

And Can I Just Say…I love introducing my child to new possibilities through a week of investigation at summer camp. I love that Frame Dance’s summer camps are growth experiences for a child socially, physically, emotionally, and intellectually. I love that one camp has already filled, and I hope that the others will quickly follow suit so we can bring these sweet skills to the maximum number of kiddos.

SUMMER (CAMP) RECOMMENDATIONS

Music and Mindfulness Camp at Prelude Music

Ages 5-9

This camp offers introductory lessons in violin and ukulele in addition to other musical experiences and mindfulness activities. Each camp session begins and ends with breathing exercises and includes a craft.

Craft Camp at Houston Center for Contemporary Craft

Ages 5-12

Campers explore materials, process, and critical thinking through individual and group projects, conversations with resident artists, and thoughtful engagement with works on exhibit at HCCC. At the end of each week campers exhibit and discuss their own creations for family and friends.

ExploreAsia at Asia Society Texas

Ages 6-14

A variety of camps for your curious artist, foodie, and performer. And for your gaming kid, there is the Video Game Maker camp in association with Writers in the Schools (who offer several other camps around Houston).

(Also on offer at AST is the Family Day Eid celebration on Sunday, June 9. Check it out.)

Filmmaking Camp at Aurora Picture Show

Ages 12-15

Only two camps – June 24-28 and July 22-26 – still have spots available! Campers collaborate to produce a short film that will screen at the MFAH on August 10.

William Forsythe: Choreographic Objects at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

All ages

May 23-September 15

is the museum’s interactive exhibit for the summer, inviting Houstonians to go fully into the art and explore with our whole bodies, to “connect to the organizing principles of choreography.” As a dancer, this is compelling, but as a mom and a MFAH docent who spends lots of time looking in the museum, these annual “please touch,” indoor playground-for-body-and-mind summer installations are seasonal soul food. Remember last year’s adventurous Big Bambu? The playful and engaging Shadow Monsters? The weird but captivating Houston Penetrable? The dreamy world of Pipilotti Rist? People, we are so lucky to have access to these worlds. Summer in Houston might seem like a sentence, but between our museums (world-class and air conditioned!) and many splash pads, I think we just might make it.

Invitation to Indulge

Invitation to Indulge

Frame | Work Houston Hot Spots Links We Like News & Updates

Wow. What a feast of dance we have here in Houston in March! The remainder of this month-of-plenty is framed (ahem) at either end by Frame Dance Productions’ generous and varied portions of artistry and fun. Join us, and be nourished, satiated, fulfilled.

DELICIOUS DANCE

WHAT: Candlelight Improvisation Workshop presented by Frame Dance

When: Sunday, March 10, 6:45-8 PM

Where: River Oaks School of Dancing

2621 Shepherd, 77089, 2nd floor

WHAT: As the Shadows Grow Longer by Core Dance, a work by D. Patton White

When: Thursday, March 14, 8 PM, pre-show 7:30 PM

Friday, March 15, 8 PM, pre-show 7:30 PM

Saturday, March 16, 8 PM, pre-show 7:30 PM

Where: MATCH

3400 Main Street 77002

WHAT: Panopticon by Open Dance Project

When: Friday, March 15, 7 PM and 9 PM

Saturday, March 16, 7 PM and 9 PM

Friday, March 22, 7 PM and 9 PM

Saturday, March 23, 7 PM and 9 PM

Where: MATCH

3400 Main Street 77002

WHAT: Cultured Cocktails benefitting Frame Dance

When: Thursday, March 21, 5-8 PM

Where: Bar Boheme

307 Fairview 77006

WHAT: Moving Mountains Through the Clouds with Transitory Sound and Movement

When: Friday, March 22, 8-10 PM

Where: Asia Society Texas

1370 Southmore 77004

WHAT: ‘s (a tale of possession) by Hope Stone Dance

When: Thursday, March 28, 7:30 PM

Friday, March 29, 7:30 PM

Where: MATCH

3400 Main Street 77002

WHAT: Metro Dances featuring Frame Dance

When: Saturday, March 30, 5-6:30 PM

Where: Metro Red Line from Bell Station to Hermann Park/Rice U Station

RECOMMENDED ARTS PAIRINGS

What: Sor Juana and the Chambered Nautilus

When: Friday, March 15, 8 PM

Saturday, March 16, 8 PM

Sunday, March 17, 2:30 PM

Where: MECA

1900 Kane St 77007

What: Round 49: penumbras: sacred geometries Opening, Artists’ Talks and Market

When: Saturday, March 16, 2:30-7:00 PM

Where: Project Row Houses

2521 Holman 77004

SAVE ROOM FOR

Wednesday, April 17, 7 PM

Dance Salad Festival Choreographer’s Forum

Brown Auditorium, MFAH

Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, April 18, 19, and 20, 7:30 PM

Dance Salad Performances

Wortham Center, Cullen Theater

501 Texas Ave, 77002

I love you

Frame | Work Houston Hot Spots Links We Like

You’re my breathing castle

Gentle so gentle

We’ll live forever

Happy Mid-February, Framers! And happy love-celebration from myself and Richard Brautigan, whose poetry I’ve used to put you all in an endorphin-flooded brain state.* The images are mine, and they are potent reminders of the sweetness in my life (but, yes, I will have an overpriced truffle. Thank you so much). I invite you all to look for examples of couples of all kinds with strong connections – breathing, gentle, eternal, castle-building connections. It is a special kind of satisfying, and a reminder of the power of couples, duets, dyads. To slightly misquote an episode of Northern Exposure, one person can have a profound effect, but two people can change the world.

Find a second person. Do something together. Change the world.

Here are some suggestions for doing stuff in twos, threes, two twos, three twos and a one, you get it:

Tuesday February 12, 6:00 PM

Brazos Bookstore

Bullet Journal Workshop and Notebook Exchange

Tuesday February 12, 7:00-10:00 PM

Cafe Brasil – 2604 Dunlavy

Frida + Flowers: Galentines Craft and Movie Party

Wednesday February 13, 7:30-9:30 PM

Cafe Brasil – 2604 Dunlavy

BAD LOVE: A Dark Valentine’s Eve Reading and Open Mic

Hosted by Fuente Collective

Thursday February 14, 6:30-7:30 PM

Transitory Sound and Movement Collective presents

Abstraction in the Key of Yellow

Contemporary Arts Museum of Houston – 5216 Montrose

With choreography by Jen Mabus, TSMC member and Frame Dance Educator, this show features improvised music and choreography in the setting of feminist artist Cheryl Donegan’s printed and painted works currently on display the CAMH

Thursday February 14, 7:00-11:00 PM

Axelrad Beergarden – 1517 Alabama

Makeup to Breakup – Axelrad Valentine’s Party

First 50 single souls get Free Bubbly! (Hot Tip: my husband and I hooked up began our courtship at an Ain’t-Got-No-Valentine Valentine’s Day Party. You should go.)

Saturday February 16, 8:00 PM

Kaplan Theater, Evelyn Rubenstein JCC Houston – 5601 S Braeswood

Houston Choreographers X6 with Special Guest Uptown Dance Company

Featuring choreography by Frame Dance Educator Jen Mabus

Sunday February 17, 9:15-10:30 AM

Flatland Gallery – 1709 Westheimer

Yoga & Mimosas

First the yoga. Then the mimosas. You’ve earned it.

Friday February 22, 7:30 PM

Aurora Picture Show – 2422 Bartlett

Screening of Lynn Sach’s Film Tip of My Tongue

Filmmaker in attendance. Part of the Powerful Vulnerable Series.

Saturday, February 23, 7-10 PM

Cafe Brasil – 2604 Dunlavy

VIP Slam and Workshop

*This quote, while loverly, is from “Once Upon a Valley,” which is not a very romantic poem. For something with legit passion, try “Gee, You’re So Beautiful That It’s Starting to Rain.”

Behind the Scenes: Let’s Stay Home and Fight

Frame | Work News & Updates Performances/Screenings

Frame Dance Productions presents Let’s Stay Home and Fight, the latest from dancer, choreographer, and Artistic Director Lydia Hance. Lydia both generously and provocatively describes her inspiration and intention for this performance, and I believe that these insights will enrich the experience for you, our beloved participants and audience.

Letter from Lydia:

Dear Framers,

Settle in, I’m going to take you behind the scenes of my creative process for this next show, Let’s Stay Home and Fight on January 26 and 27. I like to make work to confront myself: my fears, my doubts, my questions. I love how art is my vehicle for personal growth. That’s how I know it is a lifelong endeavor. Making art will never be something I retire from. It’s the way I make sense of things, and it’s the way I deal with my world. As a person averse to conflict (any of you out there like me?), I have been trying to figure out why my natural instinct is to avoid it. I mean, there are ACTUAL HUMANS out there who dive right in with zest and a pair of curled up fists. After a little research I discovered that there are people who believe conflict is the best way to reach an agreement, and is even a good way to connect. This was mind blowing to me. I’ll take my one way ticket back to Mars, because I must be an ET on this Earth.

At the recommendation of a friend (and artist in this show), I began to study the Enneagram. The Enneagram is a model of the human psyche which is principally understood and taught as a typology of nine interconnected personality types. I have found this system far more accurate and helpful than any of the other personality typing models out there. I’ve been digging into it for almost a year; I am no expert, but it has truly helped me understand my own strengths, vices, and challenges. It has been both freeing and challenging.

I take quite a bit of time by myself crafting creative concepts, movement ideas, and music selections. I schedule rehearsals where I have time to be by myself and internally sift through what is developing. I make dance by feeling. I often cannot put words to my ideas in the creation process. I make by instinct. It’s like I have millions of feelers all over my body and I have to sense every choice. That can take time.

People have told me that I’m thoughtful. I’ve always kind of liked that. As a 4 personality type (you’ll have to do a little of your own research to understand what that means), I have an ability to understand how others around me feel. 4s are highly empathetic. So in rehearsals, I sense others. I respond to them. What would happen if I embraced conflict? Easier said than done, I know. Could I create an environment where I give myself license to be a little bit more obstinate? Could I make work that might be a little bit less thoughtful, and maybe a little more gutsy? I’m trying it.

Here’s how I’m making this show:

I am assigning each of the six dancers (including me) a number on the Enneagram. We are researching these numbers deeply. Each artist makes each creative choice from the perspective of the personality type they are assigned to. I am giving each person a primary duet partner, and we are researching our partners’ numbers. The show will be based on three pairs of people negotiating with each other’s differences. We are making the show during extended rehearsal times, all crammed in one week, in the performance space. There’s an intentional pressure-cooker format to the creation and performance. In a word: intense. In another? Exhilarating.

Here’s your homework:

  • Research the Enneagram. There are a lot of great podcasts out there. Find out your number before this show, do a little emotional work. It would even be fun to see if you can guess the personality numbers of the dancers by watching the performance.
  • Come see the performance. This is going to be risky, vulnerable, and revealing.

Put ‘em up,

Lydia

Forward Focus: Fave Events for the Fairly Near Future

Forward Focus: Fave Events for the Fairly Near Future

Frame | Work Houston Hot Spots News & Updates

I know it’s cliche, but I’m working on a couple of “don’t call them resolutions” self-improvement ideas in this new year. Are you? I deliberately set mine to advance me toward self-perfection or whatever at a microscopic, this-won’t-hurt-at-all rate of change. And, by gum, it has worked beautifully for a whole week and a half! Baby steps, my friends, baby steps. Or giant leaps. Whatever works for you. We’d love to hear your goals, plans, successes, and challenges in the comments section because, you know, we go farther when we go together.

If your New Year, New You goals happen to involve working more art into your life and/or showing up in support of your community, the Frame Dance team has recommendations that will keep your resolutions (or whatever you call them) rolling through mid-February. You’re welcome!

Grown Up Storytime happens on the third Tuesday of the month (bonus events for GUST fans, writer’s workshops are scheduled for January 20 and 27. See Facebook page for details).

Where: Rudyard’s, 2010 Waugh, 77006

When: Tuesday, January 15, 8:00 PM

For Italy lovers, the Contemporary Italian Film Series happens most months on the third Wednesday of the month. See Texas film premiers shown in Italian with English subtitles. (Bonus ICCC family event: Festa della Befana this Sunday at 3:30 PM).

Where: Italian Cultural and Community Center, 1101 Milford, 77006

When: Wednesday, January 16, 7:00 PM

Wednesday, February 20, 7:00 PM

Inprint’s Margarett Root Brown Reading Series features author Claudia Rankine. Moderated by Project Row House founder Rick Lowe, the reading will include an excerpt of the author’s play performed by members of the Houston’s historic Ensemble Theater.

Where: Stude Concert Hall, Rice University, 6100 Main, 77005

When: Monday, January 14, 7:30 PM

Inprint’s Reading Series continues in February featuring American Book Award winner Valleria Luiselli and “overnight literary star” Tommy Orange interviewed by UH-Downtown’s Daniel Pena. Tickets go on sale at noon on January 15.

Where: Stude Concert Hall, Rice University, 6100 Main, 77005

When: Tuesday, February 26, 7:30 PM

Frame Dance Productions (hey, that’s us!) presents new work Let’s Stay Home and Fight, an intimate piece that features compositions from our Composer Competition winners Karl Blench and Daniel Harrison (more about these geniuses here) performed by Axiom Quartet.

Where: Studio 101, 1824 Spring St, 77007

When: Saturday, January 26, 7:00 PM

Sunday, January 27, 7:00 PM

Is it art? Is it culture? It’s definitely community, and it’s definitely good for your body and for your fluffy little soul: it is Kitten Yoga at Yogaleena! A portion of the proceeds goes to the Best Friends Animal Society.

Where: Yogaleena, 2126 S Shepherd, Suite 230 (upstairs), 77098

When: Sunday, February 3, 2:00 PM

‘Tis the Seasons: Endings and Goodbyes

‘Tis the Seasons: Endings and Goodbyes

Frame | Work News & Updates

A Frame Dance Farewell

We’ve all bid farewell to 2018, and, perhaps, to holiday guests and household symbols of the season. Maybe you were traveling and had to say goodbye to beaches or ski slopes, or to some version of family and home. Endings can be tough; it takes a special fortitude to make a graceful exit from the things that bring us comfort and joy, and no judgement if you need to give in and ugly cry. Here at Frame Dance, we have an extra hard goodbye to say, and that is to our Cori, the exquisite Ms Capetillo, who has relocated to Portland, Oregon, with her beautiful family. Are we separating with graceful eye-dabbing or snotty sobbing? No comment.

Perhaps you know Cori as the “front desk” face at Frame Dance classes, or perhaps you saw her perform in My Beloved…meet me at the prom last spring, mere weeks before giving birth to her son with the equally amazing Alberto Capetillo, who also danced in that performance. Perhaps, like me, you’ve had the fun of dancing with Cori in a Baby-Wearing or Multi-Gen class at Frame, or you’ve performed under her capable and easy-going stage management. Whatever your interaction, you probably appreciated Cori’s unflappable cool and adept problem solving, her smarts, her creativity, and her humor. Cori made us all feel safe in her hands, and lucky to be there.

About Cori, from Lydia:

When I started Frame Dance it was a one-woman leap of faith. As I made work, wonderful people started to emerge as the helpers. Mr. Rogers always told me to look out for them. We’ve had the great privilege and fortune to work with incredible collaborators, artists, teaching artists, donors, students, volunteers, and board members. But, administratively, it was all me for a long seven years. Then, because of all of the helpers along the way, Frame Dance got to a place where I could hire Cori Capetillo to work with me. With her organization, her ability to create structures and policies, to remove some of the administrative duties from my plate, and her belief in Frame Dance’s mission, we grew more last year than we ever have. She did this all with a new baby. I dreamt about the day when I could have a partner-in-good like that. And way too soon (as far as I’m concerned!) she’s off with her beautiful family to begin a new adventure in Portland.

Cori, I wish you the very best. Thank you for your work. Godspeed and best wishes.

xo Lydia

P.S. “You did a great job!”

About Houston, from Cori:

A few things the Capetillo family will miss about living in Houston:

1) We will miss chips and queso without a question.

2) We will miss the hustle and bustle of the city. There’s a vibration to this city that’s unlike any other.

3) We will miss dancing in the MultiGen class. The class served as a stress release for us and served as a way to bond with our new son. We found another family where we were safe to express ourselves freely without judgement. In that hour and fifteen minute class, our troubles were left at the door and only love and gratitude could be felt. Our people is what we will miss the most.

Cori

 An Irish blessing to go with you as you exit our particular stage:

May your days be many and your troubles be few.

May all God’s blessings descend upon you.

May peace be within you. May your heart be strong.

May you find what you’re seeking wherever you roam.

Break a leg, Cori.

‘Tis the Seasons: Tired of Leftovers

‘Tis the Seasons: Tired of Leftovers

Frame | Work Houston Hot Spots

You finally finished off the mashed potatoes and you don’t want to see another sugar cookie for about 350 days. It’s time to take yourself (and your holiday guests, if you still have them) out to one of Frame Dance’s favorite places for food and drink in Houston. A dancer has to eat, after all!

  1. Mala – I ate here just last night and was relieved enjoy my meal with nary a Santa in sight! My mouth was a tasty, spicy little oven when I left. Can’t wait to return.
  2. Vibrant – Give the gluten and/or dairy-free members of your family a chance to order anything – ANYTHING – on the menu. They’ll cry. You’ll love it, too.
  3. The Path of Tea – Take the time to step out of time, and into a cup of organic, fair-trade tea. You will leave rejuvenated.

We also recommend that you follow Friend-of-Frame David Leftwich on social media for the best of Houston food culture:

Twitter: @DavidLeftwich68
Instagram: @davidleftwich68