Frame Dance Soirée: Our Organization

Frame Dance Soirée: Our Organization

Frame | Work Interviews News & Updates Uncategorized

The Soirée is Coming! Are you ready?

I’ve checked in with the Frame Dance Board and Manager to see how their Soirée plans are progressing. Let’s peek behind the curtain and check on our team: 

Jonathon Hance

Lydia Hance – Artistic and Executive Director

Jonathon Hance – Technology Director, Chairman of the Board

Supercouple

Hey, Framers! Will we see you at the Soirée?

Yes, you’ll see me (I hope) at the Soiree.

Yeah, that was pretty rhetorical, wasn’t it? In addition to hosting the whole shebang, are you hosting a table?

Jonathon and I are hosting a table.

What kind of hosts are you?

We are pretty big Frame Dance fans, so I’d have to saw we will be very enthusiastic. Sometimes people call us the Happy Hances.

I foresee sore-from-smiling cheeks on Friday. But that’s perfect. I hope that I suffer likewise. After all of the preparation and anticipation, what are you looking forward to at the Soiree?

I am looking forward to being in a room with so many people who are also passionate about art and Houston, and seeing how the audience reacts to some of the surprise elements in the dance two company members are performing…

Oooh! Way to tease the performance! I can’t wait to see these “surprise elements.” It’s so Frame.

So, Lydia, why are you a Framer?

I am a Framer because I have seen how collaboration ignites the creative spirit, and Frame Dance offers that opportunity to all. I am a Framer because I have seen people changed for the better– towards joy and healing– by the work that we do.

Total agreement. A la Soirée!

Bobbie Hackett – Program Manager, Certified Arts Leader!

Bobbie! First Soirée on the Frame Dance team. I know you’ve been busy with preparations for Thursday night. Will we see you there?

Most definitely!

Great! Are you hosting a table?

Nope, I’m doing the behind the scenes work. 😉

So you get to be the conductor/cat wrangler! How would you describe yourself in that role?

I’m an enthusiastic Frame Dance employee and supporter.

Perfect. We will definitely benefit from your enthusiasm and coordination. What are you looking forward to at your first Frame Dance Soirée?

I’m looking forward to the silent auction, honestly. We have a lot of amazing things to offer from so very cool and generous donors. I’m excited to see what people are most interested in.

We do have the best silent auction goodies. They are choice Houstonian cultural goods.

You’ve been with Frame Dance for about six months now and you’ve known us well for much longer. With that experience, why would you say you are you a Framer?

I’m a Framer because Frame Dance lets me do my best work while also challenging me and encouraging me to do the things I’m not so good at. Best job I’ve ever had!

Happy to hear it! I look forward to how effortless you make it all look at the Soirée.

Alina Slavik

Alina Slavik – Board Member, Honorary Italian

Hey, International Framer! Will we see you at the Soiree?

Obviously!  My favorite way to officially kick off summer.

Absolutely. Are you hosting a table?

Yes! Can’t wait to have our friends join us 🙂

So, what’s your goal as a host? What are you hoping for at the Soirée?

As a host, I love helping new Framers find what they love about Frame Dance, whether it’s our film festival, performances in unexpected places, or a class for their child.  As a guest, I always check out the fabulous silent auction offerings and visit the Dip Jar – the most gratifying fundraising invention ever!

Yes and yes! Anything else you’re looking forward to on Thursday night?

Hanging out with my fellow Framers to celebrate another successful year for Frame Dance.

Hasn’t it been an amazing year? And you would know, ‘cause this isn’t your first Soir-odeo! With all of your contributions to and experiences with Frame Dance, why would you say you are a Framer?

Opera singer Beverly Sills said it best: “Art is the signature of civilizations.”  And it should be part of our daily lives.

Truth. See you at the Dip Jar.

Kerri Lyons Neimeyer – Board Member, Blog Writer, Questioner and Answerer/Self

Hey, Kerri! Will we see you at the Soiree?

Well, Kerri, yes you will…in the mirror! (Ba-dum bum).

Are you hosting a table?

I am! I’m excited to have the opportunity to host as I’ve enjoyed myself as a guest at Frame Soirées in the past, and I wasn’t able to attend last year, which would have been my first Soirée as a board member.

What kind of guest/host are you?

Hilarious and grateful. And like a little extra nice-looking in a way that’s fun. That’s how I Soirée. Or, that’s what I’m aiming at, anyway.

What are you looking forward to at the Soirée?

The professional company performance. It just feels like it’s been too long since I’ve seen them do their thing, and they do it the best. Also seeing the whole gang – all of the ensembles and the other folks who love Frame Dance – celebrating our accomplishments together, looking forward to good things together.

Why are you a Framer?

Because Frame Dance recognizes how powerful dance can be in a person and in a community, and it recognizes the dancer/artist in everyone. Those ideas resound with me, profoundly.

Sounds harmonious and intense, Kerri.

It really can be, Kerri. And it’s intensely fulfilling. And I’m learning to find the ease in it, which is just golden. So, you know, win win. Up and up. See you at the Soirée.

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

Blooming on the Red Line: Frame Dance + Spring = Metro Dances

Blooming on the Red Line: Frame Dance + Spring = Metro Dances

Frame | Work News & Updates

It’s March. It’s rainy. The azaleas are blooming and my car was covered in a light dusting of yellow tree pollen this morning. I’m gonna go ahead and declare that it is SPRING IN HOUSTON!!! Time to work our gardens, get our final use of scarves and sweaters, and stock our medicine cabinets with Flonase.

Frame Dance has grown a captivating and sundry garden this spring, with flowers magically set to bloom in unison from 5:00 PM to 6:30 PM on March 30th along the Houston Metro Red Line from Bell Station in the north to Hermann Park/Rice U in the south. Be there and be in a verdant landscape of performing arts, all for the price of a Metro ticket.*

Let me introduce you to our flowers:

Hermann Park/Rice U Station

Red daisies, crocuses, and celandine highlight the unconscious beauty and promise of our Junior Framers, while viscaria, wisteria, and protea bloom for the MultiGen Ensemble, symbolizing their (our!) courageous acceptance of the invitation to dance, and their arms-open welcoming of all dancers. Moonflowers will grow at the feet of Kirk Suddreath, and probably poppies, too, because his music is so g– d—- dreamy.

Museum District Station

Purple carnation, begonia, and the easily-fragmented white daisy bloom at this station, where actress-musician Alli Villines moves from story to story seeking a disintegrating past. Frame Dancers Lindsay Cortner and Jamie Williams act as unreliable muses, leading the storyteller from ground to ground like flighty seeds on the wind.

Ensemble/HCC Station

The talented Callina Anderson and Joe Palmore tell a tale as silent and ephemeral as the flowers. Linaria bipartita wishes for love to be noticed. Jonquils beg that affection be returned. Rainflower whispers, “I love you back. I will never forget you.” What happens next? Red roses? Morning glories? Forget-me-nots?

McGowen Station

Harrison Guy, Outspoken Bean, and the dancers at Urban Souls are planting the seeds at the McGowen Station, and I can’t wait to see what blossoms. Maybe some orchids for beauty, sunflowers for all-knowing ideals, protective nettle, or peaceful white poppies. Watch this space/garden plot!

Bell Street Station

Ashley Horn presents dance inspired by children’s landscape drawings and the endless, unselfconscious days of childhood. Blossoming here will be asters for daintiness and trust; camellia japonicas for unpretentious perfection; baby’s breath and white lilac for innocence and purity-of-heart, and for the memories children aren’t even aware they are making; and delphinium for lightness-of-heart, for joy, for the passionate, ardent attachments made by children and by the child in us all, and for the guiding sense of play and fun that it is so wise to follow.

If you know gardening, you know that you never really know what to expect, but we’ve planted our garden in faith, joy, and radical congeniality, and we hope that many of you Houstonians and lovers of growing, living things will walk in and ride through this garden. Like any good garden, there are multiple ways in and out, and you can come and go as you please. Wander. Notice. Be intrigued by something in the distance and follow it. You have 90 minutes of what I hope will be a lovely evening to discover, rediscover, or continue to discover the dynamic, cultured Midtown District of Houston by way of our speediest and arguably most interesting public transport.

See you on the platforms.

*$1.25 gets you unlimited transfers for three hours.

I got lots of help writing this article from the Wikipedia page on plant symbolism, and I recommend you check it out and learn a new and vibrant language: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plant_symbolism

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