Houston Contemporary Dance Company Presents SILVER CELEBRATION This June

Houston Contemporary Dance Company has announced their 2024 season, featuring innovative performances and new works by renowned choreographers.

Silver Celebration features a premiere by NYC based artist Brandon Coleman and Viola by sought after Thai American artist Keerati Jinakunwiphat. The concert also includes works by Princess Grace Choreographic Fellowship recipient Norbert De La Cruz III, Artist in Residence at the Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University, Christian Denice, and our Second Company, HC2's presenting works from Director of the Dance Safe, Cat Cogliandro, and Associate Artistic Director of Giordano Dance Chicago, Cesar Salinas.=

Always a night of contemporary dance for aficionados and newcomers, Miller Outdoor Theatre is pleased to have us back to help celebrate our fifth year of beautiful and sophisticated performances. Houston Contemporary Dance Company believes that dance should be accessible to all communities. From concert dance enthusiasts who are drawn to our highly skilled dancers and choreographers to our youngest fans who are enthralled by seeing dancers on stage that they can directly relate to, our audiences span a full range of ages, backgrounds, and experiences with dance.

All performances at Miller Outdoor Theatre are FREE but you can reserve your seats with Houston Contemporary Dance Company! 

Silver Celebration is sponsored in part by the City of Houston through the Miller Theatre Advisory Board. We would also like to thank the Houston Arts Alliance through the City of Houston, Texas Commission on the Arts, Mid America Arts Alliance, Dance Source Houston,  Bob Boblitt, Bobbie Nau, Shirley and Brian Colona, Remington and Sarah Tonar, Bank of Texas, Amegy Bank, USI and Jackson Walker for their support this Season.

Read more about the Guest Choreographer and Artists below:  

Cat Cogliandro's mission is to create nurturing and empowering learning environments where students can develop their technical skills, artistic expression, movement quality, and self-confidence. With a strong emphasis on codified techniques, and influence (with respect and gratitude) from African dance and hip hop culture, coupled with elements of acting and a dedicated focus on musicality, the class is thoughtfully structured to delve into the exploration of expression through movement quality, honing storytelling skills, and embracing vulnerability through self-love. This contemporary fusion class encompasses a thorough warm-up, across-the-floor exercises, and phrase work. To address any accessibility needs, Cat encourages direct communication via email. Feel free to reach out with your specific requirements to enhance your experience and make the class more comfortable for you. To see more of their work, follow them on Instagram @cat_cogliandro.
s across the country.

Brandon Coleman is an NYC-based choreographer, performer, and teacher from Katy, TX. Formerly a member of Visceral Dance Chicago, Brandon has also worked with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago as a guest artist for their 2017 Summer Series. Since moving to NYC in 2017, Brandon has danced with KEIGWIN + COMPANY, the Metropolitan Opera ballet, VIM VIGOR Dance Company. Most recently, Brandon was a performer and Rehearsal Director for Punchdrunk's SLEEP NO MORE in NYC. In 2020, Brandon began producing his own work including a short dance film, "Drift, with choreographer Florian Lochner of FLOCK and a new immersive work, Broken Record, with Kayla Farrish, which premiered on The Little Island in NYC in August 2021. His most recent dance film, "ROLLBACK" premiered in May 2023 as a part of the Future Dance Festival presented by 92NY harkness Mainstage Series. He's created works for Houston Contemporary Dance Company, the High School for Performing and Visual Arts in Houston, Southeastern Missouri State University, and Alma Collective. He is the host of Breaking the Wall Podcast which posts weekly episodes to provide tools and advice for early-career and pre-professional dancers. He is currently on faculty at Gibney Dance and Peridance in NYC. Brandon is a graduate of the University of Arizona, where he received his BFA in Dance and BA in Communication with a minor in Arts Administration. IG @itsbrandoncoleman

Born in the Philippines and raised in Los Angeles, Norbert De La Cruz III received a BFA in Dance from the Juilliard School and an MFA in Dance from Hollins University. He is a NY and LA based freelance artist. Former soloist with Ballet Torino, Aszure Barton & Artists, Metropolitan Opera, and Complexions, Norbert has created original works for Aspen Santa Fe Ballet, New York City Ballet, Tulsa Ballet, Hubbard Street II, BalletX, Peridance, Juilliard, Olympic Ballet Theater, Big Muddy Dance Company, Eisenhower Dance Detroit, Dallas Black Dance Theatre, Owen/Cox Dance Group, Nashville Ballet, Bruce Wood Dance and much more.  Norbert was casted as a dancer in the Warner Brothers Pictures film adaptation of Tony Winning Musical, In The Heights.Norbert was a Princess Grace Foundation-USA award recipient in choreography, Alvin Ailey New Directions Choreography Lab, Joffrey Academy of Dance's Winning Works, and a two time recipient of the the New York City Ballet's NY Choreographic Institute. He was a former faculty member at The Juilliard School and a visiting guest artist at SUNY Purchase, Boston Conservatory, Barnard Columbia University, and Princeton University.  His honorable mentions include the Asian Arts Alliance, McCallum Theatre Choreography Festival Award, Youth American Grand Prix's best choreographer award and was featured in Dance Magazines Top 25 to watch.Norbert is in constant search of inspiration; seeking for more valuable collaborations and human connections.  

Christian Denice is a dancer and choreographer originally from Los Angeles, California. His professional dance experience includes Odyssey Dance Theatre, River North Dance Chicago, and BJM Danse (Les Ballets Jazz de Montreal). As an artist, Christian seeks to examine and unravel the mysteries of the human experience by way of dance and dance making. As a choreographer, he has created new works for such companies and organizations as Nevada Ballet Theatre, Moving Arts with dancers of Kansas City Ballet and Cincinnati Ballet, Chamber Dance Project, Odyssey Dance Theatre, DanceWorks Chicago, Interlochen Center for the Arts, the Los Angeles Contemporary Dance Company, Missouri Contemporary Ballet, Western Michigan University, Modern America Dance Company, Wylliams/Henry Contemporary Dance Company, Eisenhower Dance Detroit, Houston Contemporary Dance Company, Wright State University, Kit Modus, Dance Lab New York, Santa Barbara City College, Manhattanville College, and Dreyfoos School for the Arts. As a dance educator, Christian brings his movement language both nationally and internationally, and has been on faculty with Modas Dance, Open Doors Dance Festival, EPIC Dance Utah, Eisenhower Dance Detroit NEWdanceFEST, Kansas City Jazz Dance Fest, DanceWorks Chicago Dance360, AXIS Connect Los Angeles, Peridance Center in New York City, and SALT Dance Link Festival. Christian was the 2015 winner of the University of South Florida's Echo Choreographic Competition and selected as one of the three choreographers for the Joffrey Academy's Winning Works Choreographic competition in 2016. Christian works for Greek choreographer Andonis Foniadakis, restaging his work for companies throughout the  United States and Europe, as well as dancing in his production of “Salema Revisited” which premiered in Athens, Greece in 2021. Christian worked with New York City based filmmaker Alexander Sargent on a dance film of his work “Dwellings” created on Chamber Dance Project which premiered at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC in October 2022. Christian served as Artist in Residence at the Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland from 2021-2023. Christian made his Broadway debut in “The Little Prince '' which opened in New York in 2021 and most recently served as répétiteur and rehearsal director for Texas based contemporary company ISHIDA Dance.

Keerati Jinakunwiphat, originally from Chicago, IL., received her BFA from the Conservatory of Dance at SUNY Purchase and was a recipient of the Adopt-A- Dancer Scholarship. She has additionally studied at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, San Francisco Conservatory of Dance, and Springboard Danse Montreal. She has worked with and performed works of artists such as Kyle Abraham, Nicole von Arx, Trisha Brown, Jasmine Ellis, Hannah Garner, Shannon Gillen, Andrea Miller, Paul Singh, Kevin Wynn, and Doug Varone. Keerati began working with A.I.M. by Kyle Abraham in 2016. She has additionally assisted Kyle Abraham in new commissioned work for New York City Ballet and Paul Taylor Dance Company. As a freelance choreographer, Keerati has presented her own choreographic works at the American Dance Guild Festival, Battery Dance Festival, Dance Gallery Festival, The Joyce Theater, New Victory Theater, MASS MoCA, Lincoln Center, Works & Process at the Guggenheim and more. She has been commissioned to set and create works on the Evanston Dance Ensemble, the Martha Graham School, SUNY Purchase College Conservatory of Dance, A.I.M. by Kyle Abraham, Houston Contemporary Dance Company, New England Ballet Theatre, Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company, Bang On A Can, Princeton University, PARA.MAR Dance Theatre, Whim W'him Seattle Contemporary Dance, New York Choreographic Institute, and Rutgers University. Keerati has graced the cover as one of Dance Magazine's ‘25 to Watch' in 2021. In 2023, she had the honor of becoming the first Asian American woman to be commissioned to choreograph for the New York City Ballet. Additionally, Keerati has been awarded with the Jadin Wong Fellowship Artist of Exceptional Merit by the Asian American Arts Alliance and is a 2023 Princess Grace Award winner in choreography.

Cesar G. Salinas, originally from Portland, Oregon, was named Giordano Dance Chicago's Associate Artistic Director at the start of GDC's 60th Anniversary Season. He began his formal studies in dance with Zohar School of Dance, under the direction of Ehud Krauss in Palo Alto, CA. There he was introduced to the classic jazz styles of Gus Giordano, Luigi, and Matt Mattox. He moved to Oregon where he studied at Willamette Ballet Academy under Deborah Higginbotham. Cesar went on to further his training at the University at Buffalo, where he graduated with a BFA in Dance. He received a scholarship to Giordano Dance School in Chicago, IL, in 2004 and 2005. From 2006 until 2011, Cesar joined Giordano Dance Chicago as a full company member performing throughout the United States and Europe. During his tenure, he was proud to be a part of GDC's educational outreach program, teaching science and health dance classes to 4th and 5th grade students in under-resourced public schools in Chicago. Cesar was honored to be on the cover of Dance Magazine (August 2007) and to teach at the Jazz Dance World Congress in 2007, 2009, and 2012. In 2013, he was chosen as a soloist for BalaSole Dance Company performing “Hunted” in New York City's Alvin Ailey Citigroup where he received rave reviews: “richly physical performance that drew the audience's unfettered enthusiasm” – Philip Gordon. Cesar toured the world with Royal Caribbean cruise lines as a performer in the Broadway production of Saturday Night Fever as well as an aerialist. In the January 2018 issue of Dance Teacher Magazine, Cesar demonstrates the Giordano Technique alongside Nan Giordano in honor of the company's 55th Anniversary Season. Cesar is a certified teacher in the Giordano Technique at the Basic, Beginning, Intermediate, Advanced, and Professional Levels of the Nan Giordano Certification Program (NGCP). Most recently Cesar returned to the stage at the Auditorium Theatre to perform Gus Giordano's 1978 iconic solo Wings in honor of Nan Giordano's 33 years at the helm and 25th Anniversary as Artistic Director for GDC. Lauren Warnecke of See Chicago Dance wrote, “...you could almost imagine Gus himself up there performing the piece he made 40 years ago.” He currently teaches master classes and workshops, as well as choreographs for universities and studios across the country.di

ABOUT HOUSTON CONTEMPORARY DANCE COMPANY: 

Houston Contemporary aims to lead and innovate performing arts in Houston by drawing upon the director's long tradition of inclusiveness and diversity within all facets of the organization. HCDC sets itself apart by employing high caliber performing and choreographic artists from across the country.  In setting high technical and artistic standards, HCDC is currently the only contemporary repertory company to provide Houston audiences with opportunities to view works created by some of America's most exciting dancemakers that speak to and are representative of the full spectrum of Houston's diverse populace, while supporting talented Texas based artists as well.

ABOUT HOUSTON CONTEMPORARY 2:

Houston Contemporary 2 (HC2) is a concert based, non competitive, pre-professional dance company focused on training and performance. Dancers will be exposed to multiple styles of dance education in preparation for a future career in dance. The teaching staff and outside choreographers have many years of experience with pre-professional youth ensuring their well-rounded contemporary dance education and assisting students with college admissions and/or other professional dance opportunities. The youth company will have the opportunity to perform throughout Houston during their season, including under the umbrella of the professional Houston Contemporary Dance Company, a 501(c)(3) sister organization to the  Institute of Contemporary Dance. 

Marlana Doyle, Founding Artistic and Executive Director, is originally from Massachusetts and graduated from Point Park University in 2001 with a BA in Dance. Marlana is the former Artistic Director of Met Dance, where she held various positions for seventeen years. Under her direction, Marlana's vision and leadership catapulted the company to new levels of excellence and growth while holding tightly to the company's long tradition of diversity and versatility in its dancers, choreographers, collaborators, and content.Marlana is the President & CEO of the Institute of Contemporary Dance which houses Houston Contemporary professional concert dance company and HC2, a youth training company. Marlana is a member of Dance Source Houston, International Association of Blacks in Dance, Texans in the Arts and Dance USA, spending 2009-2012 as an emerging leader at Dance USA. She was awarded the Dance USA Leadership Mentee Fellowship for the institute of training in 2012 and was a mentor for the same program in 2019. She served for three years as a Dance USA Board of Trustee member and served as the Artistic Director Council Chair. Marlana has also serving on the Performing Arts Houston's Educational Committee, SAN JACINTO College Dance Advisory Board and  the Leadership Committee for Arts Connect. As a performer, Marlana has danced and generated roles in a range of works by renowned choreographers and artists. Marlana is also a guest teacher and an award-winning choreographer for her many students in Houston and throughout the United States. She has choreographed for the City of Houston, Levi's and Walmart, Mercury Ensemble, Apollo Chamber Players, Houston Chamber Choir, Houston Symphony, TUTS, Loop38, Kinetic Ensemble, ROCO, University of Houston, Sam Houston State University, Lamar University, RICE University and University of St. Thomas. She lives in Sugar Land, TX with her husband Ben and her two adorable daughters Olivia and Evie.

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