Houston Contemporary Dance Company Presents VIGOROUS SPIRIT In November

Houston Contemporary Dance Company will present Vigorous Spirit as a part of their 6th Season. This concert will present Citizen which will be restaged on HCDC by internationally recognized performer and choreographer, Yin Yue.

This work blends dynamic and expressive movement, together with dramatic original musical scoring which reflects the intensity of the times we were living then and now. They will also present notable and exhilarating works from their repertoire including Sincerely Yours by Princess Grace Award Winning, Norbert De La Cruz III, One Thousand Pieces by NYC based choreographer Brandon Coleman and Sensorium by Houston Ballet's Soloist and choreographer, Jack Wolff.

VIGOROUS SPIRIT is funded in part by the Houston Arts Alliance through the City of Houston, Texas Commission on the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, Mid America Arts Alliance and Dance Source Houston.  We would also like to Thank Bob Boblitt, Bobbie Nau, Shirley and Brian Colona, Remington and Sarah Tonar, Bank of Texas and Amegy Bank,for their support this Season. This event is being performed at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts, sponsored by Houston Area Lexus Dealers and United Airlines.

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.  

Jack Wolff joined Houston Ballet as an Apprentice after training at American Ballet Theatre's Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School from 2015-2018 on full scholarship. Wolff has previously trained with Precision Dance Academy, the Houston MET Too Pre-Professional Program, and Houston's High School for the Performing Arts, while participating in summer intensives at The Juilliard School, Arts Umbrella, New York City Dance Alliance, American Ballet Theatre, French Academie of Ballet, and Houston Ballet Academy.  He joined as a Corps de Ballet member in 2019.  He was promoted to Demi Soloist in 2022.

The founder and artistic director of YY Dance Company (YYDC), Yue Yin is an internationally recognized performer and choreographer. Yin studied at the prestigious Shanghai Dance Academy and NYU's Tisch School of the Arts where she received her MFA in 2008. In 2018, Yin founded YYDC, a NYC-based, non-profit contemporary dance company dedicated to the teaching, production and performance of original choreographic works by Yin. Yin's signature FoCo Technique represents a dynamic fusion of folk, ballet and contemporary dance. YYDC's mission is to incorporate Yin's signature movement style into live performances and choreographic commissions as well as educational endeavor. Under Yin's direction, the company has presented its work to live audiences on U.S. and international stages.Yue was recipient of 2021 Harkness Promise Award. This prestigious award recognizes her innovation in choreography and education. She was the winner of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago 2015 International Commissioning Project, winner of the 2015 BalletX Choreographic Fellowship, and winner of Northwest Dance Project's 5th Annual Pretty Creatives International Choreographic Competition in 2013. Through these high-profile successes, Yin has received commissions from all three widely-recognized companies as well as other companies and organizations namely Martha Graham Dance Company, Boston Ballet, BalletMet, Oregon Ballet Theater, Philadelphia Ballet, Aspen Santa Fe Ballet, Limon Dance Company, Alberta Ballet, Balletto Teatro di Torino, Gibney Dance Company, Peridance Contemporary Dance Company, Whim W'him, Bruce Wood Dance, Ririe Woodbury Dance Company, Boston Dance Theater, 10 Hairy Legs, New Dialect, Backhausdance, Tisch School of The Arts, George Mason University, Rutgers University, Point Park University, West Michigan University and Juilliard School for Dance. https://yydc.org/about/

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.

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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