Tapestry Dance Company to Present THE PRECIOUS PRESENT - LISTEN in Austin

Austin's acclaimed dance company Tapestry continues its annual celebration of music, dance, visual art and spoken word with the premiere of the 2023 rendition of The Precious Present -Listen. Co-sponsored by Women In Jazz and supported by the City of Austin and the Texas Commission on the Arts, the concert will be held at the Austin Ventures Studio Theatre, Dec. 16 and 17 – Saturday at 2 and 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. Tickets start at $35 (with pay what you can option) and are available www.tapestry.org  

 

The Precious Present – Listen will celebrate Austin dance, vocal and music artists including long-time legends of Austin arts including Austin Arts Hall of Fame Inductees Anuradha Naimpally (classical Indian dance) and Zell Miller III (spoken word artist) as well as Sharon Marroquin and Jun “Sunny” Shen (modern dance) and Olivia Chacon (flamenco). Austin's own woman of Jazz Pamela Hart as well as Denisha Adriana will bless the evening's vocal vibe and premiere member of the Austin Arts Hall of Fame Acia Gray will bring rhythms to the floor with her unique jazz tap artistry. A unique and beautiful addition to this annual event last season was visual artist Ami Plasse who will again be onsite creating ongoing visual artwork throughout this moving jazz atmosphere. The Precious Present will be accompanied by jazz musicians Austin Kimble on piano, Dylan Jones on bass and Masumi Jones on drums. 

 

The Precious Present weaves together the American musical foundations and culture of jazz with a palette of diverse dance techniques from tap dance to flamenco and from modern dance to visual art creating a performance that truly celebrates Austin's incredible and mutually supportive artistic community. 

 

“It is in the dance of our individual lives and the spontaneity of the jazz element that we collaborate to create a beautiful symphony of community,” said Tapestry Director Acia Gray. “All unique yet traveling together and not alone - an artistic human tapestry that holds itself together as one. Rhythm is life and life is rhythm in this magic of movement and sound.” 

 

ABOUT TAPESTRY DANCE:

A Long Center Resident Company since 2008, Tapestry is a professional, non-profit dance organization founded in 1989 by Acia Gray and Deirdre Strand for the purpose of developing a foundation in multi-form dance performance and education. For over 33 years, the critically acclaimed events and programs of Tapestry Dance have included more than 65 full length world premiere concerts in Austin, TX, the Annual International Soul to Sole Tap Festival bringing the leaders and legends of tap dance to Central Texas for over 25 years, community outreach programs such as Rhythm, Dance, Music & You! serving thousands of at-risk and Title One children since 1990 and numerous master classes and workshops as well as touring performance residencies throughout the world. Awarded best ensemble, best dancer, best choreographer and other honors by The Austin Critic's Table Awards, Tapestry is also listed on the TCA Touring Roster and the company's NEA Masterpiece production of The Souls of Our Feet -­ A Celebration of American Tap Dance toured globally including The People's Republic of China for 5 weeks and director Acia Gray was asked to set a national syllabus for Chinese tap dance curriculum. Tapestry Dance is funded in part by the City of Austin's Elevate Grant Program, the Texas Commission on the Arts, awards from the National Endowment for the Arts and Women in Jazz. 

 

ABOUT ARTISTIC DIRECTOR ACIA GRAY: As soloist, choreographer and master teacher, Ms. Gray has toured extensively across the U.S. and abroad to include England, Ireland, the Czech Republic, Cyprus, China, Spain, Brazil, Canada and Austria and has shared the stage with such tap greats as Gregory Hines, Savion Glover and Donald O'Connor to name a few. In June of 2002, Ms. Gray was inducted as a premiere member of the Austin Arts Hall of Fame and was nominated for a prestigious Alpert Award in the Arts as well as being a choreographer chosen for the NEA National College Choreography Initiative. Her critically acclaimed book and Amazon.com category bestseller The Souls of Your Feet – A Tap Dance Guide for Rhythm Explorers is available at all major bookstores and has been translated in the Czech Republic and China. Ms. Gray also served on the NEA funded Steering Committee for the National Tap Plan and was recognized as a leader in the field in Lynn Dally's UCLA event Women in Tap. Ms. Gray has appeared in numerous documentaries including Passing It Forward / NPR and A Class Act – The Magic of Honi Coles. Her awards include the Third Coast Rhythm Project's Legacy Award, the 2008 Texas Tap Legend by the Dallas Dance Council and the 2010 Hoofer Award by Tap City – The New York City Tap Festival, among others. Ms. Gray is a 2019 Austin Creative Alliance Honoree and a premiere member of The Austin Arts Hall of Fame. 

 

Tapestry Dance is funded and supported in part this season by the City of Austin through the Cultural Arts Division, the Texas Commission on the Arts, awards from the National Endowment for the Arts as well as Women in Jazz. 

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