Kathy Dunn Hamrick Dance Company Launches Austin Modern Dance Festival Today

Austin, TX -- Austin's new Modern Dance Festival brings together and celebrates emerging choreographers and established modern dance companies throughout the state and beyond. The one day only Festival takes place today, April 18th at AustinVentures Studio Theatre, located inside Ballet Austin's Butler Dance Education Center on 501 West 3rd Street in Austin.

The Festival was founded by Kathy Dunn Hamrick, Artistic Director of the highly acclaimed Kathy Dunn Hamrick Dance Company, after noticing that modern dance has been woefully absent in Austin's growing Festival scene.

"The Austin arts scene is continually in the national and even international spotlight, in part, due to its festivals," she says. "However, there is currently no vehicle to bring modern dance companies together in a festival-like setting. We wanted to celebrate and showcase the incredible depth and breadth of talent throughout Texas and beyond and give our community an opportunity to experience a diverse range of modern dance in a festival setting."

Despite the Festival's neophyte stage, entries poured in, and 23 were accepted. Participating companies include San Antonio's SpareWorks.dance, Circuitous Dance/Kate Warren of Austin, the Houston MET Dance Company, ModArts Dance Collective of North Hollywood, CA, Contemporary Dance/Ft. Worth and Dark Circles Contemporary Dance USA from Dallas among many others (full list below).

The Austin Dance Festival brings choreographers and audiences together for two fast-paced one-hour concerts (2:00 and 5:00 pm) and one two-hour concert (8:00 pm) of family-friendly performances. From the cerebral to the raucous, the line-up reflects a diverse mix of 23 different emerging and established choreographers and an eclectic assortment of Austin newcomers and longstanding artists.

For tickets and more information, visit www.kdhdance.com or call (512) 934-1082.

2:00 pm Performance

One-hour dance concert featuring:

Kathy Dunn Hamrick Dance Company (Austin)
Verge Dance Company (Austin)
ModArts Dance Collective (N. Hollywood, CA)
Sling Dance Project (Austin)
Nadia Dosal (Denton)
Veronica Ramirez & Pat Stone (Austin)
Flatlands Dance Theatre (Lubbock)
Austin Allegro Dance Company (Austin)
Lisa Nicks and her Band of Wild Ponies (Austin)

5:00 pm Performance

One-hour dance concert featuring:

SpareWorks.dance (San Antonio)
David Chao (Round Rock)
Circuitous Dance/Kate Warren (Austin)
Diane Cahill Bedford (College Station)
Mysti Jace Pride (Austin)
Catherine Solaas (Austin)

8:00 pm Performance

Two-hour dance concert featuring:

Alyson Dolan (Austin)
Darla Johnson (Austin)
Ballet East Dance Company (Austin)
Houston MET Dance Company (Houston)
Contemporary Dance/Ft. Worth (Ft. Worth)
Annette Christopher (Austin)
Out on a Limb Dance Company (Waco)
Dark Circles Contemporary Dance USA (Dallas)

Kathy Dunn Hamrick has accumulated numerous awards and recognitions for her choreography, including "Best Choreographer" and two "Best Dance Concert" awards by the Austin Critics Table. She has received invitations to perform at dance festivals, teach at professional conferences, and direct artist residencies for high schools and universities.

Kathy has earned critical acclaim from the New York Times, the Dallas Morning News, and Toronto's Globe and Mail, among others. Under her artistic leadership, Kathy Dunn Hamrick Dance Company has received several Austin Critics Table nominations for Best Dancer, Best Choreographer, Best Ensemble, Best Original Score and Best Dance Concert.

Kathy grew up in Nacogdoches, Texas, where she studied classical ballet with Maryse Gobel. Upon graduating from high school, she studied with Gallia Kouskoff in Toulouse, France. She then attended the University of Texas and received a BA in Modern Dance, moved to New York to study with Ruth Currier and other notable dance masters, and earned an MFA in Performance and Choreography from Florida State University.

In addition to directing and choreographing for the Dance Company, Kathy teaches dance to numerous populations. She has been a guest speaker/artist for Texas A&M University, Texas State University, the Texas Association of Health, Physical Education and Recreational Dance, the Texas Dance Educators Association, Round Rock ISD and the American College Dance Festival, among others. She has taught creative movement to scores of at-risk elementary grade students and worked with foster girls through New Art Kinnections, the company's arts outreach program. She has taught at Florida State University, Stephen F. Austin State University and the University of Texas and currently teaches dance at Austin Community College and Café Dance, a professional modern dance studio.

Founded in 1999, Kathy Dunn Hamrick Dance Company is one of the longest-standing modern dance companies in Austin. Their mission is to provide engaging contemporary dance performances for the general public and supports arts education and community well-being through outreach and enrichment programs.

The company creates and performs original works, collaborating with other dance companies, musicians and designers, and directs outreach programs for foster girls in residence at The Settlement Home. The Company also presents the annual Austin Dance Festival, a series of modern dance concerts presenting the work of emerging and established artists for Austin audiences.

Kathy Dunn Hamrick Dance Company is one of Austin's most critically acclaimed modern dance companies. In 2014, it received the Austin Critics Table Awards for both Best Dance Concert and Best Choreographer.

In addition to dancing for Austin audiences, Kathy Dunn Hamrick Dance Company has toured extensively throughout Texas and has performed in several major North American cities as well, garnering critical acclaim from the Dallas Morning News, the Toronto Globe and Mail, and the New York Times among others. The company also accepts numerous invitations to perform at dance festivals, teach at professional conferences and direct artist residencies for schools and universities.

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