The Pilot Dance Project Brings The Delicate Space to the Near Northside

Over in the Near Northside of Houston, there’s a continuum of work being created by Adam Castan͂eda, the executive and artistic director of The Pilot Dance Project.

Since 2020, Castan͂eda has been setting a lot of work in the Near Northside, a neighborhood just north of University of Houston-Downtown, east of The Heights and surrounded by freeways. But this weekend, when The Pilot Dance Project presents The Delicate Space – its fifth evening-length production by dancemaker and designer Ashley Horn, with Castan͂eda serving as guest choreographer – not only will the performance be set in the Houston neighborhood, but Castan͂eda’s taking it a step further: The Delicate Space will be performed at Castan͂eda’s childhood home.

The journey to the Near Northside began when Castan͂eda was selected to participate in the Dance/USA Institute for Leadership Training, a development program which paired him with a mentor, Christopher K. Morgan. The pair previously met at the Jacob’s Pillow National Dance Presenters’ Forum in 2018, and Castan͂eda describes the match as “serendipitous.”

“He was like, ‘You know what? You are a Latinx artistic executive director – and I’m not making a judgement value on this, I’m just making an observation – but the work that you do doesn’t really reflect your identity. That’s just a note for you to consider. Either that’s an intention or you’re not really addressing it, which could be ripe for a lot of interesting work,’’ recalls Castan͂eda.

Inspired by Morgan to lean into his identity, and pushed further by a meeting with future visual art partner Tami Moschioni in 2018, Castan͂eda initially considered creating an art and dance tour of the neighborhood pre- and post-gentrification, with stops at locations like the local library and YMCA he frequented as a youth. Though the idea of a tour eventually fell by the wayside, his contact with the Greater Northside Management District opened the door to producing in the neighborhood.

According to Castan͂eda, The Delicate Space will, “in a lot of ways,” be their first art activation in the neighborhood, and the first of three different projects funded by the city that Castan͂eda and Moschioni will produce this fall.

Though placing The Delicate Space in the neighborhood firmly sets the project in the current cannon of his work, Castan͂eda says there was another reason he selected his childhood home: “I really just wanted to pay homage to this residence.”

“If you know anything about the Near Northside, it’s in the process of a lot of gentrification. It’s a completely different neighborhood than when I grew up, and the sad truth of the matter is we don’t know where this house will end up. We don’t know if we’ll have it in our family for posterity. We don’t know if the heirs will sell it. And it’s just my way of blessing it or asking for a blessing from it,” says Castan͂eda. “I’m looking forward to having it documented, because whatever happens to the space I’ll always have it with me.”

The seeds for The Delicate Space specifically were also planted prior to the pandemic, as Castan͂eda considered the benefits of programming an entire season of evening-length duets. In addition to offering opportunities for movement and production innovation, the scaled-back nature of such a season would be a way of financially sustaining the company because, as Castan͂eda points out, “It’s just very expensive to produce an entire company of dancers.”

Of course, things changed in March 2020, forcing Castan͂eda to shift gears.

Cut to March 2023, when Horn called Castan͂eda asking if he was still interested in that evening-length duet idea.

“She had a very clear idea in scope for what she wanted to do,” says Castan͂eda. “She wanted to, through movement, explore ideas of intimacy, personal struggle, personal journey, personal forgiveness through a reconciliation of one’s imperfections, and just that whole idea, that whole ethos, I think really lent itself to setting it on two bodies.”

Like much of the work produced by The Pilot Dance Project since the pandemic, The Delicate Space is “more internal,” with a “ritualistic, spiritual sensibility” that Castan͂eda says audiences have really supported. Though there tends to be a strong association between contemporary dance and, as Castan͂eda describes it, “big, explosive ensemble work,” he’s found that audiences are “ready to be a little bit more reflective than they were pre-pandemic.”

“I think they’re open to really experiencing a work that asks them to examine their own relationships, their own personal journey, their own mental well-being, and I think it’s important because I would say for the past year, as we’ve started to shift gears and move forward post-pandemic, a lot of those bad habits that I think society had pre-pandemic are coming back,” says Castan͂eda. “As society has reawakened, I think we’re busier than we ever where, and I’m a little bit worried about our collective and communal mental health. So, I’m hoping that The Delicate Space is an opportunity to really call back to that reflective time.”

Castan͂eda says that while Horn has focused on creating the duet work and interactions between the two lead characters (danced by Castan͂eda and Courtney Sherman-Allen) along with their solos, he has been in charge of the ensemble players (Cloe Leppard, Jaredd Martin and Kristina Prats).

“[Horn is] fleshing out the lives of the two main characters, and I’m creating these three spirit beings that pop up on the journey every now and then and remind the main characters that they are human, they are valuable, they are loved, and even though they’ve made mistakes and they’re not perfect, they need to forgive themselves and understand that they’re just part of the continuum that is life experience,” says Castan͂eda. “They represent the main characters’ internal impulses, like their hopes, their dreams, maybe some regrets, maybe some pain in their past.”

Castan͂eda considers himself fortunate to have such an “imaginative assignment,” one that’s allowed him to bring a lot of creative movement to the table. One example of this creativity can be seen in a section that Castan͂eda fondly refers to as “The Sweet Bread Trio.”

“I created one of my usual phrases that I taught the three dancers, but then I brought to the rehearsal five different types of Mexican sweet breads, because that is what my family ate in large abundance when I was a kid, and I asked them to create a little movement sequence for each of the five. They could respond to taste, texture, smell, how the bread made them feel, and so the construction of that trio was very much their response to this very personal culinary aspect of my childhood,” says Castan͂eda.

Adding to the creativity of The Delicate Space will be soft sculpture pieces designed by Moschioni and a “design feast” from Horn, who is also contributing more than 25 costumes.

“There’s only five dancers, so there will be some obvious costume changes,” adds Castan͂eda.

Like all site-specific work, there are some limitations Castan͂eda has had to contend with; specifically, the site limits the audience to only 25 attendees per performance (and opening night is already sold out), it’s a private residence so they are unable to publicize the location, and the performance will be held outside in the Texas heat.

Luckily, tickets are still available for two of the three performances, the location (and additional instructions) will be sent to ticket purchasers, and Castan͂eda assures us that plenty of water and fans will be on hand.

“Nobody’s going to pass out,” he promises.

The Delicate Space will be performed at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, June 30, and 7:30 and 9 p.m. on Saturday, July 1. The location will be sent to patrons upon purchase of tickets. For more information, visit pilotdanceproject.org. $15-$20.

This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2023.