Three of Houston’s most esteemed choreographers — Jane Weiner, Dominic Walsh and Leslie Scates — are working as “advisers” with local companies for the
13th Annual Dance Houston Festival. Walsh is working with the modern dance company Freneticore and Indian dance group Nritya Dance Company. “I’m not actually giving anyone any advice,” he tells us. “And I’m not acting like a mentor exactly. I’m just bringing a new pair of eyes to the process and asking questions. Sometimes someone from the outside can see things differently than the people who have been working on something all along.” He goes on, “What you’ll see onstage is completely that choreographer’s work. I’m trying to make sure that the vocabulary and style stays the same. I’m just asking, ‘Is there another way to do that?’ or ‘What else can you use?’ Hopefully, I can help them take their work to the next level, but it’s all their work. Both of these companies [Freneticore and Nritya] have very different styles from each other, so it’s been fun working with them.”
The other groups — Compañia Folklorica Alegria Mexicana, Dance of Asian America, Hope Stone, Houston Met, Inertia, Son Kiss’d Dance Theater and Urban Souls — are working with Weiner and Scates.
Walsh was a longtime leader in the Houston dance community until he relocated to New Mexico last year. Although he’s no longer based in Houston, he’s still committed to working with local dancemakers. “I’m not living here anymore, but I’m happy to do what I can. If something comes up, like this opportunity, I’m here.”
8 p.m. Wortham Theater Center, 501 Texas. For information, call 713-526-1049 or visit dancehouston.org. $16 to $100.
Sat., Feb. 21, 8 p.m., 2015
