"It's just a jump to the left. And then a step to the right. With your hand on your hips. You bring your knees in tight. But it's the pelvic thrust. That really drives you insane. Let's do the Time Warp again."
I promise you, this will be your anthem for the start of the dance season in Dallas when Dallas Theater Center opens Rocky Horror Show later this month. Because, Riff Raff and Magenta have it right: let dance take you on a dreamy, fantasy-filled trip to another dimension. These performers just want to take you on a time traveling trip that will have you falling out of your seat with laughter, hugging your neighbor out of love and respect, enjoying the gentle side of life, and visiting the experimental and wacky world of a creative genius.
Can you imagine a better way to spend a weekend?
September 2-14: Dallas Summer Musicals presents Nice Work If You Can Get It Imagine that it's the Roaring Twenties, you're living in New York, and you were just invited to the wedding of a wealthy playboy, but things don't quite go as planned because that playboy has just met the girl of his dreams. That's the story of Jimmy Winter and Billie Bendix in the hilariously adorable Tony Award-winning musical, Nice Work If You Can Get It. Set to the catchy tunes of George and Ira Gershwin, this soundtrack is bound to get stuck in your head and have you dancing in your seat. Especially when they sing, "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off" and "Someone to Watch Over Me." Don't tell me you aren't already humming along right now. September 2-14 at multiple times at the Music Hall at Fair Park, 909 1st Avenue, Dallas.
September 4-6: Dark Circles Contemporary Dance Dark Circles Contemporary Dance will be opening their 2014-2015 season with world premieres by Founder and Artistic Director Joshua L. Peugh, as well as New York-based choreographer Mike Esperanza, Director of BARE Dance Company, and emerging choreographer Chadi El-Khoury, who just presented a duet at the Dallas DanceFest. All three of these choreographers have a unique take on the human condition, so it will be interesting to see what will happen when they each place their movement language on the same dancers. September 4-6 at 8:00 p.m. at the Sanders Theatre, 3505 W. Lancaster Ave., Fort Worth. $20; $12 students.
September 11: Gaudium Dance Movement It's been over a year since Gaudium Dance Movement has presented an evening of dance, but they are returning this fall with a show packed full of new works from four guest choreographers, Pamela Hackworth, Jonathan Bostick, Hans Ndam, Jennifer Hobson, and a sneak peak of Artistic Director Gina Lee's original work, Boundless. The show is centered on the concept of love and the different interpretations of it, and how we deal with tragedy (depicted in a special solo created in honor of September 11). Also included in the evening is a piece created for the Gaudium Trainees. September 11 at 7:30 p.m. at the Courtyard Theater, 1509 Ave H, Plano. $15-$20.
September 11-October 19: The Rocky Horror Show Like this even needs much explanation. It's Dr. Frank N. Furter. It's Riff Raff. It's Magenta. It's a sweet transvestite. Damn it, Janet. Just buy your tickets now. Presented by the Dallas Theater Center. September 11-October 19, various times at the Wyly Theatre.
September 12-13: MOMIX presents Alchemia TITAS is starting its dance season off with a little bit of magic by bringing back audience-favorite, MOMIX. With their newest work, Alchemia, get ready to enter a world of light, shadows, and surreal creatures, and to have your dreams come true. Full of mystery and breath-taking moments of transformation, artistic director and choreographer Moses Pendleton, and creative genius, has set out to prove that alchemy is in fact an art form by crafting a show that pushes his dancers to become something more than human. As Pendleton himself says, "MOMIX is alchemy," and they will change they way you think about dance. I can promise you that. Friday, September 12 and Saturday, September 13 at 8:00 p.m. at the Winspear Opera House, 2403 Flora St., Dallas. $12-$135.
September 13-14: Bruce Wood Dance Project presents Lovett + More Lovett + More celebrates the life of the late choreographer Bruce Wood with a restaging of Being (1998) and Lovett! (2000) and a premiere of a Piazzolla de Prisa with live music from the Dallas Chamber Symphony. This production will also be the first one lead by Acting Artistic Director Kimi Nikaidoh, long-time Bruce Wood dancer. At 8 p.m. Saturday, September 13 and 2 p.m. Sunday, September 14 at the Dallas City Performance Hall, 2520 Flora St., Dallas. $25-$45; $100 VIP and $15 student rush tickets are also available.
September 20: DanceAfrica Dallas Black Dance Theatre will celebrate the opening of its 38th season, and the first month with new Artistic Director April Berry at the helm, with DanceAfrica, an all-day event celebrating African dance and culture. The DanceAfrica Festival is a free outdoor event that features vendors, arts, crafts and performances, and concludes with an evening performance that has always been filled with pure joy. The show is interactive and its one of the few times at a dance show in Dallas that audience participation is welcomed and almost necessary for the show to really take off. So clap and cheer and don't be afraid to let the performers know that you are there and you like what you are seeing. Takes place from 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. Saturday, September 20 at Dallas Black Dance Studios, 2700 Flora St., Dallas, Free. Evening performance at 7:30 p.m., theatre to be announced. September 27: Spectrum Dance Company TITAS is one-upping themselves in the same month with the Dallas premiere of Seattle dance company, Spectrum Dance Company. Currently under the direction of Donald Byrd, Spectrum has quickly become known as the go-to company for avant-garde and contemporary dance in America. I mean, in 2010, the company was part of the Guggenheim Museum's Works & Progress series, during which they performed Byrd's interpretation of a John Zorn composition. The company is on the verge of exploding into a new era, and we get to witness their journey for one-night only. Don't miss this. September 27, 2014 at 8:00 pm at the Winspear Opera House, 2403 Flora St., Dallas, TX 75201. $12-$135.
September 28: Fiesta Latinoamericana! The eighth annual Fiesta Latinoamericana! is a free family celebration that features two stages of live music and dance, plus, children's discovery workshops and interactive cultural activities for the entire family. And, did I mention it's free? Get out, go to the park, spend time with your family, go visit the museums, and discover cultural dances that are a huge part of the historical landscape of our city. From 11 a.m. - 7 p.m. September 28 at Klyde Warren Park in the Dallas Arts District, 2012 Woodall Rodgers Fwy, Dallas. Free.
{254} DANCE-FEST Just an hour and a half from here on September 27-28 in Waco is the {254} DANCE-FEST. Under the artistic direction of L. Brooke Schlecte, {254} is bringing together dance companies from all over the state and southwest region, and companies you have probably never heard of but should very quickly put them on your "to watch" list. Driving down from Dallas/Fort Worth are Grid Arts, Collective Force Dance Company, Satellite Dance, Wild Goose Chase Dance, Avant Chamber Ballet, and Dallas Black Dance Theatre II. Coming up from Austin and Houston are ARCOS Dance, Alyson Dolan, Psophonia Dance Company, and freelance choreographer Lauren Douglas. Spare Works Dance will make the drive from San Antonio, and The Bell House and Tulsa Modern Movement will come down from Oklahoma. Making the longest trek is Andee Scott from St. Petersburg, Florida to join Out On a Limb Dance, who are based in Waco. [Oh, and you can see the author of this piece in Houston-based choreographer Lauren Douglas' newest work, "What The Crow Ate."] Takes place at 5 and 7 p.m. September 27 and 3 p.m. September 28 at Waco Convention Center, 100 Washington Ave., Waco. Free.
