2019 Festival Season

Member of Royal Danish Ballet (Copenhagen, Denmark) performing <em>Carmen</em>. Choreography by Marcos Morau. Photography by Klaus Vedfelt.
Above: Member of Royal Danish Ballet (Copenhagen, Denmark) performing Carmen. Choreography by Marcos Morau. Photography by Klaus Vedfelt.

Dance Salad Festival returns

April 18, 19, & 20, 2019
Thursday, Friday, Saturday at 7:30pm

Wortham Center, Cullen Theater
501 Texas Ave. Houston, 77002

Choreographers Forum

Wednesday, April 17, 2019 at 7pm
Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Brown Auditorium
Free Event
Members of Royal Danish Ballet (Copenhagen, Denmark) performing Unravel. Choreography by Kristian Lever. Photo by Nuno Catharina Pedersen.

2019 Festival Updates

Interview with Marguerite Donlon (PDF) from Dance International.

Review of the 2019 Festival (PDF) from Danza & Danza.

Review of the 2019 Festival from CriticalDance.

Review of the 2019 Festival in Arts and Culture Texas Magazine. Scroll to Dance Outings section.

Audio Interview with Nancy Henderek from Houston P.A.

2019 Festival Preview from Houston Chronicle

2019 Festival Preview from The Dance Dish

2019 Festival Preview from Houston Press

Evening Programs are now available.

2019 Festival Preview from Arts and Culture Texas Magazine

2019 Festival Preview (PDF) via Danza & Danza (in English)

2019 Festival Preview (PDF) via Danza & Danza (in English)

Press Release, updated March 25, 2019 (PDF)

Evening Programs are now listed

Although subject to change, a listing of each night's performances is now avilable. Note: These listings are not in program order. Here are direct links for each night:


24 Years in Houston

Now celebrating the 24th anniversary in Houston and the 27th season since its inception in Brussels, Belgium, Dance Salad Festival promises another gathering of world-class performers. Famous in their own countries, classical, modern and contemporary dance companies/dancers share the Dance Salad Festival stage to form a mix of movement and compelling choreography.


Film Screening

April 16, 7PM at Houston Ballet Center for Dance – Dance Salad Festival is pleased to partner with Houston Ballet to present Dancing Across Borders, an award-winning film by Anne Bass. The 2010 documentary is the intimate and triumphant story of Sokvanara “Sy” Sar, a native of Cambodia who trains in America at the School of American Ballet. The film will be introduced by Sar’s mentor at SAB, the renown teacher Olga Kostritzky. Houston Ballet Center for Dance, Margaret Alkek Williams Dance Lab,601 Preston Street, Houston, TX, 77002. Free event.

Sy will perform an excerpt from Marco Goecke's Mopey in Dance Salad Festival 2019, on Thu., April 18 and Fri., April 19, 7:30PM.


Choreographers' Forum

April 17, 2019, 7:00 PM at Museum of Fine Arts Houston -- featuring the dance art and choreography of Irish choreographer Marguerite Donlon of Donlon Dance Collective Berlin (Germany); Susanna Leinonen of Susanna Leinonen Company (Helsinki, Finland); and Kristian Lever, whose work will be performed by dancers of the Royal Danish Ballet (Copenhagen). Featured choreographers will share insights into their creative process and show video excerpts of their works. The program will also include a section from a dance film Ingmar Bergman Through the Choreographer’s Eye. Discussion panel and Q/A will be moderated by dance writer Maggie Foyer, from London, UK. Free Event. 

Link to Event on MFAH.org


Here’s a sneak peek at the companies and performers booked for this year’s festival:

For the annual Dance Salad Festival, we feature new curation of dance works from artists around the world. To date, we have confirmed the following choreographic works and companies for the 2019 Festival.

 

Dancers of the Royal Danish Ballet (Copenhagen, Denmark):

  • Carmen (curated version) choreographed by Marcos Morau
  • Unravel choreographed by Kristian Lever, accompanied by live music performance by duet “Walentin & McKenzie”


 

New York City Ballet principal dancers Ashley Bouder & Joaquin De Luz (New York, USA):

  • De Triana a Sevilla choreographed by Victor Ullate


Semperoper Ballett Dresden (Germany):

  • COW (excerpt) choreographed by Alexander Ekman


Spellbound Contemporary Ballet (Rome, Italy):

  • Full Moon (curated version) choreographed by Mauro Astolfi


Maria Kochetkova, guest Principal dancer with companies around the world, including Norwegian National Ballet (Oslo) and Staatsballett Berlin, among others, and Sebastian Kloborg, guest dancer with the Royal Danish Ballet (Copenhagen, Denmark):

  • Closer choreographed by Benjamin Millepied, accompanied by live piano performance by Alexander McKenzie
  • New Suite choreographed by William Forsythe


 

Susanna Leinonen Company (Helsinki, Finland):

  • Shame/less created specifically for Dance Salad Festival by choreographer Susanna Leinonen, coming from her work Nasty.


Donlon Dance Collective Berlin (Germany):

  • Strokes Through the Tail (curated version) choreographed by Marguerite Donlon


Sokvannara Sar, Carolina Ballet (North Carolina, USA):

  • Mopey choreographed by Marco Goecke


  

MORE TO BE ANNOUNCED! Check for updates and news soon!

Maria Kochetkova of Staatsballett Berlin (Germany) and Sebastian Kloborg of the Royal Danish Ballet (Copenhagen, Denmark), performing Closer. Choreography by Benjamin Millepied. Photo by Bernard Rosenberg. 2019 Festival performance.
Maria Kochetkova of Staatsballett Berlin (Germany) and Sebastian Kloborg of the Royal Danish Ballet (Copenhagen, Denmark), performing Closer. Choreography by Benjamin Millepied. Photo by Bernard Rosenberg. 2019 Festival performance.