Bill T. Jones's newest work, Chapel/Chapter, is a lavish multimedia production with crisp, dramatic lighting and projections; spoken word and song; and Jones's masterful choreography. Jones sees Chapel/Chapter in its present form as the beginning of an investigation. As always, the work is proceeding from a set of questions. For Jones the lead question might be, "How can this event suggest the uneasy distance our mediatized era helps create between the passive observers which we are and the disturbing, sometimes incomprehensible "news items" we encounter every day?"

At this stage of his thinking, the choreographer/director sees Chapel/Chapter as a site specific work, meaning that while he would ideally install the environment created by set designer Bjorn Amelan, videographer Janet Wong and lighting designer Robert Wierzel in a non-conventional space, even a conventional performing venue will be subject to some rethinking. The goal of Chapel/Chapter is to create an intimate experience between the audience and the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company as it retells three stories, two of them high visibility news items and one a reminiscence/confession offered by a company member.

Chapel/Chapter's spirit is conveyed through live music performed by an ensemble of contemporary musicians: cabaret artist Lipbone Redding, a singer/multi-instrumentalist who has been variously described as a vocal trickster and experimental cowboy; cellist Christopher Lancaster, who creates multi-layered, textural music through the use of real- time samplers and effect processing; and soprano Alicia Hall Moran, a classical singer whose influences range from opera to jazz and art song. The musical score for Chapel/Chapter is a mixture of madrigals, folk songs and plainsong chant, combined and juxtaposed to an original score collaboratively composed by Daniel Bernard Roumain (DBR), Christopher Lancaster, Alicia Hall-Moran, and Lipbone Redding.

The New York Times calls Chapel/Chapter Bill T. Jones's "most affecting, most disturbing, most powerful and most compassionate dance." What will you call it?

Chapel/Chapter
Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company
Presented by Society for the Performing Arts
Friday, March 28 at 8 p.m.
Jones Hall, 615 Louisiana, Houston, Texas 77002
Tickets: $20-50, 713-227-4SPA
IW Marks Dance Series

Sol y Luna will make their performance debut this month with Kairu. It is a narrative about a warrior hero named Kairu who is tormented by Uriak, a demon passed down to him by his father. Twelve dancers tell the story, drawing upon their backgrounds in classical ballet, hip-hop, modern, ballroom, jazz, martial arts, and gymnastics.

This new company is led by Co-directors Reyie Delgado and Ashley Horn, who met while dancing together at FrenetiCore Dance Theater. At that time, Reyie had just started pulling together dancers for his new company. After realizing they he and Ashley had a similar artistic interest in fusing dance forms, they joined forces to create this new dance concert, originally conceived by Reyie.

Kairu is geared toward all audiences, yet its creepy villain Uriak has the potential to scare children under five. The concert is on for one night only, so mark your calendars now and be sure to make it out for this exciting debut.

Kairu
Sol y Luna Dance Company
Saturday, March 22 at 7:00 p.m.
Barnevelder, 2201 Preston @ Hutchins
615 Louisiana, Houston, Texas 77002
Tickets: $15. 832.489.2572

Houston is proud to be hosting the 2009 Dance/USA Roundtable Conference to be held Wednesday through Saturday, June 3-6, 2009. As part of this national conference, an evening of local dance will be showcased in the Cullen Theater at Wortham Theater Center. The Showcase is an integral part of the 2009 Dance/USA Roundtable Conference and will strive to exemplify the broad variety of dance in the city. The performance, Friday, June 5th, 2009, will be open to the general public as well as the conference attendees.

The Dance/USA Roundtable Conferences draw hundreds of dance professionals both nationally and internationally. The showcase performance is a great opportunity to be seen by a sophisticated dance audience of presenters, managers, artists, critics, etc.

Please indicate your desire to participate by May 1st by emailing the Showcase committee at: DanceUSAHoustonShowcase@haatx.com. Please submit the exact selection/work you wish to showcase in its entirety. The selection/work can be up to a maximum of 12 minutes. The deadline to submit is Monday, September 15, 2008.

The Showcase Committee members are: June Christensen, SPA; Andrea Cody, Dance Houston; Deborah Quanaim, Houston Community College; Sixto Wagan, Diverse Works; Paul Beutel, Miller Outdoor Theater; Susanne Theis, Discovery Green. Please send them questions or tell them them of your intent to submit an application at DanceUSAHoustonShowcase@haatx.com.

Young & Intense Summer Camp: With Spring Break upon us, it's time for local teens to start making their plans for summer. Lucky for you, registration for our summer camp is open. Take advantage of our early registration deals by visiting www.dancehouston.org today!

DanceHoustonTV: We've just launched a YouTube channel through which we will be broacasting our performances to the world! Get in on the action at www.yo utube.com/dancehouston. View and rate our current videos and subscribe to our channel for upcoming releases from the Winter Formal.