Determined and grateful. Those are the words that premier Dallas dance presenter TITAS has chosen as its guiding force through the next season, which will welcome seven companies — two international and three Texas debuts — back to the stage, live, at AT&T Performing Arts Center.
"As we leave the fog of lock-down and we return to live performances, the 2021:22 season won’t disappoint," the company says in a release. "Creative, soulful and breathtaking imagery make this a very special season of dance companies. We proudly return to the ‘LIVE’ experience with a season of seven extraordinary companies from Canada and the United States. It is a season rich in creativity and soul-stirring performances."
New this season will be an edgy new "series within a series" called, appropriately, TITAS/UNFILTERED, tagline: “If you’re easily offended, don’t come.”
"We recognized that not all art is for everyone, but our audience needs to have the option to see great art that might be somewhat controversial," they say in the release. "Our UNFILTERED series is dedicated to 'risk,' and we are thrilled to add these more progressive works to our profile."
Here's a closer look at the new season, with descriptions provided by the organization:
MOMIX with Alice
September 17-18 at Winspear Opera House
MOMIX, celebrating their 40th anniversary, brings their fantastical Alice to Dallas in its U.S. premiere performance that was supposed to have happened in fall 2020. Famed MOMIX director Moses Pendleton’s latest work takes the audience on a fun adventure with Lewis Carroll’s most beloved character, Alice, as she meets the Mad Hatter, Queen of Hearts, the Caterpillar, and more.
Doug Varone and Dancers with Somewhere
October 22-23 at Moody Performance Hall
Doug Varone took the famed Bernstein West Side Story music and created Somewhere, "a surprisingly fresh approach to music we all know and carry in our hearts." It's a work of "pure movement that creates a stunning reinterpretation of this iconic music."
Rubberband with Ever So Slightly (Texas debut)
November 12-13 at Moody Performance Hall
The Canada-based troupe's founder Victor Quijada brings 10 irrepressible dancers and a DJ to Dallas for their Texas debut. "Athletic, exciting and inventive, the evening-length work Ever So Slightly explores behavioral mechanisms and the reflexes we develop every day dealing with the world around us."
Ballet Hispanico 50th Anniversary Tour
January 14, 2022 at Winspear Opera House
With its stunning dancers, Latinx choreographers, and classical and contemporary techniques, Ballet Hispanico — celebrating its 50th anniversary — creates "a new style of concert dance where theatricality and passion are at the core." The choreographers represent rich Latinx cultures and nationalities including Venezuela, Cuba, Trinidad, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Spain, Brazil, Argentina, and Columbia.
A.I.M by Kyle Abraham
March 4-5, 2022 at Moody Performance Hall
Part of TITAS' new Unfiltered series, Kyle Abraham’s bold new work An Untitled Love features music by Grammy Award-winning R&B legend D’Angelo and celebrates culture, family, and community. “As part of my extended exploration of personal identity through movement, it feels important for me to dive into a process that explores and celebrates that unity and that love, in all its facets," Abraham says.
Compagnie Marie Chouinard with Jerome Bosch: Le Jardin des Delices (Garden of Earthly Delights) (Texas debut)
April 8-9, 2022 at Moody Performance Hall
Garden of Earthly Delights is described as "so stunning, it’s shocking. ... Watching Chouinard’s Garden of Earthly Delights is to step into Bosch’s extraordinary tryptic and viscerally experience this painting as never before." Part of the Unfiltered series, the expertly choreographed work contains partial nudity. The Canadian company is making its Texas debut.
BalletX
June 3-4, 2022 at Moody Performance Hall
The season will close with another company making its Dallas debut, BalletX. Co-founded in 2005 by artistic and executive director Christine Cox and choreographer Matthew Neenan, the diverse company has produced more than 100 ballets by 60 choreographers from across the globe. They've been called the “epicenter of creation” and the “IT company” to watch.
Command Performance (special event)
April 23, 2022 at Winspear Opera House
Artists from leading companies will light up the stage in the special gala event that's described as "the pyrotechnics of dance — the most exciting, innovative, and beautiful works being performed today." Command Performance also features TITAS-commissioned works by leading choreographers created specifically for this performance.
Tickets for TITAS/DANCE UBOUND regular season performances begin at $12. Performance tickets to Command Performance (performance only) also begin at $12.
Season subscriptions are on sale now; subscribers receive discounted pricing depending on the number of shows they purchase. (New this year: TITAS subscribers subscribe to the entire season, but they do have the option to exclude any TITAS/UNFILTERED productions, the organization says.)
Individual tickets will be available after initial subscription sales close at the end of the summer. Tickets can be purchased online at www.attpac.org/titas, or by phone at 214-880-0202.
