Dance Dance Dance

Acclaimed performers set Dallas stage ablaze during 3-day dance fest

This Labor Day weekend — September 4 through 6 — the Dance Council of North Texas in partnership with the City of Dallas Office of Cultural Affairs kicks off the fall dance season with Dallas DanceFest 2015, a one-of-a-kind event featuring diverse acts from Texas and the South.

“It’s our second year, and we’re more excited than ever,” says Gayle Halperin, chair of the DDF committee. “Dallas City Performance Hall is such a wonderful location – great lighting, great sound. Every seat in that house is fantastic.”

Audiences will be treated to three different programs over three days: Friday night, Saturday night and a Sunday matinee. “You get a mix and a mashup of different styles at each performance. It’s not abstract dance, either. You’re going to see some really creative work that has a personality all its own,” Halperin says.

Among the companies performing this year are Dallas Black Dance Theatre, Houston-based contemporary company METdance and Dark Circles Contemporary Dance. The latter is the North Texas branch of the multicultural company founded in Seoul, South Korea.

Cowboys fans will recognize the Dallas Cowboys Rhythm & Blue dance team performing a cutting edge hip-hop piece alongside the company’s drumline. Classical Indian dancer Smriti Krishnan will travel from Alabama to perform her Bharatanatyam solo that has won her national and international acclaim.

The crown jewel of the weekend will come from Broadway dancer and actress LaQuet Sharnell Pringle, who will celebrate the world premiere of her newest piece on the Dallas stage. In collaboration with Bruce Wood Dance Project, LaQuet combines the spoken word and the art of dance in one dynamic piece created specifically for Dallas DanceFest 2015.

From a hilarious dance about the trials and tribulations of twentysomethings on a trek by Amy Morrow with The Bell House, to dynamic Mexican dances from Mosaic Dance Project of Dallas, 20 different companies from Dallas-Fort Worth, Oklahoma, Austin, Houston and Alabama will be featured September 4-6.

Tickets start at $25 and can be purchased online. Performances begin Friday and Saturday at 8 pm and at 3 pm on Sunday following a special reception.

Catch a dynamic performance by Houston-based contemporary company METdance.

Photo courtesy of Dallas DanceFest

Catch a dynamic performance by Houston-based contemporary company METdance.

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Museum News

National Medal of Honor Museum offers preview at downtown Dallas event

AT&T

The AT&T Discovery District hosted a mobile museum pop-up.

A high-profile museum opening in 2025 offered a preview in downtown Dallas: It's The National Medal of Honor Museum, slated to open in Arlington, at Nolan Ryan Expressway and AT&T Way in the Stadium district in spring 2025.

To give folks a preview of coming attractions, the institution dispatched a mobile museum to make a visit to the AT&T Discovery District on November 20, during lunchtime when foot traffic is brisk.

Imagine the sense of wonder and amazement that downtown Dallas denizens must have felt upon the sight of a double decker bus, parked in the District, equipped with video and historical information about the Medal of Honor award, stories of the recipients, and a rendering of how the museum in Arlington will look.

The National Medal of Honor MuseumCourtesy rendering

The goal of The National Medal of Honor Museum is to inspire Americans by honoring and preserving the history of the highest military decoration awarded for valor in combat.

They hope it will serve as a national landmark, illustrating the historical thread of sacrifice and patriotism that runs through all U.S. military service members, past and present.

Beyond its state-of-the-art, interactive experiences, a critical part of the Museum’s mission will be to use the stories of Medal of Honor recipients to inspire their fellow Americans.

It will incorporate the AT&T Virtual Recipient Theater, an augmented reality experience where visitors can interact with with Medal of Honor recipients. The space will be equipped with cutting-edge conversational AI technology complete with voice recognition to allow museum goers to have a conversation in a 3D format with medal of honor recipients living and past.

It will also have AT&T Branded Wi-Fi throughput the museum.

Interior of the mobile Medal of Honor Museum.AT&T