Portland - Houston: Dance in Two Cities
A CONVERSATION WITH TAHNI HOLT (PORTLAND), JHON STRONKS (HOUSTON), AND DANCE SOURCE HOUSTON RESIDENTS ALISA MITTIN AND LORI YUILL
Tahni Holt is a choreographer, teacher, curator and organizer based in Portland, Oregon who has been creating performances for the past 18 years. She is deeply invested in the ecology of her field. Holt is inspired by how colleagues in other parts of the world situate themselves depending on the political climate of where they practice. All of Holt’s endeavors are shaped by her beliefs and convictions which invigorate proactive projects of artist-driven empowerment.
Alisa Mittin is originally from Buffalo, NY. Mitten recently relocated to Houston from Atlanta, where she had the pleasure of working with Blake Beckham from The Lucky Penny, Catellier Dance Projects, and the Core Performance Company, where she was a former member. She attended The Sharon Disney Lund School of Dance at CalArts. Mittin has performed with various choreographers such as Blake Beckham, Colin Connor, Beth Elkins, Jonathan Fredrickson, Helen Hale, Mira Kingsley, and jhon stronks. Her choreographic work has been showcased in Atlanta, Buffalo, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, and New York City. She is currently an Artist in Residence at Dance Source Houston.
jhon r. stronks is a dance maker whose passion for giving addresses the gaps between what is perceived and what is present, and lands his work somewhere between a cry for personal consciousness and a plea for social justice. jhon’s choreography combines the fundamental elements of composition and choreography with a convergence of movement styles and techniques drawn from his personal movement foundation. Stronks alternative dance making systems result is the creation of an open space for the dancing to inhabit, where the context is clear, the eye has choices, and the viewer gets to decide.
Lori Yuill is an independent choreographer, performer, and teacher. She did her undergraduate work at Texas Christian University before joining Momentum Danza Contemporanea in Guatemala to perform. In 2000, Yuill returned to Houston to perform with Suchu Dance. She also made Floating/Falling for the DiverseWorks Houston Performing Artist Residency during this period of time. Yuill moved to Yonkers in 2003 to pursue a masters degree at Sarah Lawrence College. She spent the next decade traveling between New York and DC performing for Sara Rudner, Anneke Hansen, Milka Djordjevich, Enrico Wey, Stephanie Miracle, UpRooted Dance and Daniel Burkholder/The Playground. Yuill’s choreography challenges audiences to look at dance in new ways, and aims to create and connect to community through movement.
DiverseWorks on Wednesdays is supported in part by Saint Arnold Brewing Company and Topo Chico USA.
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