JULYDOSCOPE 2012 Art, Dance, Music Film Converge
Media Contacts:
Mark Sullivan / Nick Scurfield
On the Mark Communications
713-978-5050
mark@onthemarkcom.com
nick@onthemarkcom.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ART, MUSIC, DANCE AND FILM CONVERGE AT JULYDOSCOPE
Houston Cinema Arts Society, Discovery Green, QFest, and Theatre Under the Stars Present
an Unforgettable Evening on July 28, 2012
HOUSTON, TX – Houston Cinema Arts Society (HCAS) has joined forces with Discovery Green, QFest and Theatre Under the Stars to present the 2nd Annual Julydoscope – a free evening of art, music, dance, and film happening at downtown Houston’s Discovery Green. Festivities begin at 6:00 p.m. with dance performances on the Anheuser-Busch Stage by five notable acts from Houston’s dynamic arts community; and a sunset screening at 8:30 p.m. of THE WIZ, taken from the groundbreaking Broadway adaptation of THE WIZARD OF OZ, starring Diana Ross and Michael Jackson and directed by the legendary Sidney Lumet.
Suchu Dance, a postmodern dance/theatre performing group that is a mainstay of Houston’s alternative dance community, opens Julydoscope with an eclectic mix of excerpts from the company’s arsenal of performances. Led by Artistic Director and Choreographer Jennifer Wood, and now in its 14th season, Suchu Dance is known for its frequent creation of new works, its attention to visual design and an offbeat sense of humor. In 2003, Suchu Dance founded and constructed it’s own performance space in downtown Houston, the Barnevelder Movement/Arts Complex, where most of its performances take place.
The Avantica Academy of Odissi Dance offers another dance piece, led by academy founder and artistic director Shipra Mehrotra – whose performance at New York’s 2010 Erasing Borders dance festival was heralded by the New York Times as “wholly poetic” and “the truest revelation of dance itself.” One of the oldest forms of classical Indian dance, Odissi achieves its lyrical beauty and grace through a series of complex footwork, hand gestures, and poses.
Next, Rednerrus Feil Dance Company (RFDC) presents its dance performance under the direction of company founder and choreographer, Amy E. Llanes. RFDC produces high quality performance art based on emotive life experiences. Its artists explore how the meaning of movement can reveal the personal nature of their own histories. This highly unique creative process that RFDC employs involves an emotional investment by its dancers – one that requires time, exploration and impeccable communication among its collaborators to develop the work and create the desired statement for the audience.
MECA (Multicultural Education and Counseling through the Arts) showcases the traditional art form of Mexican Ballet Folklórico that combines elements of classical ballet and folk dancing. Comprised of students and adults, these colorful dances are frequently performed at celebrations and festivals in and around Houston. The practice of this traditional art form at MECA helps students develop a sense of cultural pride and respect for diversity, as well as physical coordination, teamwork and confidence. These ensembles have brought home numerous competition trophies.
Rounding out the dance pieces is City Dance Company, which will perform a vibrant mix of jazz, hip-hop, and classical style dances. The Company’s performers are young adults of diverse ethnic, social, and cultural backgrounds. Established in 1994 by Creative Director and Founder Sherese Campbell, Houston City Dance Studio is a non-profit dance school and performing arts organization that seeks to reflect the ethnic diversity of the Houston Metropolitan area.
At sunset, Julydoscope closes with a special outdoor screening of THE WIZ, which was adapted from the 1975 Broadway musical of the same name. People in Kansas may chuckle at the notion of a cyclone carving its way through the core of the Big Apple, but tornados have struck New York, just as recently as 2010. Though perhaps a tornado is less likely to strike during a New York snow storm, so it goes with Sidney Lumet’s urbanized reboot of Frank L. Baum’s classic, in which a kindergarten teacher named Dorothy (a wide-eyes Diana Ross) and her dog Toto are swept away by said cyclone to the wonderful land of Oz, looking something like lower Manhattan, 1978, replete with the glitz and grit and the Wicked Witch of the East, who has just been inconveniently squashed by Miss Ross! By now, you know the story, but this time, we’re joined by Tin Man Nipsy Russell, Cowardly Lion Ted Ross, and an almost adolescent looking Michael Jackson as The Scarecrow. Rounding out the cast are Lena Horne as Glinda and Richard Pryor as the titular lead.
Ernie Manouse, host/producer of InnerVIEWS on Houston PBS, will serve as Master of Ceremonies at Julydoscope 2012. In addition, attendees at Julydoscope can enjoy refreshments while supplies last, compliments of GoodPop, CultureMap, Whole Foods Market and Vitamin Water. Costumes are also encouraged – come as your favorite character from THE WIZ! The Astros Street Team will be on site, giving away prizes while HCAS conducts a film trivia contest for prizes to the Houston Cinema Arts Festival, which takes place November 7-11, 2012.
ABOUT THE HOUSTON CINEMA ARTS SOCIETY
Houston Cinema Arts Society is a non-profit organization created in 2008 with the support of former Houston Mayor Bill White and the leadership of Franci Crane. HCAS organizes and hosts the annual Houston Cinema Arts Festival, a groundbreaking and innovative arts festival featuring films and new media by and about artists in the visual, performing and literary arts. The festival celebrates the vitality and diversity of the arts in Houston and enriches the city’s film and arts community. HCAS sponsors include the Crane Foundation, a grant from the City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance, Levantine Entertainment, Houston First Corporation, Anadarko Petroleum Corporation, Champion Energy Services, Amegy Bank of Texas, The Brown Foundation, Inc. and others. The project is also supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Texas Commission on the Arts. The 2013 Houston Cinema Arts Festival was held Nov. 6-10. For more information, please visit HCAS at www.cinemartsociety.org.