Dance Houston

History: Dance Houston was founded in 2003 by Andrea Cody with the aim to raise awareness and support of dance in and around Houston while making it more accessible for the general public. We are best known for our first and signature event, Dance Houston, a city-wide dance festival featuring 12 - 18 companies in a single performance.

In the past five years, Dance Houston has presented 12 major festivals, making us one of the leading dance organizations contributing greatly to the successful growth of the arts community. Our productions include Dance Houston (city–wide dance festival), The Winter Formal (annual hip hop dance festival), and Flamenco en Vivo (soon to become Vida del Baile, a Latin dance festival)--all receiving acclaim from critics and patrons.

In 2008, more than fifteen dance companies were presented, two hundred dancers performed and two thousand supporters were in attendance at our festivals hosted at the Wortham Center. Our “Young Intense” summer camp served 45 youth with instruction by our star dancers. We gathered our community together for a free outdoor festival on November 21st at Discovery Green called Home Grown Motion. We are currently offering a series of free dance workshops at the Houston Museum of Natural Science in collaboration with the Body Worlds II exhibit.

Mission: Our mission is to increase dance appreciation in Houston. We do so by raising awareness for dance in and around Houston and making dance more accessible to Houston patrons. We facilitate collaboration amongst companies and choreographers and provide educational and performance opportunities to dancers of many styles.

Values: Dance Houston believes dance is an expression of art, culture, creativity, and community. We strive to present dance performances that actively engage and inspire people. We respect and appreciate the many diverse cultures and aesthetics that thrive in Houston, and our work reflects our community through innovative, multi-cultural programming.

See our values in motion at www.youtube.com/dancehouston.