A Thought-Leader In Family & Children’s Dance Classes | Houston, TX
Frame Dance is a thought leader in dance education, inspiring the next generation of movers, makers, and world changers by offering dance classes for adults & children, multi-generational ensembles, professional performances, networking events, and film festivals. We are nestled between West U and the Museum District.
We believe in developing the whole dancer, teaching critical life skills such as creative thinking, leadership, collaboration, and resilience through our artful and playful dance curriculum at our studio and in partner schools.
Our adult modern dance classes are designed to offer you the joy and magic that’s possible when you create space in your life to move, to grow, and to share in the creative process with a like-hearted community.
For more than ten years, Frame Dance has brought radically inclusive and deeply personal contemporary dance to Houston. Led by Founder and Creative Director Lydia Hance, whom Dance Magazine calls “the city’s reigning guru of dance in public places,” the professional company is made up of six acclaimed co-creators committed to collaboration. Frame Dance has created over 50 unique site-specific performances and nine dances for the camera screened in festivals all over the United States and Europe. With an unrelenting drive to make dance in relationship to environment, Frame Dance has created dance works for and with METRO, Houston Museum of Natural Sciences, Houston Parks Board, Plant It Forward Farms, CORE Dance, Rice University, Houston Ballet, 14 Pews, Aurora Picture Show, and the Contemporary Arts Museum. Frame Dance’s productions were described by Arts + Culture Texas Editor-in-Chief Nancy Wozny as “some of the most compelling and entertaining work in Houston.” Creative Director Lydia Hance is a champion of living composers and is dedicated to work exclusively with new music.
Dance makers are artists who learn to communicate through dance. They learn to use dance as a way to understand themselves and the world around them. They learn to use that understanding to develop an idea, and they learn to use movement, space, lighting, costume, and music to present that idea to an audience. They learn to communicate through dance, and to do so with integrity and intention.
Dance makers learn skills in the studio that profoundly improve other areas of their lives. Youth Ensemble dancers develop body knowledge, both in the sense of knowing what their body can do and in their understanding of themselves and their world through the immediacy of physical action and reaction. Dancers develop an innate sense of physics through movement. Dance making builds students’ planning and decision-making skills in deep, considered ways as they create and learn choreography, and on the fly as they learn to dance improvisationally. For all ages (but with implications that change over time), physical communication helps dancers understand body boundaries. The communication skills of negotiation, connection, and articulation of ideas are routinely practiced in ensemble dance and move smoothly from the studio setting to any arena where your child works as part of a team. For all of these reasons and more, good dance makes good people, and both are found in abundance in the Frame Dance Youth Ensemble.
Registration is (still) open! Mini Framers starts Wednesday, September 4 at 3:30 PM. Little Framers starts Thursday, September 5 at 4:15. Junior Framers have options that begin tomorrow, Tuesday, September 3 at 4:15. All classes meet at our studios on Shepherd at Westheimer. Please use the links above to register and for more class details.
Frame Dance Company is made up of brilliant and passionate dancers, and our collaborating artists are pretty amazing, too. The following Framers and Friends have generously offered to serve as hosts at our annual FUNdraising Soirée. Meet them in their Framer statements and bios below and be impressed. Meet them in person at the Soirée and be inspired.
Jacquelyne Boe – Dance
Houston Press 100 Creatives; Dance Source Houston’s Artist in Residence Program; 2019-2020 Lawndale Studio Artist Program.
“A Framer is any human who associates with Frame Dance and wants to be a part of it. I’m a Framer because I believe in Frame Dance’s mission to empower Houstonians to communicate, inspire, and connect to the world and others through movement, community and artistic collaboration, and technology.”
See more of Jacquelyne dancing with Frame Dance and Hopestone Dance, and performing her own choreography. Jacquelyne teaches dance with Frame Dance, the Hope Project, and Houston Ballet. Find her here online: http://jjboe.com/
Braden Hunt – Theater
Actor: Ensemble Theater, Main Street Theater, AD Players, Stages, Masquerade Theatre. Teaching Artist: AD Players
“I met Lydia Hance while doing a production with the late Horse Head Theatre Company in a production called The Sonic Life of a Giant Sea Tortoise by Toshiki Okada. The director, Philip Hays, wanted movement to inform the dialogue throughout and Lydia was hired as our movement coach. I was really inspired by the exercises Lydia guided us through and I continue to use them in my own training and in my teaching. I told Lydia that I wanted to work with her and continue to learn from her again.
“The next season Lydia was planning a piece that involved more narrative than she was accustomed to and invited me along to be in the show and help form the narrative. This show was called My Beloved andfollowed the lives of some high school students from the day of their senior prom to middle age. It was a brilliant blend of interactive theatre, narrative, and abstract exploration of the human struggle for connection. It’s been truly one of my favorite works to be a part of thus far in my career.
“Since then I’ve been lucky enough to dance with Frame Dance Company in Water Day Dances, Metro Dances, and Let’s Stay Home and Fight. I love to join the Multigen Dancers when I can and share in the community of valued authentic expression that Lydia has created.”
Dancer: Jonah Bokaer Choreography; William R. Kenan, Jr., Performing Arts Fellowship at Lincoln Center Education; Dance Magazine “25 to Watch.”
“This year I had the pleasure of working the the Junior Framers and though it was an intimate gathering on Mondays the impact they had on me was a refreshing one.
“Choreographically, I focused on spacial design and how their bodies would move through where they would be performing in addition to what they would be performing. It’s a combination of the two that makes dance so powerful and I wanted to share that with them.
“One thing that struck me was how there was a visible shift in their attitudes before and after class, every check in I’d ask how they were and since they were coming from school they were often sharing something from their day and their spirit and energies were low but by the end of class they were rejuvenated and it would always such a surprise to me to witness that outside of myself.
“I was reminded with this class how dance supports an individuals way of being in the world and also teaches students and teachers alike to be empathetic and communicative with others.”
Laura dances her own choreography on stages and art spaces nationwide. She taught Frame Dance Production’s Junior Framers Ensemble 2018-2019. Find Laura online at http://www.lauraegutierrez.com/
Ashley Horn – Dance
Ashley is a dancer, choreographer, filmmaker, costume designer, and artist from the Houston area. She is Frame Dance’s costume designer, set collaborator, and a founding dancer. She is also a teacher in the early childhood dance classes at Frame Dance. Find Ashley online at http://ashleyhorndance.com/
Jamie Williams – Dance
Jamie is a founding member of Aimed Dance, formerly Rednerrus Feil Dance Company. She has performed with Psophonia Dance Company, and with local independent artists Laura Gutierrez, Brittany Thetford-Deveau, and Rebekah Chappell. Jamie currently serves as a dance professor and the dance program coordinator for San Jacinto College.
Emily Roy Sayre – Dance
Emily’s career has included being featured in 225 Magazine, The Advocate newspaper, and VoyageHouston’s Most Inspiring Stories. The choreographers and companies Emily has had the honor to work with include Uptown Dance Company, The Pilot Dance Project, Frame Dance Productions, Houston Grand Opera, Sean Curran, Julio Monge, Eric Sean Fogel, Christine Crest, Mina Estrada, and Jennifer Mabus. Emily also dapples in dance for camera work. You can find Emily online at https://emilyroysayre.com/
Callina Anderson – Theater
Callina is an actor with extensive theater experience in Houston, having performed with Ensemble Theater, Main Street Theater, Horse Head Theater, The MATCH, Mildred’s Umbrella, Boiling Point Players, Cone Man Running Productions, Alley Theater’s Houston Young Playwright Exchange, and as a regular actor with Interactive Theater. Callina collaborated with Frame Dance most recently in METRODances.
Alli Villines – Music, Theater
Alli is a Houston-based performer and voice teacher whom you may have seen in Horsehead Theatre Company’s 2018 production of We’re Gonna Die, or on The Christina and Alli Show, her weekly YouTube music show co-hosted with Christina Wells. Alli is a professional singer, ukulele player, voice teacher, and actor who has credits with the Alley Theatre, Houston Grand Opera, and Catastrophic Theatre Company. Alli performed with Frame Dance in METRODances. You can find Alli online at https://ukulalli.wordpress.com/
Patrick Moore – Music
Patrick Moore is Principal cellist with the Cypress Symphony and the Houston Latin American Philharmonic and is assistant principal cellist with the Opera in the Heights. An avid chamber music player, he is the cellist of the Axiom Quartet, and performs contemporary chamber music with the Aperio New Music Ensemble and the Foundation For Modern Music. Patrick maintains a private studio as adjunct faculty at the University of St.Thomas, and teaches with the University of St.Thomas’ Music Preparatory School where The Axiom Quartet is the string quartet in residence. In addition, Patrick teaches at Axiom Quartet’s annual String Quartet Camp and is on faculty at the American Festival for the Arts during the summer. Patrick and Axiom Quartet are long-time collaborators with Frame Dance Productions, including METRODances performances and premiering works by winners of the Frame Dance Composer Competition. Find Patrick online at http://www.moorecello.com/home
David Rivera – Film
David is Houston Ballet Audio/Video Content Manager. David’s films were screened in the Cozy and Silken portions of Frame x Frame, Frame Dance Production’s inaugural dance on film festival.
Photo Credits: Jacquelyne Boe by Lynn Lane; Laura Gutierrez by Lynn Lane; Emily Roy Sayre by Toriel Borst; Callina Anderson by Pin Lim/Forrest Photography; Alli Villines by Tasha Gorel
I’ve checked in with the Frame Dance Board and Manager to see how their Soirée plans are progressing. Let’s peek behind the curtain and check on our team:
Lydia Hance – Artistic and Executive Director
Jonathon Hance – Technology Director, Chairman of the Board
Supercouple
Hey, Framers! Will we see you at the Soirée?
Yes, you’ll see me (I hope) at the Soiree.
Yeah, that was pretty rhetorical, wasn’t it? In addition to hosting the whole shebang, are you hosting a table?
Jonathon and I are hosting a table.
What kind of hosts are you?
We are pretty big Frame Dance fans, so I’d have to saw we will be very enthusiastic. Sometimes people call us the Happy Hances.
I foresee sore-from-smiling cheeks on Friday. But that’s perfect. I hope that I suffer likewise. After all of the preparation and anticipation, what are you looking forward to at the Soiree?
I am looking forward to being in a room with so many people who are also passionate about art and Houston, and seeing how the audience reacts to some of the surprise elements in the dance two company members are performing…
Oooh! Way to tease the performance! I can’t wait to see these “surprise elements.” It’s so Frame.
So, Lydia, why are you a Framer?
I am a Framer because I have seen how collaboration ignites the creative spirit, and Frame Dance offers that opportunity to all. I am a Framer because I have seen people changed for the better– towards joy and healing– by the work that we do.
Total agreement. A la Soirée!
Bobbie Hackett – Program Manager, Certified Arts Leader!
Bobbie! First Soirée on the Frame Dance team. I know you’ve been busy with preparations for Thursday night. Will we see you there?
Most definitely!
Great! Are you hosting a table?
Nope, I’m doing the behind the scenes work. 😉
So you get to be the conductor/cat wrangler! How would you describe yourself in that role?
I’m an enthusiastic Frame Dance employee and supporter.
Perfect. We will definitely benefit from your enthusiasm and coordination. What are you looking forward to at your first Frame Dance Soirée?
I’m looking forward to the silent auction, honestly. We have a lot of amazing things to offer from so very cool and generous donors. I’m excited to see what people are most interested in.
We do have the best silent auction goodies. They are choice Houstonian cultural goods.
You’ve been with Frame Dance for about six months now and you’ve known us well for much longer. With that experience, why would you say you are you a Framer?
I’m a Framer because Frame Dance lets me do my best work while also challenging me and encouraging me to do the things I’m not so good at. Best job I’ve ever had!
Happy to hear it! I look forward to how effortless you make it all look at the Soirée.
Alina Slavik – Board Member, Honorary Italian
Hey, International Framer! Will we see you at the Soiree?
Obviously! My favorite way to officially kick off summer.
Absolutely. Are you hosting a table?
Yes! Can’t wait to have our friends join us 🙂
So, what’s your goal as a host? What are you hoping for at the Soirée?
As a host, I love helping new Framers find what they love about Frame Dance, whether it’s our film festival, performances in unexpected places, or a class for their child. As a guest, I always check out the fabulous silent auction offerings and visit the Dip Jar – the most gratifying fundraising invention ever!
Yes and yes! Anything else you’re looking forward to on Thursday night?
Hanging out with my fellow Framers to celebrate another successful year for Frame Dance.
Hasn’t it been an amazing year? And you would know, ‘cause this isn’t your first Soir-odeo! With all of your contributions to and experiences with Frame Dance, why would you say you are a Framer?
Opera singer Beverly Sills said it best: “Art is the signature of civilizations.” And it should be part of our daily lives.
Truth. See you at the Dip Jar.
Kerri Lyons Neimeyer – Board Member, Blog Writer, Questioner and Answerer/Self
Hey, Kerri! Will we see you at the Soiree?
Well, Kerri, yes you will…in the mirror! (Ba-dum bum).
Are you hosting a table?
I am! I’m excited to have the opportunity to host as I’ve enjoyed myself as a guest at Frame Soirées in the past, and I wasn’t able to attend last year, which would have been my first Soirée as a board member.
What kind of guest/host are you?
Hilarious and grateful. And like a little extra nice-looking in a way that’s fun. That’s how I Soirée. Or, that’s what I’m aiming at, anyway.
What are you looking forward to at the Soirée?
The professional company performance. It just feels like it’s been too long since I’ve seen them do their thing, and they do it the best. Also seeing the whole gang – all of the ensembles and the other folks who love Frame Dance – celebrating our accomplishments together, looking forward to good things together.
Why are you a Framer?
Because Frame Dance recognizes how powerful dance can be in a person and in a community, and it recognizes the dancer/artist in everyone. Those ideas resound with me, profoundly.
Sounds harmonious and intense, Kerri.
It really can be, Kerri. And it’s intensely fulfilling. And I’m learning to find the ease in it, which is just golden. So, you know, win win. Up and up. See you at the Soirée.
“…the hidden language of the soul” – Martha Graham.
“…meditation in movement, a walking into silence where every movement becomes prayer.” – Bernhard Wosien
“…the only art of which we ourselves are the stuff of which it is made.” – Ted Shawn
“…for everybody. I believe that the dance came from the people and that it should always be delivered back to the people.” – Alvin Ailey
“…the movement of the universe concentrated in an individual.” – Isadora Duncan
“…strong magic.” – Pearl Primus
I believe that dance, like all arts, is whatever you need or want or use it to be. However, the words above come from some of the most thoughtfully engaged people in the history of contemporary dance, and it is significant that they see dance as a spiritual and/or universal act. It must be acknowledged that sacred considerations are in the DNA of modern dance, whatever the beliefs of the dancer. In fact, I don’t see how one would engage with modern dance without, on some level, confronting the Big Questions about why we are here and what differences our choices make. Dance is made out of the same physics that define all movement in our universe, and human decisions with the potentially to carry the finest nuance of meaning.
And perhaps something more, or perhaps to a higher purpose.
Sacred Dance in Houston
Planetary Dance at Hermann Park
This Sunday, June 2, 10 AM-12 PM in the field between the Houston Museum of Natural Science and the Miller Outdoor Theater at Hermann Park, Core Dance and Frame Dance host Planetary Dance 2019, the Houston chapter. This is the 39th iteration of the annual ritual dance originated by Anna Halprin in San Francisco, and we are lucky to have a local event to proclaim our intentions and join in the “group spirit” that can evolve out of participatory dance. Read about the origin story, the stages of the dance, and see a short documentary video here, and then register here, or just show up and join in this extraordinary “dance for a purpose.”
SA LE O at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
Held on Sunday, June 9, at 2 PM, this “Concert of Profound Healing Through Music, Sacred Chants, and Meditation” features musicians from Tibet and Nepal and a sacred dance from the Bon tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, wherein “[i]t is taught that when performing ritual dance, you should discard all notions of your ordinary self and assume the divine pride of the deity whose dance you are performing.” Tickets and information here.
Global Water Dances
On Saturday, June 15, all over the world people will be “dancing for safe water, for everyone, everywhere.” This is the eighth year that this awareness-raising event has been put on by dozens of choreographers who select a local body of water and create a dance for the community that interacts with it. In June 2018, Frame Dance participated in Global Water Dances in front of the Houston Museum of Natural Science. Hundreds of Houstonians and visitors were touched by the project, and Frame Dance remains committed to careful and forward-thinking use of all of our natural resources.
Ecstatic Dance in Houston
Ecstatic Dance Evolution hosts weekly (Sunday) “free-form sacred and conscious dance events” for all ages and experience levels. It is an opportunity to dance without judgement and with the intention to connect more deeply to your own intuition and/or to a safe and supportive group of people.
Sacred Movements of Gurdjieff
The Gurdjieff Foundation of Texas – Houston chapter offers meetings around the “forms for study instituted by Gurdjieff such as practical craft work, cooking, discussion, exchange, and sacred dance.” According to practitioner Chandrakala, “the learning process of the sacred movements is a strategy to develop presence and awareness; a reconnection, an alignment of the mind with the body and with the feeling center in such a way that they become one reality.”
Maybe some of these ideas about dance feel very comfortable to you, or maybe they don’t. Dance always requires that we use our bodies to confront the space around us. Maybe you will choose to comfortably or uncomfortably challenge yourself to make that confrontation with a sacred intention and just, maybe, see where that takes you.
Do you know of other sacred dance practices in Houston? Share them in the comments.
How’s your pre-summer, Frame Family? I hope this month of Mother’s Day/Graduations/Summer Vacation Planning went and is going well, and I hope that your plans and celebrations include lots of dancing.
Our summer plans at Frame Dance sure do! I mean, of course they do (it’s, like, our whole thing), but, still, we’re very excited about what we have to offer, so check it out: we’ve got kid dancing, adult dancing, and family dancing on the calendar, plus a party with a performance from our professional dance ensemble.
See you at the Soiree and in the studio, Summer Framers!
(I threw in a few suggestions for camps, etc, with some of Frame Dance’s best institutional buddies here in Houston. We believe that everyone is a dancer, and that all dancers are simultaneously a bunch of other things, so get those experiences!)
FRAME DANCE SUMMER
Movement for Families
Starting June 1 and running each of the five Saturdays in June, little dancers (ages walking-5 years) and their parents join Ashley Horn for Creative Movement for Families, 9:30-10:15 AM at River Oaks School of Dancing.
And Can I Just Say…Ashley Horn is exactly who you want to teach your kid/s. She taught mine, and I remember the joy I felt hearing the little dancers at the end of each class: “I did a great job! You did a great job!” Dancing with your young child is a treasure. Get it while you can.
Multi-Gen
Summer-long Multi-Gen drop-in classes start Saturday, June 1 and run through August 17, 11 AM-12:15 PM at River Oaks School of Dancing. No class on July 4.
And Can I Just Say…Multi-Gen has my heart. This is the living ideal of dance for all. Myself and my child and a bunch of my favorite people will be there, and I hope you will, too.
Soiree
One night only! The Frame Dance SOIREE 2019 happens on June 20, 6-9 PM at Ronin Art House. This is our annual FUNdraiser, where we have the opportunity to celebrate our incredible dance company with our dancers, board members, family, and friends. Attendees will experience a performance by the professional company, share sips and nibbles with cocktail table hosts, and hopefully go home with a wonderful prize from the silent auction. Buy a ticket, or a table, here.
And Can I Just Say…The Frame Dance Soiree is a blast. First, Lydia is there! I love talking to Lydia. Second, the dancers are there! Frame has the best dancers. Third, it’s a relaxed hang with a little bit of fancy, which is exactly what I’m in the mood for in the weeks after the school year ends. Come and find me there. Tell me how you like the blog, what it does and doesn’t do well for you. I need and want to hear all about it and this is the perfect opportunity to chat!
Summer Camps
In July we get busy with SUMMER CAMPS, with Wiggle Worms camps for 3 ½-5 year olds running July 8-12 (full), and again July 22-26 (spots available). Leaping Lizards camp for ages 6-8 runs July 15-19 (spots available), and all camps meet from 8:45 to 11 AM at River Oaks School of Dancing. Registration and more information available here.
And Can I Just Say…I love introducing my child to new possibilities through a week of investigation at summer camp. I love that Frame Dance’s summer camps are growth experiences for a child socially, physically, emotionally, and intellectually. I love that one camp has already filled, and I hope that the others will quickly follow suit so we can bring these sweet skills to the maximum number of kiddos.
This camp offers introductory lessons in violin and ukulele in addition to other musical experiences and mindfulness activities. Each camp session begins and ends with breathing exercises and includes a craft.
Campers explore materials, process, and critical thinking through individual and group projects, conversations with resident artists, and thoughtful engagement with works on exhibit at HCCC. At the end of each week campers exhibit and discuss their own creations for family and friends.
A variety of camps for your curious artist, foodie, and performer. And for your gaming kid, there is the Video Game Maker camp in association with Writers in the Schools (who offer several other camps around Houston).
(Also on offer at AST is the Family Day Eid celebration on Sunday, June 9. Check it out.)
Only two camps – June 24-28 and July 22-26 – still have spots available! Campers collaborate to produce a short film that will screen at the MFAH on August 10.
is the museum’s interactive exhibit for the summer, inviting Houstonians to go fully into the art and explore with our whole bodies, to “connect to the organizing principles of choreography.” As a dancer, this is compelling, but as a mom and a MFAH docent who spends lots of time looking in the museum, these annual “please touch,” indoor playground-for-body-and-mind summer installations are seasonal soul food. Remember last year’s adventurous Big Bambu? The playful and engaging Shadow Monsters? The weird but captivating Houston Penetrable? The dreamy world of Pipilotti Rist? People, we are so lucky to have access to these worlds. Summer in Houston might seem like a sentence, but between our museums (world-class and air conditioned!) and many splash pads, I think we just might make it.
Wow. What a feast of dance we have here in Houston in March! The remainder of this month-of-plenty is framed (ahem) at either end by Frame Dance Productions’ generous and varied portions of artistry and fun. Join us, and be nourished, satiated, fulfilled.
Happy Mid-February, Framers! And happy love-celebration from myself and Richard Brautigan, whose poetry I’ve used to put you all in an endorphin-flooded brain state.* The images are mine, and they are potent reminders of the sweetness in my life (but, yes, I will have an overpriced truffle. Thank you so much). I invite you all to look for examples of couples of all kinds with strong connections – breathing, gentle, eternal, castle-building connections. It is a special kind of satisfying, and a reminder of the power of couples, duets, dyads. To slightly misquote an episode of Northern Exposure, one person can have a profound effect, but two people can change the world.
Find a second person. Do something together. Change the world.
Here are some suggestions for doing stuff in twos, threes, two twos, three twos and a one, you get it:
With choreography by Jen Mabus, TSMC member and Frame Dance Educator, this show features improvised music and choreography in the setting of feminist artist Cheryl Donegan’s printed and painted works currently on display the CAMH
First 50 single souls get Free Bubbly! (Hot Tip: my husband and I hooked up began our courtship at an Ain’t-Got-No-Valentine Valentine’s Day Party. You should go.)
*This quote, while loverly, is from “Once Upon a Valley,” which is not a very romantic poem. For something with legit passion, try “Gee, You’re So Beautiful That It’s Starting to Rain.”
So far, 2019 in Houston has been wet, but at least the plants are happy. It’s been chilly, but the northern transplants (like me!) who suffer through the summer are happy in their scarves and underused winter wear. It’s been cloudy and gray, but…the…people who worry about skin cancer are happy, I guess? Oh, forget it; it’s bleak out there, folks. I truly love weather that inspires one to sit inside and read, but even I – and definitely my eight year-old – could use a little more sun and little less puddle-making rain here at the end of our holidays.
There has been one big bright spot shining at Frame Dance headquarters, however, and I am excited to share it – or, rather, her – with you all. Yesterday’s post was a misty-eyed goodbye, but today’s is a bright hello. It is my great pleasure to introduce Frame Dance’s brand new Program Manager, Bobbie Hackett! Bobbie is a grad student in Arts Leadership at UH who has worked with ROCO and the Houston Arts Alliance, so she’s already family in terms of the Houston arts and nonprofits community. Look for Bobbie at upcoming Frame Dance classes and events, and here’s a little “Bobbie Hackett 101” to encourage you to say hi.
Intro to Bobbie: Very Important Questions
Bobbie, tell us: salty or sweet?
I like a good combo of both, but if forced to choose, I’d choose salty.
Coffee or tea?
I drink coffee more often, but I prefer tea.
Slide or Swings?
Swings!
If you could turn anything into an Olympic Event, what would you get the Gold medal for?
Laughing so hard that I cry over something completely arbitrary and not being able to explain why it struck me as funny.
What songs have you completely memorized?
I’m so bad with song lyrics it’s unreal, but I most often sing along with Ella Fitzgerald, Dean Martin, or Taylor Swift.
What is your personal arts background?
I’ve always been involved in the arts in some way. My mom is a pianist and she and my dad were church worship leaders for awhile, so I started as a piano and choir geek pretty early on.
I have an associates and a bachelor’s degree in music/voice/opera, but I really just wanted to know how to sing, I never considered being an opera singer professionally. In hindsight, majoring in music was not the most practical decision, but it’s not one that I regret. I love what I’ve learned and I’m certain none of it was a mistake.
Can you tell us about your masters program, and what led you there?
Yes! I’m in my last semester of the Arts Leadership program at the University of Houston. The Arts Leadership degree is essentially an Arts Administration degree, but it differs from other programs in that it was designed to produce good leaders as well as good administrators. While we learn all the hard skills of administration like financial management, strategic planning, etc. we are also encouraged and trained to learn, explore, and develop soft skills and our personal leadership styles.
Because I never intended to make a living as a musician, I was pretty limited in terms of jobs after finishing undergrad. I floundered around a little and worked for a bank, did technical support for a tax prep company, and taught voice lessons on the side. I was really struggling with a combination of poor managers, low pay, and feeling like I wasn’t doing anything meaningful, but I also didn’t really know what I wanted to do. I started to see a pattern in all of my jobs though; I consistently had leadership and management roles thrust upon me, but I was always reluctant to accept them. I was really afraid that I wasn’t cut out to manage or lead. Those fears didn’t really stop me from thinking of ways that my managers could do things better or differently, though. I finally realized that if I kept wanting things done differently then maybe I should just do it myself. I bit the bullet and started looking for Arts Administration programs.
I stumbled upon the Arts Leadership program by accident. I had already been accepted to another program in Ohio, but my parents really wanted me to stay in Texas, so I applied to the University of Houston to appease them. Once I got my acceptance letter from UH I was overwhelmed about choosing between Ohio and Texas, but in-state tuition won in the end. I enrolled in classes and I’ve never been happier!
You actually know a lot about Frame Dance, even though you’ve just started! Can you tell the readers about how you learned about Frame Dance (and what you learned?!)
I do know a lot about Frame Dance! I took a Strategic Planning course in the spring of 2018; rather than just having my class learn about strategic planning, my professor put us all into groups and paired us with various arts organizations in Houston and asked us to create a strategic plan for them based on their needs.
My group was paired with Frame Dance, so I actually created the fundraising portion of Frame’s strategic plan. It was a lot of hard work, but it was so rewarding. I remember being grateful to be paired with Frame because everyone in the organization was so gracious and kind. Frame was really open with us about what they wanted and needed; they were also flexible and willing to let us bring in new ideas and plans and shake things up a bit. I was really drawn more to the people than to the organization, but at the end of the day, the people are the organization. 🙂
Anything else you’d like to share?
I’m really looking forward to working for Frame Dance. I don’t have a lot of dance knowledge. I took a few classes in undergrad and really enjoyed it, but I’m a rookie at best.
I think every job is a new learning experience and I’m excited to learn and help!
Isn’t she amazing?! Bobbie, welcome to the team. This is going to be great.
