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<\/picture><\/div>The multinational dancers in Ishida Dance Company, including Maddie Medina, show uniformly immaculate technique.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/span>AMITAVA SARKAR\/Ishida Dance Company<\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Shared by Houston and Austin, Ishida Dance Company is moving up to the big time.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n For its Jan. 23 Austin performance of \u201cRara Avis,\u201d a world premiere, Ishida will test the cavernous Dell Hall at the Long Center for the Performing Arts.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n That\u2019s a big step up from venues such as the Rollins Studio Theatre in Austin and the Midtown Arts and Theater Center in Houston, where Ishida might perform the same concert twice in a hall that holds, say, 200 to 400 guests.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Founded in 2019 by Austin-based dancer and dance-maker Brett Ishida, with an international set of athletic performers who immediately demonstrated immaculate technique, the company layers a m\u00e9lange of poetic movement over a balletic base. (Even when you don’t think it’s there, it\u2019s there.)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Given that its first performances came just before the pandemic, the fact that the company has come so far, so fast \u2014 including 26 premieres \u2014 can be credited to its founder\u2019s personal vision and unyielding ambition.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cIn fairy tales and movies, when someone starts something like their own company, they say it started with a dream,\u201d Ishida says. \u201cThat was true for me, too, and in my case, I had literal dreams, fragments of images that carried stories I knew were meant for the stage. I created Ishida to share these stories through cinematic movement.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Critics and audiences have rewarded Ishida and her company with raves and well wishes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Dancer and dance-maker\u00a0Brett\u00a0Ishida founded Ishida Dance Company, based in Houston and Austin.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/span>Niko Hernandez\/Ishida Dance Company<\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Brett\u00a0Ishida grew up in a Japanese American family on a citrus farm in California\u2019s Central Valley. Yet her early life was spent as a dancer, first in youth dance competitions and ballet schools and later as a professional dancer at prominent ballet companies in the U.S. and abroad. After her dance career, she attended UCLA to study poetry, Attic Greek and film.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \u201cThe pieces (the company) creates are rooted in poetry and narrative translated into movement,\u201d she says. \u201cThis provides me the opportunity to tell stories that resonate with our audiences \u2014 whether they\u2019re dance enthusiasts or new to the form.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n While her work, and that of guest dance-makers, is dramatic and personal, the company never loses sight of the fundamental beauty of dance.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n “Our first performance was at the small black-box theater at the Long Center, but then had to pivot to virtual performances due to COVID, including performances that were cancelled because of COVID outbreak among our dancers,\u201d Ishida says. \u201cBut it never occurred to us to give up. The audience feedback was so positive. I knew we had to keep performing and growing.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Other major Austin groups blend ballet expertly with modern dance and later movement forms \u2014 Ballet Austin, for instance \u2014 while still others draw top-notch performers from around the country and the world, such as Austin Opera and\u00a0Conspirare.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Yet through the almost implacable drive of its founder, Ishida Dance Company has set itself apart.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cSince our inception, we\u2019ve premiered 26 new original works and presented works by leading international choreographers rarely seen in the U.S.,\u201d\u00a0Ishida says. \u201cOver time, our audiences have grown both in size and passion. We started performing shows in Houston, and now say we are co-located in Austin and Houston. We\u2019ve been regularly selling out smaller venues in both cities. When the opportunity arose to perform at the large venue at the Long Center, it seemed like the natural next step and consistent with our vision.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Dancer Nicholas Bustos is part of Ishida Dance Company, which moves up to the big time at Dell Hall in the Long Center for the Performing Arts.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/span>Ishida Dance Company<\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Brett Ishida describes \u201cRara Avis\u201d \u2014 which means \u201crare bird\u201d in Latin \u2014 as \u201ca highly physical, visually stunning and emotionally resonant international program with critically acclaimed dancers and choreography.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n![\"Dancer](\"https:\/\/s.hdnux.com\/photos\/01\/55\/61\/76\/28778374\/5\/ratio1x1_80.jpg)
A journey starts with one step<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
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What is \u2018Rara Avis\u2019?<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
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