• Home
  • popular
  • EVENTS
  • submit-new-event
  • CHARITY GUIDE
  • Children
  • Education
  • Health
  • Veterans
  • Social Services
  • Arts + Culture
  • Animals
  • LGBTQ
  • New Charity
  • TRENDING NEWS
  • News
  • City Life
  • Entertainment
  • Sports
  • Home + Design
  • Travel
  • Real Estate
  • Restaurants + Bars
  • Arts
  • Society
  • Innovation
  • Fashion + Beauty
  • subscribe
  • about
  • series
  • Embracing Your Inner Cowboy
  • Green Living
  • Summer Fun
  • Real Estate Confidential
  • RX In the City
  • State of the Arts
  • Fall For Fashion
  • Cai's Odyssey
  • Comforts of Home
  • Good Eats
  • Holiday Gift Guide 2010
  • Holiday Gift Guide 2
  • Good Eats 2
  • HMNS Pirates
  • The Future of Houston
  • We Heart Hou 2
  • Music Inspires
  • True Grit
  • Hoops City
  • Green Living 2011
  • Cruizin for a Cure
  • Summer Fun 2011
  • Just Beat It
  • Real Estate 2011
  • Shelby on the Seine
  • Rx in the City 2011
  • Entrepreneur Video Series
  • Going Wild Zoo
  • State of the Arts 2011
  • Fall for Fashion 2011
  • Elaine Turner 2011
  • Comforts of Home 2011
  • King Tut
  • Chevy Girls
  • Good Eats 2011
  • Ready to Jingle
  • Houston at 175
  • The Love Month
  • Clifford on The Catwalk Htx
  • Let's Go Rodeo 2012
  • King's Harbor
  • FotoFest 2012
  • City Centre
  • Hidden Houston
  • Green Living 2012
  • Summer Fun 2012
  • Bookmark
  • 1987: The year that changed Houston
  • Best of Everything 2012
  • Real Estate 2012
  • Rx in the City 2012
  • Lost Pines Road Trip Houston
  • London Dreams
  • State of the Arts 2012
  • HTX Fall For Fashion 2012
  • HTX Good Eats 2012
  • HTX Contemporary Arts 2012
  • HCC 2012
  • Dine to Donate
  • Tasting Room
  • HTX Comforts of Home 2012
  • Charming Charlie
  • Asia Society
  • HTX Ready to Jingle 2012
  • HTX Mistletoe on the go
  • HTX Sun and Ski
  • HTX Cars in Lifestyle
  • HTX New Beginnings
  • HTX Wonderful Weddings
  • HTX Clifford on the Catwalk 2013
  • Zadok Sparkle into Spring
  • HTX Let's Go Rodeo 2013
  • HCC Passion for Fashion
  • BCAF 2013
  • HTX Best of 2013
  • HTX City Centre 2013
  • HTX Real Estate 2013
  • HTX France 2013
  • Driving in Style
  • HTX Island Time
  • HTX Super Season 2013
  • HTX Music Scene 2013
  • HTX Clifford on the Catwalk 2013 2
  • HTX Baker Institute
  • HTX Comforts of Home 2013
  • Mothers Day Gift Guide 2021 Houston
  • Staying Ahead of the Game
  • Wrangler Houston
  • First-time Homebuyers Guide Houston 2021
  • Visit Frisco Houston
  • promoted
  • eventdetail
  • Greystar Novel River Oaks
  • Thirdhome Go Houston
  • Dogfish Head Houston
  • LovBe Houston
  • Claire St Amant podcast Houston
  • The Listing Firm Houston
  • South Padre Houston
  • NextGen Real Estate Houston
  • Pioneer Houston
  • Collaborative for Children
  • Decorum
  • Bold Rock Cider
  • Nasher Houston
  • Houston Tastemaker Awards 2021
  • CityNorth
  • Urban Office
  • Villa Cotton
  • Luck Springs Houston
  • EightyTwo
  • Rectanglo.com
  • Silver Eagle Karbach
  • Mirador Group
  • Nirmanz
  • Bandera Houston
  • Milan Laser
  • Lafayette Travel
  • Highland Park Village Houston
  • Proximo Spirits
  • Douglas Elliman Harris Benson
  • Original ChopShop
  • Bordeaux Houston
  • Strike Marketing
  • Rice Village Gift Guide 2021
  • Downtown District
  • Broadstone Memorial Park
  • Gift Guide
  • Music Lane
  • Blue Circle Foods
  • Houston Tastemaker Awards 2022
  • True Rest
  • Lone Star Sports
  • Silver Eagle Hard Soda
  • Modelo recipes
  • Modelo Fighting Spirit
  • Athletic Brewing
  • Rodeo Houston
  • Silver Eagle Bud Light Next
  • Waco CVB
  • EnerGenie
  • HLSR Wine Committee
  • All Hands
  • El Paso
  • Avenida Houston
  • Visit Lubbock Houston
  • JW Marriott San Antonio
  • Silver Eagle Tupps
  • Space Center Houston
  • Central Market Houston
  • Boulevard Realty
  • Travel Texas Houston
  • Alliantgroup
  • Golf Live
  • DC Partners
  • Under the Influencer
  • Blossom Hotel
  • San Marcos Houston
  • Photo Essay: Holiday Gift Guide 2009
  • We Heart Hou
  • Walker House
  • HTX Good Eats 2013
  • HTX Ready to Jingle 2013
  • HTX Culture Motive
  • HTX Auto Awards
  • HTX Ski Magic
  • HTX Wonderful Weddings 2014
  • HTX Texas Traveler
  • HTX Cifford on the Catwalk 2014
  • HTX United Way 2014
  • HTX Up to Speed
  • HTX Rodeo 2014
  • HTX City Centre 2014
  • HTX Dos Equis
  • HTX Tastemakers 2014
  • HTX Reliant
  • HTX Houston Symphony
  • HTX Trailblazers
  • HTX_RealEstateConfidential_2014
  • HTX_IW_Marks_FashionSeries
  • HTX_Green_Street
  • Dating 101
  • HTX_Clifford_on_the_Catwalk_2014
  • FIVE CultureMap 5th Birthday Bash
  • HTX Clifford on the Catwalk 2014 TEST
  • HTX Texans
  • Bergner and Johnson
  • HTX Good Eats 2014
  • United Way 2014-15_Single Promoted Articles
  • Holiday Pop Up Shop Houston
  • Where to Eat Houston
  • Copious Row Single Promoted Articles
  • HTX Ready to Jingle 2014
  • htx woodford reserve manhattans
  • Zadok Swiss Watches
  • HTX Wonderful Weddings 2015
  • HTX Charity Challenge 2015
  • United Way Helpline Promoted Article
  • Boulevard Realty
  • Fusion Academy Promoted Article
  • Clifford on the Catwalk Fall 2015
  • United Way Book Power Promoted Article
  • Jameson HTX
  • Primavera 2015
  • Promenade Place
  • Hotel Galvez
  • Tremont House
  • HTX Tastemakers 2015
  • HTX Digital Graffiti/Alys Beach
  • MD Anderson Breast Cancer Promoted Article
  • HTX RealEstateConfidential 2015
  • HTX Vargos on the Lake
  • Omni Hotel HTX
  • Undies for Everyone
  • Reliant Bright Ideas Houston
  • 2015 Houston Stylemaker
  • HTX Renewable You
  • Urban Flats Builder
  • Urban Flats Builder
  • HTX New York Fashion Week spring 2016
  • Kyrie Massage
  • Red Bull Flying Bach
  • Hotze Health and Wellness
  • ReadFest 2015
  • Alzheimer's Promoted Article
  • Formula 1 Giveaway
  • Professional Skin Treatments by NuMe Express

    Best Ballet Ever?

    A Houston Ballet stunner: Midsummer Night's Dream is a sexy vision, one of company's best works ever

    Theodore Bale
    Sep 6, 2014 | 11:01 am

    I suppose it was a trip last year to northern India that got me contemplating Buddhist and Hindu perceptions of time. In the ancient Hindu Puranas, one “deva” year is equal to 360 human years. Devas and their female counterparts, the devis, are usually compassionate deities, and they experience time differently than we do.

    This idea is not particular to the East. In the Holy Bible’s Second Epistle of Peter, for example, “…with the Lord a day is like a thousand years.”

    I am unaware if Shakespeare intended Titania, Oberon, Puck, Cobweb and all his other fairies to perceive the passing hours as so much longer than those of mortals — they are not gods, after all — but it is a fascinating notion asserted by choreographer John Neumeier for his ballet setting of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. When the pristine luxury of the Athenian court starts to overlap with the exotic woodland of the Fairy Realm, we can see for our very own eyes the effects of the temporal clash.

    In the past five years, this could be the most stunning performance Houston Ballet has offered, and that is certainly saying a lot.

    These two groups have their own style of choreography and their own kind of music, as well. As I write these words, I get goose bumps just re-imagining that thrilling shift from the Prologue to the first Act last night at the Wortham Theater Center.

    Houston Ballet is the first American company to dance this great masterpiece, which the Hamburg Ballet premiered in 1977. Neumeier has said that he keeps perfecting the choreography every time he sets the ballet, which means also that he gives great attention to how new dancers slip into these well-considered roles. I’ll warn you right now that this review might be filled with superlative comparatives, if not a bit of hyperbole here and there.

    Thursday night, I knew I was witnessing unfettered greatness, both in the conception of the work and in its execution. In the past five years, this could be the most stunning performance Houston Ballet has offered, and that is certainly saying a lot.

    In its arrangement, the story is clear without being simplistic. When the motley crew of “rustics,” led by a weaver named Bottom, enters the scenario and eventually performs their lowbrow version of Pyramus and Thisbe, Neumeier adds a third layer to his danced version of Shakespeare’s popular comedy. Where the Athenians have Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy’s sweeping Overture and Incidental Music to the play as their accompaniment, and the fairies an assortment of bizarre organ music by Hungarian composer György Ligeti, the rustics have a live mechanical street organ they carry around the stage with them. Even a bit of Verdi makes its way into the mix.

    The dancing throughout is sublime, in the sense that it moves far beyond mere technical perfection. The company looked stellar in every sense of the word. Neumeier’s choreography is often dense and reckless, bordering on the acrobatic. It calls for subtlety as well, sustained adagio passages, expertise in pantomime, and theatrical prowess.

    There are numerous lifts that are also splendidly weird, and a wide assortment of partnering that reflects the various eccentricities of the characters. It goes without saying that it is all very sexy, as well, though Neumeier shows the erotic potential of the story without ever being vulgar.

    It goes without saying that it is all very sexy, though Neumeier shows the erotic potential of the story without ever being vulgar.

    Soloist Aaron Robison, in the dual role of Theseus and Oberon, was particularly impressive as the latter, which called for several athletic duets with principal dancer Connor Walsh. I have always felt that Walsh had a great gift for comic roles, and this is without doubt his funniest interpretation in many years. He is an absolute wonder in this ballet and deserves a crown of laurels, even if it’s unlikely he would ever rest upon them.

    Christopher Coomer, sporting a pair of red satin pointe shoes as Thisbe in the Divertissement, is unforgettably comic. Karina Gonzalez as Titania/Hippolyta embodies everything this ballet calls for, from ethereal illusion to sexy sophistication. I couldn’t take my eyes off her, which is a maddening pleasure in a work where 10 things always seem to be happening at once.

    I found none of the dancers lacking, and wish I could mention every last one by name.

    This might sound crazy, but the overwhelming beauty and elegance of this Midsummer makes these dancers seem other-worldly, as if they are visitors from some other non-human realm. They danced for nearly three hours in the premiere, but to a mortal such as me, it seemed like only minutes.

    Emily Bowen and Linnar Looris in the Houston Ballet's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream.

    Houston Ballet A Midsummer Night's Dream dress rehearsal pics September 2014 Emily Bowen and Linnar Looris
      
    Photo by © Amitava Sarkar
    Emily Bowen and Linnar Looris in the Houston Ballet's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream.
    unspecified
    news/arts
    CULTUREMAP EMAILS ARE AWESOME
    Get Houston intel delivered daily.

    a major award

    'Oscars of the internet' recognizes Houston's Meow Wolf with 2 awards

    Jef Rouner
    Apr 25, 2025 | 2:00 pm
    ​Adultiverse at Meow Wolf Houston (2024)
    Photo provided by Meow Wolf
    Adultiverse at Meow Wolf Houston (2024)

    The Houston location of Meow Wolf won two international Webby Awards for Radio Tave, its installation in Fifth Ward. The awards, in the categories Webby Award (Critics' Choice) and the People’s Voice Award for Best Installation or Experience in AI, Immersive & Games, were announced earlier this week.

    “To win both a juried Webby and the People’s Voice speaks to the power of what we created in Houston,” said Meow Wolf Houston general manager Aaron Johnson. “Radio Tave is about surprise, immersion, and imagination. We’re proud that our community, our collaborators, and the global digital world have embraced this journey.”

    Other winners included Google, Nike, Walter Goggins, Snoop Dogg, and Texas Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett for her use of digital platforms for civic advocacy.

    Radio Tave opened last year on Halloween. A highly-enjoyable but somewhat difficult to describe experience, it guides visitors through an East Texas radio station that's been transported to another dimension. Like the rest of Meow Wolf's installations across the country, it's an immersive exhibition that puts the visitor inside a story, from solving a jukebox-based puzzle to dance parties. With music by Houston rapper Fat Tony (among others) and and some adorably creepy animatronics, Radio Tave is an unsettling and surreal adventure designed by more than 50 Texas artists.

    The Webby Awards honor excellence in internet culture. Founded in 1996 by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, it is essentially the Oscars of the internet. Meow Wolf's distinctive digital experiences and high internet visibility make them a natural for the "AI, Immersive & Games: Arts, Fashion & Culture" category. Though obviously a real-world attraction, Meow Wolf's robust social media presence brings its work to digital audiences.

    Meow Wolf Houston is the fifth location overall and second Texas location. Located in Houston's Fifth Ward, it features dozens of rooms filled with art, sculptures, installation pieces, and more. It quickly established itself as a unique, must-visit part of Houston's art scene and nightlife.

    Known for its immersive art and music installations, the company previously won a Webby for the Dallas-Fort Worth location, The Real Unreal, in 2023. New locations in New York City and Los Angeles are scheduled to open in 2026.


    awardsmeow wolf
    news/arts
    Loading...