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    Through Sunday at the Wortham

    World premiere of inventive Tapestry highlights Houston Ballet's "Rock, Roll &Tutus"

    Nichelle Strzepek
    Mar 16, 2012 | 12:19 pm
    • Nozomi Iijima in "Divergence," choreographed by Stanton Welch
      Photo by Amtiava Sarkar
    • The world premiere of "Tapestry," with Karina Gonzalez, Ian Casady and ConnorWalsh and choreographed by Stanton Welch
      Photo by Amtiava Sarkar
    • A scene from "Rooster," choreographed by Christopher Bruce, with ChristopherCoomer and Katelyn May
      Photo by Amtiava Sarkar

    If any company can rock a goofy strut and some tutus made of air conditioning filters it’s Houston Ballet. They proved it at the opening of "Rock, Roll & Tutus" last week.

    The program, which includes the world premiere of artistic director Stanton Welch's Tapestry plus two ballets previously performed (Rooster and Divergence), continues with three performances Friday through Sunday.

    Marquee aside, Welch planned for Tapestry to be the antithesis of rock and roll as he set it to Mozart‘s Violin Concerto No. 5. While it showcases the rock star qualities of violinist, Denise Tarrant, the only thing "in your face" about this ballet is the talent of the company.

    To the delight of the audience, Karina Gonzalez is tossed between Connor Walsh and Ian Cassidy like a wisp of smoke — particularly sweet-scented smoke.

    Daring, inventive and occasionally just plain jaw-dropping partnering punctuates the entire first section during which dancers appear in a muted tangerine and blue. To the delight of the audience, Karina Gonzalez is tossed between Connor Walsh and Ian Cassidy like a wisp of smoke — particularly sweet-scented smoke.

    In fact viewers, who unlike this reviewer were capable of smell during Houston’s allergy season, wondered aloud if incense was purposefully wafting through the orchestra section during Tapestry.

    On this point I can’t be sure, but it is romance that seems to fill the air as members of the second, more verdantly dressed ensemble drift in and out of one another’s arms.

    This gives way to a group of some of the company’s powerhouse movers. It’s not exaggeration that I took a few moments to mentally recover from Melissa Hough’s whiplash chaîné turns.

    Houston Ballet’s recently promoted principal, Joseph Walsh, bookends this ballet and, as if restating his value to the company, on this night was featured in all three of the evening’s offerings. If I dared to call a dancer flawless, I might bestow Walsh for his remarkable and utterly adaptable technique.

    Throughout Tapestry, dancers disappear through a visually striking but mostly underutilized backdrop of taut, hanging ropes like thread through a loom. Welch has played on the strengths of his versatile dancers and woven something that, devoid of pretentiousness, feels fresh and exciting.

    Rockin' with Rooster

    The evening’s rock-inspired Rooster by Christopher Bruce features 10 dancers, led by a commanding Ian Cassady in a blazing pink button-down, literally strut and preen to Rolling Stones tunes like “Lady Jane,” “Ruby Tuesday,” “Paint it Black” and “Sympathy for the Devil.”

    The Rooster dancers don’t exactly have moves like Jagger but they certainly roll through this ballet with his confidence and cheek.

    Though more than 20 years old, the ballet has aged almost as well as its music. It maintains a universal sense of good fun.

    Melissa Hough proves versatile and uncharacteristically mellow as Ruby of Tuesday fame and I enjoyed watching the coy and expressive Katelyn May (and her bobbing blonde ponytail) during some of the work’s physically humorous moments. The Rooster dancers don’t exactly have moves like Jagger but they certainly roll through this ballet with his confidence and cheek.

    Divergence: Aging but not yet grayed

    Despite its off-kilter, yet occasionally plodding Bizet score, the ballet with the most rock and roll attitude on this program is Welch’s aging but not yet grayed, Divergence. It’s the ballet that put him on the international map as a choreographer and, yes, it’s the one with industrial strength tutus that must be as fun to clown around with during rehearsals as they look.

    Perhaps it’s all the leather and mesh but there’s definitely a peep show vibe as a bar of vibrant hues shifts in mood and size to enclose the dancing in a horizontal window of shadow and light.

    Divergence is bawdy, suggestive, and a bit bizarre, and if that alone doesn’t entice, its nine movements actually leave you wanting. Now, if that’s not rock and roll, I don’t know what is.

    unspecified
    news/entertainment

    welcome home

    Texas-born country star Cody Johnson will close out RodeoHouston 2026

    Eric Sandler
    May 21, 2025 | 11:00 am
    Cody Johnson headshot
    Photo by Chris Douglas
    Cody Johnson will perform at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo on March 22, 2026.

    A Texas-born country star will close out the 2026 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. Cody Johnson will take the star-shaped stage for a concert-only performance on March 22, 2026.

    A native of Sebastopol, TX — a small town near Huntsville — the singer’s track “Welcome to the Show” has been the rodeo’s official theme song since 2019. Johnson brings legit rodeo experience to his work, having competed as a professional bull rider before devoting his life to music.

    Known for songs such as “‘Til You Can’t,” “The Painter,” and “Me and My Kind,” Johnson has earned numerous awards, including the 2025 Academy of Country Music Awards Song of the Year for “Dirt Cheap,” CMT Artist of The Year, three CMT Music Awards wins, four CMA Awards including Album of The Year in 2024, and “Best New Country Artist” at the iHeart Music Awards in 2023.

    It will be Johnson’s fifth RodeoHouston performance. He most recently appeared as the opening act of the 2022 rodeo, which is also the last time the event concluded with a concert-only performance by country legend George Strait.

    “Every performance at RodeoHouston is a privilege and as a rodeo man at heart, being asked to perform on a special night like this surpasses any of my wildest dreams,” Johnson said in a statement.

    Tickets for the performance will go on sale Thursday, August 21. More information will be posted to rodeohouston.com in the coming weeks. RodeoHouston’s remaining entertainer lineup will be announced in early 2026, per a press release.

    “Over the years, Cody has become a part of our beloved tradition – from captivating thousands year-after-year to recording RodeoHouston's official brand anthem,” said Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo president and CEO, Chris Boleman. “We are thrilled he is just as honored as we are to return in 2026.”

    rodeohoustonconcertscody johnson
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