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    Dancing down the aisle

    Wedding bells in the dance world — and you're invited

    Nancy Wozny
    May 12, 2010 | 9:39 am
    • Erica Okoronkwo and Bianca Torres-Aponte of 6 Degrees in "Baptism"
      Photo by David A. Brown
    • 6 Degrees dancers Catalina Molnari and Kara Ary in "Baptism"
      Photo by David A. Brown
    • Michelle Garza of 6 Degrees in "Baptism"
      Photo by David A. Brown
    • Amy Ell of Vault
      Photo by David A. Brown
    • Vault's Catalina Molnari and Amy Ell
      Photo by David A. Brown

    Cue the wedding march, 6 Degrees and Vault, two Houston contemporary dance companies are about to tie the knot. There hasn't been this much excitement in artsy nuptials since The Arts Guys married that oak sapling.

    The ceremony begins Friday promptly at 8 p.m. at DiverseWorks, when choreographers and artistic directors Toni Leago Valle and Amy Ell reveal their new work and pledge everlasting love, for at least two weekends.

    Opposites attract and this couple couldn't be more different. Valle, dark-haired and intense, projects a no-nonsense presence. Her ability to do it all is legendary in the dance community.

    Valle's work is often deeply personal, sometimes even autobiographical, always dance-y. Her newest opus, Baptism, is all about water, bucket loads of it, how it contains us, holds us captive, and sometimes sets us free. "Water is a nurturing force, a chance to be reborn," Valle says. "It can also drown us." Valle is married in real life and is a mom.

    Ell, white-haired and pale, is soft spoken, keeping a quieter persona on the scene. She prefers to hang from the rafters, and is one of the most trained aerial artists in Texas. She's studied circus arts all over the world, including a close collaboration with Fred Deb' the orginator of "silks" and director of Compagnie Drapes Aeriens.

    Ell may be tiny, but as the reigning triple threat of Gyrotonic, Pilates and aerial work, she is hands-down one of the strongest dancers in Houston. No one scampers up a 20-foot pole or down a silk like this little dynamo. Ell premieres Blau, a work that travels from the ground into the airspace using single-point low-flying trapeze.

    "Blau" is German for blue, and refers to both the layers of self and stage spaces she uses during the piece. "Think of the human onion, you peel off one layer and there's another one," she says. Ell likes to adapt her many aerial skills to the space. Although DiverseWorks' ceiling is too low to use silks, it's perfect for for trapeze. Ell is single and a single mom of a teen ballet dancer.

    It's a marriage of water and air. As expected, neither has seen each other's new work yet. That would be bad luck for the betrothed pair. "We are both working from an abstract place this time," Valle says. "I am sure our work will complement each other's, but be different enough to make a really fun evening of dance."

    Not-so silly nuptials

    The choreographers have been meeting for over a year, discussing the possibility of doing something together. Being a choreographer can be a lonely job, slaving away in a studio alone to come up with cool moves to show your dancers. All the biz work takes another toll. Valle and Ell came up with an idea where they share the production and marketing, rather than the artistic end, of making a show.

    "We make good partners. It's more fun than going it alone, and we share the workload of putting it all together," Ell says.

    "One day after a meeting, I murmured 'Something old, something new' as a way to describe what we are doing as older choreographers doing something fresh," remembers Ell. "At first, I thought the idea of a wedding was silly. I finally got the nerve to call Toni with the wedding concept and she immediately loved it. It's just quirky enough."

    The idea stuck and gave the team just enough of a concept to present their work together.

    In a generous move, they also share five dancers, which makes the evening feel even more unified. University of Houston assistant professor and choreographer/dancer Teresa Chapman finds the couple inspiring.

    "In some ways they couldn't be more alike. They have such passion, energy and drive," Chapman says. "In other ways, they couldn't be more different. Amy works micro to macro, while Toni has the big picture more in mind from day one."

    As for which one is the groom or the bride? "Depends on the day, really, on the hour," quips Valle. "Today, we were both grooms," Ell adds.

    To commemorate the big day they have tweaked the saying to read, "Something old, something now, something drenched, something Blau."

    The wedding idea worked well for all the usual kickoff parties and fundraising efforts leading up to the show. Their announcement came in one of those traditional fat envelopes with a fancy engraved invitation. The two held a shower, complete with a layered vegan wedding cake. The rehearsal dinner featured short performances. The wrap-up cast party has a honeymoon theme. I imagine they will be sharing the dreaded thank-you-note writing to donors.

    Ell and Valle are two of the most generous, adventurous, and well-loved dance people in town. I know the entire dance community joins me in wishing them well on this special occasion.

    Quick, run and get some champagne. To Toni and Amy, may your dance dreams come true.

    As for the future, The smiling couple declined to speculate how long the marriage will last.

    "We like to live in the moment," offers Valle. Ell concurs. "As they say, one day at a time."

    unspecified
    news/entertainment

    The coolest of cats

    Friends share memories of Houston musician Scott Gertner, who died this week

    Craig D. Lindsey
    May 2, 2025 | 5:30 pm
    Scott Gertner
    Courtesy Cindy Gertner
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    Scott Gertner, one of the most prominent figures in Houston’s music and nightlife scenes, has unexpectedly passed away.

    A brief statement by the musician’s family did not share a cause of death. It thanked people for their condolences, asked for privacy, and stated that funeral details would be shared soon.

    Gertner was, without hyperbole, the coolest of cats. As a multi-talented, thrice-Grammy-nominated musician and singer, no one could resist his soulful stylings. As a nightclub owner, he knew how to open up the right spots at the right time. Before its closure in 2010, Scott Gertner’s Skybar was Montrose’s jazz temple in the sky, where people could check out live music while gazing at the stars. (Skybar also attracted celebs like Luther Vandross, Steve Harvey, and Shaquille O’Neal, so the stars weren’t just in the sky.) A decade later, he opened up Scott Gertner’s Rhythm Room on Memorial Dr., luring people in with live grooves and a mouth-watering menu.

    In my previous life as a nightlife reporter, Gertner was the person I usually contacted whenever I needed intel on jazz clubs in the city. (I also believe that, during one of these sitdowns, I surprised him one day with a 12-inch single he recorded in the late ‘80s for CBS Records, a lost item I picked up at a nearby record store.)

    But I know I’m not the only person who has sparkling memories featuring Gertner. I reached out to a few friends and asked them what they’ll remember the most about the late, great, swaggerific impresario:

    T.J. Callahan, film critic/radio personality: “We had many fantastic CBS Radio Houston Christmas parties at the Skybar. Scott was always the most gracious host and fun performer.

    “Also, two of my close friends went to high school at HSPVA with Scott. They are all musicians. During our college years, Scott was playing at the old Ruggles on lower Westheimer, back when everyone cruised that area on the weekends. Every time we passed by the restaurant, my friends and I would scream ‘Gertner’ out the car window, like he was going to hear us and come out and say hi. Hey, we were 18. The boys were so excited Scott had a real gig.”

    Russell V. Guess, music producer/former Skybar bartender: “When I tell you I wouldn’t know half the people I know — I wouldn’t have made a good deal of the money I’ve made in my life — and not have had many of the experiences (too many!) that made me who I am if not for this man, it isn’t an exaggeration at all.

    “But there’s so much more to remember about the guy. A true artist, bandleader, music lover, and businessman. I soaked up so much game about music and nightlife, a course more valuable than any class I could’ve taken. To know him personally was a privilege not to be taken lightly; he’d hit you with that smile that always said everything his words didn’t. Always the encourager, he supported me in and outside the nightlife. Even after I stopped working for him, we’d still text each other on our birthdays since they were 11 days apart. I was always welcome wherever his venue was located and, if he was there, that smile and a hug was soon to follow.”

    Mark Towns, jazz guitarist: “One of the first times I heard Scott play was back in the heyday of Cody’s, when he was on bass and vocals with Paul English’s incredible band. That group was something special — Paul on piano, Kirk Whalum and Johnny Torres on saxophones, and Scott bringing his unique energy and voice to the mix. The vibe was electric at those shows.

    “Later, Scott held down Wednesday nights at Cody’s in the Village, and those nights became legendary. It was the hottest night of the week, and, as the story goes, Scott was making more money that one night than the club owner was making all week. That’s the kind of draw and charisma he had.

    “From there, Scott opened the Skybar at the original Cody’s location on Montrose, and I was honored when he hired my Flamenco Jazz trio to play a Wednesday night series there, sponsored by The Wave radio station. We alternated Wednesdays with Joe Carmouche’s excellent trio — great times. He also was the gracious host for the CD release party for my first album, Flamenco Jazz Latino, at Skybar.

    “Back in the late 1980s, way before Skybar and those Village Cody’s Wednesdays, Scott and I played together at the legendary Blues Jam with Ardis Turner (RIP) at Live Bait on Greenbriar — me on guitar and Scott on bass. Too bad there are no recordings of that. We had some wild jams.

    “There was a weird kind of synchronicity with Scott — I’d run into him all over Houston, at all hours, in the most random places. It happened often. The last time I saw Scott was at the Rhythm Room last year. We ended up talking for a long while. He was extremely interested in hearing details about some health issues that I had firsthand knowledge about.

    “Scott was a great singer, a great guitarist, a great bassist, and a powerful presence on stage and off. As a performer, a businessman, a leader, and a cultural force, Scott Gertner enriched Houston’s music world. I’m grateful our paths crossed.”

    obituaryscott gertnerdeaths
    news/entertainment
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