Unafraid Of Controversy

A dance company on the move: Urban Souls tests the boundaries of a season

Leonard Price and Quincy Toliver
Photo by Shawn Welling
Tiffany Hall and Walter Hull in "Scarlet Situation"
Photo by Todd M. Spoth
Quincy Toliver in "Scarlet Situation"
Photo by James Weisman
Michael Baerga and Quincy Toliver
Photo by Shawn Welling

Five is the magic number for dance companies. Urban Souls Dance Company may be celebrating their fifth anniversary, but this year they present their very first season. For artistic director and founder Harrison Guy, now is the time to bite the season bullet.

On Saturday night, Urban Souls launches its season with "Touched by 5," a tribute to five individuals who shaped the company: Troy Powell, associate director of Ailey II. Travis Gatling, associate director of dance at Ohio University, Kenneth Epting of explanation dance company, Dorrell Martin of The Joffrey Ballet School New York and Guy.

Guy felt the inaugural season should open with a focus on the company's history. The concert closes with a Guy's "Dancumentary," which tells the unique story of Urban Souls.

On Feb. 12, Urban Souls takes a tour through Houston's historic Fourth Ward in "Whispers from the Colored Section," with original music by Malcolm Rector of St. Thomas University.

"The Fourth Ward may be the oldest African American neighborhood in Houston," Guy says. "It was home the city's first public housing project. "

This piece is a collaborative effort with the African American Library at the Gregory School.

Guy is a dance man with a mission: to present dance stories that matter and touch our souls. In the past, the company has addressed the crisis in Darfur and AIDS/HIV. No subject is too complex, which sometimes makes them controversial.

Guy doesn't want to shy away from difficult subjects that are deeply entrenched in the African and African-American experience. Having trained at the Ailey School in New York, Guy immersed himself in the work of other African-American dance leaders, yet he's not interested in duplicating what has gone before him. For Guy, the African-American experience in dance has room for many voices. He describes the company's artistic vision with a thoughtful passion.

"We are soulful, interested in real life stories that surpass the simplicity of happy and sad dances," Guy says. "We are more complicated than that. It's an anxious voice; there are a lot of untold stories that need to get out. "

Guy hopes to forge connections to other African-American dance companies in Houston. Recently, he served on a panel addressing the history of African-American dance in Houston.

"I was so happy that Lauren Anderson had heard of us," Guy recalls. "But we still need to get out and see each other's work. The identify of African-American dance is evolving. The first step in establishing an collective identity is mutual support."

Early in the process Walter Hull joined the effort as a dancer and general manager. Hull also directs the youth company and serves as the liaison between the board and the company. Hull has big plans for the troupe.

"His vision is for Urban Souls to produce high quality art that crosses all boundaries and expectations,eventually developing into a international touring company," Guy says.

Guy also credits Andrea Cody, executive director of Dance Houston, for starting a company in the first place. Urban Souls presented one piece for several years on Dance Houston's various city-wide dance festivals. The experience gave Guy a chance to imagine having a troupe of his own.

"Andrea pushed me to form the company," remembers Guy. "We also learned so much from all the other companies at the festivals."

Cody has an eye for rising talent and has played a crucial role in the local dance community.

"I’ve always supported Harrison’s vision and I believe in his integrity as a person," Cody says. "When I first worked with him, I saw his potential to bring a lot to the stage and to the community. He had training, passion, vision, and discipline. That’s the kind of artist I wanted to encourage to become a leader in the arts."

All shows take place at the Morris Cultural Arts Center on the Campus of Houston Baptist University. "I love that space, it's perfect for us," Guy says.

The season closes with a big old dance party called "Playlist" on June 18.

"This show is about dancing to great music like Earth, Wind and Fire and other R & B legends. We are such serious people most of the time," admits Guy. "Sometimes in our eagerness to share bold stories we forget about the simple things in life that make us feel good, like hearing our favorite song. Music has a way of bringing out the warm and fuzzy in us all."

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Movie Review

Billie Eilish takes fans behind the scenes in immersive 3D tour film

Photo by Henry Hwu/courtesy of Paramount Pictures

Billie Eilish in Billie Eilish: Hit Me Hard and Soft - The Tour Live in 3D.

In 2021, at the tender age of 19, singer Billie Eilish was already the subject of a documentary, The World’s a Little Blurry. At that point, she had only released one album, so the film threatened to feel too early for such treatment. The ensuing five years have only made her a bigger star, though, so in many ways that movie now feels prescient for the person on display in the new concert documentary with the unwieldy title of Billie Eilish: Hit Me Hard and Soft - The Tour Live in 3D.

Directed by Eilish and blockbuster filmmaker James Cameron, the film takes viewers inside Eilish’s 2024-2025 tour in support of her latest album, 2023’s Hit Me Hard and Soft. Filmed mostly at her series of shows in Manchester, England, the movie is a showcase for Eilish’s music, but it also serves as a smaller exploration of the type of person she is, as well as the impact she has had on her legion of fans.

The draw of the film is the use of Cameron’s beloved 3D technology, which he has employed in each of the three Avatar films. Unlike in those films, where the 3D has the odd effect of making the visuals too realistic for their own good, the technique brings an intimacy to the large-scale show that underscores the unique bond the singer has with her supporters.

Eilish and Cameron go back and forth between performances at the concert to behind-the-scenes sequences, detailing the enormous effort it takes to put on a show like that and how Eilish spends her time getting ready for it. As in The World’s a Little Blurry, this film continues to portray the singer as down-to-Earth, someone who yearns to maintain the connection to her fans that she’s had since she released her first single, “Ocean Eyes,” 10 years ago.

And as the many emotional songs in Eilish’s concert playlist prove, the feeling from the crowd is mutual. While Eilish has multiple bangers like “Bad Guy,” “Therefore I Am,” and the Charli XCX collaboration “Guess,” it’s the sad songs like “Everything I Wanted,” “Happier Than Ever,” and the Oscar-winning Barbie anthem, “What Was I Made For?” that hit the hardest. The depth of feeling emanating from her many sobbing fans singing along to crushing songs cannot be understated.

For audiences of the film, though, it’s the breadth of camera angles and shot choices that make it truly dynamic. There are cameras everywhere, including in the crowd, inside a cube at the center of the stage that rises and descends, following Eilish as she traipses every inch of the long, rectangular stage, and even a small one Eilish uses to bring an extra personal touch to the in-arena screen. Combined, they capture the complete energy of the concert, something that is not always the case in a film of this type.

Eilish has almost as many movies — two — as she does albums — three — which borders on overkill for a singer of her age. But both her music and the movies show her to be a person who knows the responsibility of being a celebrity, someone who understands that her fans are the reason she’s famous at all. Her career may go up or down from here, but it’s clear she’s already made a huge impact on those who love her most.

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Billie Eilish: Hit Me Hard and Soft - The Tour Live in 3D opens in theaters on May 8.

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