Dancer Brittany Deveau from Light Blanket 44, collaboration with Jeremy Choate; Photo by Lynn Lane
NobleMotion Dance (NMD) is one of Houston’s premier contemporary dance companies. Located in downtown Houston, NMD was a Resident Incubator at the Houston Arts Alliance from 2013-2016 and is currently on the TCA Touring Roster. The company’s season consists of evening length productions, touring and educational components, and concert training for NMD’s second company, NMD2. NMD employs two choreographers, light and technology artists, and a group of 10-14 dancers of varying styles from culturally diverse backgrounds. The company has a broad repertory and remains focused on creating new work that challenges the status quo.
NMD’s debut in Houston’s Big Range Dance Festival in June 2009 and was met with critical acclaim. Critic Neil Ellis Orts stated, “the company exhibits an extraordinary athleticism…NobleMotion Dance is a name to watch.” Invitations to perform as a part of Dance Houston, Weekend of Texas Contemporary Dance, and the JCC’s Triple Focus followed shortly after. Critic Nancy Wozny hailed, “NobleMotion emerged as the company to gush about” in her 2010 year in review.
In the fall of 2011, NMD and Jeremy Choate presented an evening comprised of nine interactive light installations. Splitting Night: An Evening of Dance and Light was named by Critic Theodore Bale as the “don’t miss it” dance event of the season. In the fall of 2012, NMD once again was met with critical success for Spitting Ether, an “imaginative and exciting” evening of dance and technology. And in 2013, NMD collaborated with Austin band My Education in Collide. The evening was presented in downtown Houston at The Hobby Center’s Zilkha Hall. Notably, the company nearly sold out the venue two nights – a feat rarely accomplished by hometown contemporary dance companies.
In 2015, Andy and Dionne Noble’s choreography was featured in the Emmy Award winning and Golden Globe nominated ABC primetime television show “American Crime.” They collaborated with Academy Award Winner John Ridley to make a 4-minute dance filmed in one take. The shot was accomplished with a state-of-the-art NFL wire camera and and was given the rare opportunity to craft choreography that would deepen the dramatic storyline of the series. The achievement is significant in that Modern dance is rarely featured on primetime network television where over four million people can experience dance as art. The episode aired on February 3, 2016 and the dance was performed to original composition by Mark Isham.