METdance, founded in 1995, strives to educate, entertain, and inspire its audiences through a diverse curation of repertory that spans a full range of emotion, content, and collaboration. Based in Houston, TX, METdance’s passionate performers and choreographers (Robert Battle, Camille A. Brown, Larry Keigwin) come from a range of cultural and ethnic backgrounds, and instill the company’s work with a complete spectrum of emotionality and physicality. From comedy and humor to poignant and dramatic, from fierce athleticism to detailed minimalism, METdance is committed to presenting works that speak to every audience member regardless of their background, age, gender, or experience with dance. In this way, METdance is proud to be a leader in diversity and vitality of arts content.

Diversity, vitality, accessibility, and inclusiveness are guiding principles for METdance, and its students, performers, choreographers, and audiences reflect the city’s breadth of rich cultural and ethnic backgrounds. The organization’s outreach efforts in collaboration with Young Audiences of Houston and the Arts Access Initiative amplify METdance’s impact in the community through educational engagement programs designed to expose children to dance’s evolving role in the cultural landscape, as well as to instill an appreciation of the art as a social activity and form of expression. In both its outreach activities and on stage, METdance is dedicated to presenting dance works that are relevant to diverse modern audiences. Under the guidance of its Founder and Executive Director, Michelle Smith, Artistic Director, Marlana Doyle, and Associate Director, Joe Celej, METdance has become a leader in diversity and vitality of arts presentation and instruction, as well as an integral part of the infrastructure supporting Houston’s dance community.

The METdance professional company affords Houstonians with an opportunity to experience the artistry, inspiration, and ingenuity of some of the nation’s leading choreographers in contemporary dance, as well as some of our city’s most gifted dance artists. METdance has a reputation for exceeding the caliber of choreographic talent operating in most regional dance companies and commissioning critically acclaimed works by internationally renowned artists and rising stars in the dance world. METdance’s repertory includes works specially tailored to the company by luminaries like Robert Battle (Artistic Director of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and one of the Masters of African American Choreography by the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts), Peter Chu (Capezio A.C.E. Award winner), and Camille Brown (Princess Grace and Bessie Award winner and TED fellow). In some cases, METdance has enjoyed the exclusive privilege to present these works—exposing Houston audiences to an array of the country’s most sought-after dance artists, elevating the regional profile of Houston dance presenters, and linking the city to the national conversation around innovative contemporary dance practices. Please visit www.METdance.org for more information.

Instructor Bio