Notable Quotes about Dance Salad Festival
Houston’s famous Dance Salad: …There isn’t anything on the planet quite like Nancy Henderek’s Dance Salad.
- Maggie Foyer, Dance Europe, London, May 2010
Skip going to Europe this spring and go to Houston instead to see some of the most interesting companies from the Continent. The boldly enterprising Dance Salad Festival brings a dazzling array of work to Wortham Center’s Cullen Theater…
- Dance Magazine, New York, April 2009
Nancy Henderek travels the world, choosing dances as art dealers buy paintings…
- Christie Taylor, Artshouston magazine
Margaret Mims of the Museum of Fine Arts Houston (MFAH) appreciates Henderek’s keen curatorial eye.
- Artshouston magazine, April 2006The concept of dance Salad is very similar to the way exhibitions here at the MFAH bring together the work of [a] number of artists, often from various countries and cultures around the world,
said Mims. Similarly, the Festival offers a curated evening of dance-it’s a diverse group of dance companies on one program each of which brings their own signature.
More of a feast than a salad, this annual festival packs in companies from Europe that we rarely see in the U.S… this three-day festival opened the floodgates for maverick work from across the pond. After two evenings of this rich diet, you felt like you’d tasted a smorgasbord of some of the most original voices in dance today.
- Wendy Perron, Dance Magazine, New York, May 2009
Houston’s Dance Salad is… perfectly formed and ablaze with talent… Dance Salad gives a unique insight into the dance world… Dance Salad? Well, yes, it was fresh and delicious, but this was also haute cuisine of gargantuan richness.
- Maggie Foyer, Dance Europe, London, June 2009
…Incredible choice of choreographic repertoire, sensible, poetic, contemporary or classic.
- Eric Viudes, Dance: European Dance News, Paris, 2004
…the international presentations, staged over three nights and almost ten hours…[included dances]expertly and elegantly performed …evocatively brought to life with the subtle and controlled power …effortless partnering and a sheer delight in the steps charmed the audience…masterful dancer exploding onto the floor in elevated leaps…
- Marene Gustin, Dance International, Toronto, Fall 2006
At Dance Salad, my expectations were more than exceeded. Artistically, I was fulfilled. Emotionally, I was rejuvenated. And my faith in dance as a living, breathing, healing art form was undeniably confirmed.
- Brian Schaefer, www.MyTwoLeftFeet.Wordpress.com, San Francisco.
Great dancing [that] sends an audience on a kind of journey-one that’s mentally, spiritually and kinetically stimulating…
- Molly Glentzer, cover story Houston Chronicle, March 28, 2002
Dance Salad: Globalization in performance art…the city’s [Houston] maturation into a Mecca of artistic sophistication is evidenced and underscored by an omnipresence of quality, internationally renowned events that have taken root in the city. Case in point: Dance Salad, a three night festival featuring a dynamic mixed repertoire program by some of the world’s most compelling companies, choreographers and dancers
- Peter Lim, 002 Magazine, Houston, March 2002
Dance Salad has put Houston on the map as a place to see international dance. It is not unusual for people to travel from all over the US to see the show…Every year, Henderek comes up with a major find– a choreographer or company that has never been seen before in the US.
- Artshouston magazine, April 2006
Nancy Henderek does her part placing Houston on the global dance map, thanks to her annual three-day international dance festival that draws dance enthusiasts, presenters and VIP's from all over the world.
- Nancy Wozny, Prime Living Magazine, April 2010
Nancy Henderek is a one woman United Nations [who] imports a dozen or more of the world’s best dancers and choreographers to the Wortham Theater. Over a three-night run, she tosses a mix of American premieres and other must-see contemporary dance into eye-opening combinations.
- Houston Chronicle Ultimate Houston 2004 — the Ultimate roster of the city’s best
Henderek juxtaposed the serious and dark Kylian and Guangdong works with lighter treats…[she] claims the event has a
- Marene Gustin, Dance Magazine, New York, July 2002life of its own
…if this year is any indication, it could windup as the premier contemporary dance festival between the East and West Coasts.
[Henderek said]
- Molly Glentzer, Houston Chronicle, March 25, 2002How do people know what to strive for if they don’t see the master works? Dance Salad is about refining vision and reaching deep. It’s about exposing people –both artists and audiences...
Dance Salad brings world’s best to town…Dance Salad brings many of the greatest companies to Houston…in what has become one of the nation’s premiere dance festivals.
- Headline and caption in Greater Houston Weekly, March 28, 2007
Finding the right multi-cultural mix takes Henderek around the globe each year. After a lifetime in the dance community, she knows what to look for. A dancer and choreographer herself, she attends festivals and performances, networks, reviews performance videos and plugs into what is new, noteworthy and not to be missed.
- Cynthia Lescalleet, River Oaks Examiner
Dance Salad Festival founder Nancy Henderek has learned to cull and juxtapose diverse excerpts from works by top dance artists in ways that reveal common threads.
- Molly Glentzer, Houston Chronicle, April 2, 2010
In the 18 years Henderek has staged Dance Salad, its reputation has grown steadily in the dance world-and I do mean world… Testament to her success, some of the world’s most intriguing choreographers aren’t just willing to play along-they ask to participate.
- Molly Glentzer, Houston Chronicle, March 26, 2010
You have to be prepared to gorge at the feast of virtuosity that is Dance Salad. Organizer Nancy Henderek has a hard time whittling down everything she wants you to see… It’s impossible to do justice in a tight space to the full bounty of a Dance Salad program.
- Molly Glentzer, Houston Chronicle, April 11, 2009
There is just one thing to gripe about when it comes to the Houston International Dance Coalition’s annual Dance Salad Festival: the name. This is no longer a salad. It’s a mile-long buffet.
- Houston Press, April 2009
The Dance Salad Festival always offers up some of the coolest choreography and sleekest bodies in the world.
- Molly Glentzer, Houston Chronicle / Gloss, April 2009
No mere salad, this festival was an all-you-can-eat buffet of international talent…was deliciously flavored with a strong sprinkling of Mats Ek...; Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui…was an explosion of dance theatre; what better way to sum up the philosophy behind Dance Salad itself than with such a compilation…like David Dawson’s luscious A Million Kisses To My Skin by the English National Ballet. Here Dawson answers the question, just how many arabesque can you cram into one piano concerto? And the answer, like the Dance Salad Festival itself, is more than you could possibly have imagined… As always, producer Nancy Henderek packs a Romanesque feast into the three evenings…
- Marene Gustin, Dance International, Toronto, Fall 2009
…alongside Houston Ballet, Dance Salad is a third U.S dance destination, along with New York and San Francisco.
- Toba Singer, Review of Weekend of Texas Contemporary Dance, Dance Source Houston, Sept. 25, 2009
By far the most fun night I can remember in many years…
- Molly Glentzer, Houston Chronicle, April 5, 2007
Combine equal portions of European, Asian and Latin American talent, sprinkle liberally with an acute artistic eye, toss vigorously. What do you get? The best international contemporary dance Festival outside of Europe: the Houston International Dance Coalition’s Dance Salad Festival.
- Greater Houston Weekly, March 28, 2007
Everyone who is anyone in dance in Houston turns out for the annual festival: dancers, students, choreographers and those who work in the arts. Even if you wouldn’t know a pas de dues from a back flip, the sheer quality of the dancing and the theatrical production values make for a thrilling event.
- Greater Houston Weekly, March 28, 2007
Nancy Henderek has a great eye for selecting groups and choreography; it’s a wonderful festival and I am grateful that it’s in Houston… Dance Salad is a marvelous opportunity… to see an enormous range of choreographic activity from all parts of the world. I look forward to it each year.
- Nancy Wozny, Dance Magazine, New York, March 2007
Houston’s Dance Salad Festival has built its reputation by importing new works from abroad.
- Houston Chronicle, Zest Preview, April 2006
Don’t let the name fool you: Dance Salad is no light affair…[It] features a stunning array of companies. Producer Nancy Henderek and the Houston International Dance Coalition have outdone themselves.
- Julia Ramey, Houston Press, April 13-19, 2006
Houston’s huge international dance festival
- Dance Magazine, New York, April 2006
It was a long night of stunning dances… you get a lot of dance for your money.
- Molly Glentzer, Houston Chronicle, April 15, 2006
A Feast of A Festival
- Headline in Dance Magazine, New York, April 2006
Dance Salad Festival [is] dedicated each year to bring world-class ballet, modern and contemporary dance companies together on one stage
- Pointe, New York, April 2006
Dance Salad is still the only place in Texas to see the world’s best contemporary dance.
- Marene Gustin, Dance International, Toronto
…Dance Salad consistently offers Houstonians a glimpse of works that would otherwise require a passport and a plane ticket to see.
- Molly Glentzer, Houston Chronicle
Some festivals don’t pack as much into a week as producer Nancy Henderek squeezes into her annual three night showcase…
- Molly Glentzer, Houston Chronicle, April 13, 2004
Nancy Henderek’s eye for some of the best international dance is unparalleled.
- Marene Gustin, Dance Magazine, New York, August 2003
This is Dance Salad and the event has emerged in Houston, Texas and achieved what it set out to do… Spring 2002 was full of reason, rightness and freshness… There were moments of pure magic… For Nancy Henderek: Mission Accomplished. We say to her, Bravo.
- Eric Viudes, Dance: European Dance News, Paris, March, 2002
