Mission Statement
Ishida Dance Company is a Texas based contemporary performance dance company. We will present works by its founder, Brett Ishida, as well other avant garde choreographers in mixed repertory of world class contemporary dance performances that are inclusive to audiences and prompt existential questions. The vision is for Ishida Dance Company to become world renowned and a leader in the Austin arts scene. As part of its non-profit mission, Ishida Dance Company seeks not only to advance the art of contemporary dance, but also to provide free educational outreach performances and workshops to at-risk youth and marginalized communities to cultivate appreciation for contemporary dance and to provide interactive audience engagement opportunities that nurture spatial and body awareness, self-esteem, collaboration, creativity, and social and emotional well-being. The content and context of all performances invite self-reflection, promote diversity and encourage communal regard.
Description
Brett Ishida, the founder, Artistic Director and resident choreographer, is a fourth generation Japanese American-Yonsei-raised in the agricultural town of Porterville, California. Brett's love for dance inspired her to move away from home at age fifteen when she received a full scholarship at the Kirov Academy and later at SAB. She went on to dance with Boston Ballet, Oregon Ballet Theatre, where she first choreographed, and Les Grands Ballets Canadiens dancing principal and soloist roles in repertoire by William Forsthye, Nacho Duato, Jiri Kylian, Ohad Naharin and Dedy Veldman among others.
Enchanted by wordplay Brett received a BA from UCLA in English: Creative Writing with emphasis in Poetry and later a MA in Montessori Education from St. Mary’s College. Brett was an educator and administrator in Texas, California and Greece with a passion for promoting the arts in education and advocating for children with special learning needs.
Brett launched Ishida Dance Company in the Spring of 2019. The Company’s first public performances will be held at the Long Center on January 3 & 4, 2020.
Each of Brett’s new works intertwine like dreams. Her work often combines tenets of ancient Greek poetry or philosophy with film images, text and reflections on childhood attachments. She is creating memory-houses for audiences where characters reemerge to build relationships and familiarity that might pull at our heartstrings in imitation of Life’s enigma.
