Dogging Orr
Austin choreographer Allison Orr pops up in the darndest places. These days you can catch her on the National Geographic Channel in an episode of a series called Dogs With Jobs. The show actually focuses on Zeke, guide dog for Sozan Schellin, who appeared with his master in Orr’s dance Sextet last year as part of a Sharir+Bustamante Danceworks concert. But Orr is there along with Zeke and Schellin, the rest of the Sextet cast: dancer Karly Dillard, John Slatin, and his guide dog Dillon. This summer, they’ll earn even more national exposure when they take Sextet to Washington, D.C., where they’ll perform it at the Kennedy Center as part of Very Special Arts’ international conference for artists with disabilities. The National Geographic Channel will rebroadcast Zeke’s episode Wednesday, March 10, 6:30pm, and Sunday, March 14, 11:30am. In the meantime, you can catch Orr’s latest dance, featuring Elvis impersonators, in this weekend’s S+BD concert, Sex, Lies and Fairytales, Friday and Saturday at the McCullough Theatre on the UT campus. For more information, call 474-2453.
Honors
For the second year running, Ballet East‘s Dare to Dance afterschool program has been selected as a semifinalist for the Coming Up Taller Award, presented by the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Of the 375 programs nominated across the United States and Mexico, Dare to Dance was one of only two from Texas.
Congratulations also to Dr. Bion Tsang and Michael Malone on being the UT College of Fine Arts‘ recipients of this year’s Texas Exes Teaching Award. Tsang, an assistant professor of violoncello, and Malone, a teaching assistant in the UT School of Music, were among 27 teachers chosen for this year’s honors. Each professor will receive a $1,000 award, and graduate instructors will receive $500 awards. This year’s recipients will be honored Feb. 10 at a reception at the Etter-Harbin Alumni Center.
Raiford Speaks!
If it’s Thursday, you might still be able to catch Zachary Scott Theatre Center designer Michael Raiford giving his take on the “stage sets” in the exhibition “Terry Allen: Dugout,” on view through Feb. 1 at the Austin Museum of Art downtown, 823 Congress. The free talk starts at 7pm. For more information, call 495-9224.
This article appears in January 30 • 2004.