Meet Choreographer, Clare Cook Clare will premiere her latest dance theater piece, Ripe Figs Won’t Keep, at STIR.  Clare Cook watches the fig tree in her backyard like some people watch storms. She imagines the leaves as citizens of a community, the branches; living roads leading to family groups, the roots; ancestors who mine the earth for nourishment passing it silently up the trunk. And the fig herself? Woman. The seasons of life put on a show for her. A story of how we exist to support, challenge and share seasons with our community is whispered year after year. We...

Meet Choreographer, Sharon Leahy Sharon has created an original dance film for STIR titled Ground Fine. Ground Fine is all about our rocky relationships with food. Human nature leads us to crave the foods that we know we shouldn’t have. Ground Fine zooms in on those weaker moments in life with playfulness and physicality asking “why must I love what hurts me so?” (also the name of the original song written by Rick Good to be the soundtrack for the film). The film was shot on location at the Camelia House in Lafayette, La in an authentic 1950s style kitchen. Dancers in...

Meet Choreographer, Frances Barker. Frances is developing a new work for STIR all about dining alone. Frances says… “Growing up in Southern Louisiana my whole life; food is communal. A Sunday dinner is never your average Sunday dinner, food is always in abundance. It’s where we gather to share, laugh, argue and socialize with friends and family. I wanted to do the reverse and put a microscope on dining alone. I do it on occasion and find it relaxing. Like public speaking, eating alone can be a terrifying experience. All those eyes zoning in on you, curious as to why...

Basin Arts and Runaway Dish present STIR TICKETS NOW ON SALE! Basin Arts and Runaway Dish are teaming up for a unique dance and food performance event, STIR, at the Acadiana Center for the Arts. STIR mixes the senses together for an evening of dance performance taking inspiration from some of life’s basic necessities; food and movement. Expect to taste and see and be moved in a totally new way! Five choreographers present five new dance works in collaboration with chefs, featuring the work of: Frances Barker with Jeremy Conner, Cellar Salt Company Clare Cook with Kelsey Leger and Jamie Harson, Scratch Farm Kitchen Gina Hanchey with...

Basin Arts and Runaway Dish present STIR: the OPENING NIGHT CELEBRATION Thursday, August 3, 7:30pm Tickets: $125/person GET TICKETS Basin Arts and Runaway Dish are teaming up for a unique dance and food performance event, STIR, at the Acadiana Center for the Arts. STIR mixes the senses together for an evening of dance performance taking inspiration from some of life’s basic necessities; food and movement. Expect to taste and see and be moved in a totally new way! Five choreographers present five new dance works in collaboration with chefs, featuring the work of: Frances Barker with Jeremy Conner, Cellar Salt...

Get to know a bit more about Teaching Artist, Alex McBride How long have you been dancing? This question is always the hardest to answer because I sort of have two different answers. I attended my first formal dance class when I was around 11 years old. However, I always watched my sister and her dance teammates “spin and leap”, and I would imitate them since I was like 7. I was doing double turns behind their backs and reciting their pom routines from memory. Where did you train? I spent the majority of my training years at The Dance...

by Jacob Broussard, Resident Artist and Gallery Coordinator at Basin Arts I recently decided to participate in an experiment idea I’ve had for a long time – facilitate a summer teen course through the University of Louisiana at Lafayette’s Continuing Education Program that focused on contemporary artists working across artistic mediums, all the while mixing it with pro practice tools for anyone interested in pursuing art later in life. I remember being very interested in taking art classes at a young age – my parents followed suit and placed me in summer camps for kids to get me busy rather...

Last week, Basin Arts and Runaway Dish came together for the first of five STIR Summer Suppers to showcase creative collaborations between chefs and choreographers all leading up to the STIR performance event at the Acadiana Center for the Arts on August 3-5, 2017. This was the first time food was presented as art in the Basin Arts gallery and it was a magical evening! Jamie Harson and Kelsey Leger of Scratch Farm Kitchen cooked a sensational five course meal inspired by figs in collaboration with Clare Cook’s choreographic work, Ripe Figs Won’t Keep. The evening included a performance by dancers...

If you’re looking for a fun and creative way to stay in shape but a full on modern dance class is not your thing…check out some of Basin Arts’s Fitness Focused classes this summer! With Vinyasa Yoga and Pilates Mat classes you can increase flexibility and strength and these classes are great for all ages and dancers and non-dancers alike. Our Cardio Dance class provides a full 45-minute aerobic, calorie burning experience with easy to follow dance steps along with arm and core exercises to tone and strengthen. The best part, all of our Fitness Focused classes are taught by dancers...

Never tapped but always wanted to? Tapped in the past and wanna brush up and learn more? Join Emma Young for TAP BASICS! The class will focus on fun, rhythmic footwork, basic technique, and have a great time dancing to LIVE MUSIC from Linzay Young.   About Emma Young Emma Young was born into a life of music and dance. Traveling from birth ’til the age of twenty-two with her parents’ company, Rhythm in Shoes, Emma was performing at music festivals and concert venues across the United States by the age of 8. Her formal training began with Irish Step...