As a resident company of The Long Center (since 2008) and previously at Austin's Paramount Theatre (1992-2007), Tapestry is a professional, non-profit dance organization founded in 1989 by rhythm tap dancer Acia Gray and ballet/jazz artist Deirdre Strand for the purpose of developing a foundation in multi-form dance performance and education. Initially, a performing company of three, the organization expanded to a professional company of seven resident artists, a diversified administrative and production support staff and a pre-professional and adult training facility in Austin, TX sharing the unique Strand/Gray training syllabus.

 

In 2021, COVID shifted the organization into a streamlined production and artistic organization collaborating with global and Austin, TX artists to continue to share its mission. Tapestry Dance Company shares the power of dance, music and theatre through numerous events and programs sponsored by individual contributors, corporations, the National Endowment for the Arts, the City of Austin and the Texas Commission on the Arts as well as its wonderful audiences and touring sponsors. These programs include seasonal multi-form concert premieres, The Annual Soul to Sole International Tap Festival, community outreach programs, pop up masterclasses and workshops in dance, theatre and music, affordable rental space and a home for numerous Austin artists as well as touring residencies throughout the US and abroad.  From 2002-2021, Tapestry existed as the only full-time, salaried dance company specializing in the art of jazz tap dance world-wide.

 

Tapestry is also proud to have hosted and collaborated with numerous Austin based artists and arts organizations including Anu Naimpally, Roy Lozano Ballet Folklorico, Lannaya Drum & Dance, ATASH, The Love of China, Zein Al-Jundi & The Bint El Balad Bellydance Ensemble, Olivia Chacon, Andrea Ariel, Pamela Hart (Women in Jazz), The Irish Dance Center of Austin, visual artist Ami Plasse, the late Tina Marsh with The Creative Opportunity Orchestra and numerous local jazz musicians including Masumi Jones voted "Best Jazz Drummer" by The Austin Chronicle.  International dance and music artists include Dr. Fayard Nicholas (The Nicholas Brothers), Arthur Duncan (The Lawrence Welk Show), Brenda Bufalino, Gregory Hines, Sarah Petronio, Michelle Dorrance (MacArthur Fellow), Bill Evans, Dr. Harold Cromer, Dianne Walker, Dr. Jeni Leon, James Clouser and many contemporary leaders in the dance, theatre and music fields today as well as dozens of incredible resident artists hired on full-time season contracts from the US and abroad as part of Tapestry Dance Company.

 

As a member of The Texas Commission on the Arts, The Mid-American Arts Alliance and Heartland touring programs over the past 33 years, the multi-form choreographic works and training of Tapestry Dance Company have been lovingly woven throughout the U.S. and abroad to include Cyprus, Britain, Austria, the Czech Republic, Spain, Ireland, Canada and China. The company has been honored by numerous “Best of” awards by The Austin Chronicle as well as Best Dance Company, Best Dance Production, Best Choreography, numerous Best Dancer(s) and Best Ensemble by the Austin Critics Table Awards. The company also toured the award-winning National Endowment for the Arts: Masterpiece Dance original production of Acia Gray’s The Souls of Our Feet – A Celebration of American Tap Dance throughout the USA, Canada and China and shifted to a focus on tap dance from 2008 to 2021.

 

The organization is proud to return to its founding roots as a multi-dimensional, multi-form performance and educational organization.