SCCD faculty and students before departing for the TDIF Festival. Photo: Angelique Hall
Launched in 2009 as a small dance gathering, the Texas Improvisation Dance Festival (TDIF) has evolved into a dynamic annual event drawing over 250 dancers and internationally acclaimed guest artists, inspiring and challenging dancers at the collegiate level.
The festival is organized by Texas artists dedicated to fostering diverse improvisational dance communities, including Nina Martin, Ph.D., professor in the School for Classical & Contemporary Dance (SCCD), who serves as a board member and co-founder.
“It began on the suggestion of Jordan Fuchs, the chair of the department at Texas Woman’s University,” explained Martin. “We’re all collaborative artists who specialize in improvisational dance, so we launched the festival, and it’s been going strong for 16 years now.”
Sheaff and Labossiere perform “Memories Are Like Slippery Fish.” Photo: Annika Sheaff
This year, Annika Sheaff, M.F.A., assistant professor of dance, and Will Labossiere, M.M., instructional staff musician, were invited to perform and teach workshops. Sheaff performed her original piece “Memories Are Like Slippery Fish” alongside Labossiere, who provided live music, before a packed audience at the festival.
“Last year I attended TDIF for the first time with Nina Martin,” Sheaff said. “She introduced me to this incredibly generous community of movers, and I immediately knew that I wanted to be more connected to this organization.”
SCCD students also participated in the festival, networking with peers from other dance programs and leading professionals, including this year’s featured guest artist, Paul Singh, a multidisciplinary artist, choreographer and faculty member at The Juilliard School.
“I really loved the classes I got to take at TDIF,” said SCCD student Camila Orozco. “Watching the show was also one of my favorite things and seeing all the talent was super inspiring.”