See art come to life at The Florence theatre in Carmel

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Mélange: concoction, mixture, combination.

In this new series of performances, audiences will experience art coming to life in front of their eyes in an intimate theatrical setting. Each series will feature a musician (a vocalist or instrumentalist), a dancer (from Gregory Hancock Dance Theatre – GHDT), and a visual artist. Together they will create art at The Florence (Carmel’s newest black-box theatre space) in a collaborative and organic manner.

The musician will present a set of music, while the dancer creates choreography inspired by the music, as the visual artist creates art inspired by the movement of the dancer and the music of the musician. Audiences will experience live art in a new manner, bringing groundbreaking and creative art to central Indiana.

The Mélange Series will take place at 5 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 16, and at 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 17 at The Florence, 329 Gradle Drive, Carmel. Click here for tickets.

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After the overwhelming success of the first season of The Mélange Series, GHDT is excited to welcome three new artists for the first performance of The Mélange Series this season.

Tessa Gibbons is absolutely thrilled to be a part of The Mélange Series with GHDT. Her most recent performance with them was The Music of La Casa Azul at The Palladium (New York Singer/Ensemble), besides also being part of La Casa Azul’s previous theatrical iterations in 2015 at The Tarkington and 2019 at The Phoenix. Other recent theatrical performances include Sweeney Todd (Beggar Woman), The Great Gatsby (Jordan Baker), The Wild Party (Ensemble), and Alice in Wonderland (Mad Hatter).

Special thanks go to her parents and friends for all of their constant love and support, and to GHDT for this amazing opportunity. Following The Mélange Series, Tessa’s next project is “Next to Normal” at Footlite Musicals in January, portraying the role of Natalie.

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Dancer, Josie Moody joined GHDT during the 2021-2022 season and is honored to continue her dancing career with GHDT. She began her training at The Academy of Gregory Hancock Dance Theatre during its opening in 2009. She was a member of GHDT’s pre-professional company, G2, for six seasons and interned with GHDT for three years as a student. She was humbled to receive the Florence Marie Hancock Memorial Scholarship in 2018 as a student at the Academy and will forever remember the imprint that Florence left on AGHDT and GHDT. She has had the privilege to be a part of several original casts in her time at GHDT.

Some of her most memorable repertoire pieces including Exodus, There’s No Place Like Home, Antony and Cleopatra, Golem, Angels & Djinn, and Don’t Sit at the Corner of the Table. She currently teaches dance at AGHDT and Dancers Studio Inc. in Columbus, Ind., in a variety of styles and loves to share her passion for dance with her students.

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Visual Artist, Kevin James Wilson is an Artist from Indianapolis. He attended the prestigious Rhode Island School of Design on a full scholarship.  While there, he drew and presented a portrait to Muhammad Ali for the New Future Foundation and the International Year of the Child.  He was the youngest artist at age 19 ever admitted to the Washington Square Outdoor Art Exhibit in New York City and the exhibition was in its 97th year.  During his time at Rhode Island School of Design he served on the Admissions Committee as a student representative for two years, Graduation Honors Committee, Chairman of Entertainment on the Student Board and was the President of the Third World Coalition of Artists during his junior year. He is eternally grateful for those experiences that he was awarded because this helped to shape and mold him into the artist that he is today.

His work has been shown in his hometown of Indianapolis to Las Vegas including the murals he created in the world’s largest children’s museum in Indianapolis.  In Las Vegas, from 1999 until 2001 his work was mainly shown in Caesars Palace.  Upon returning to Indy, his focus turned to fine arts.  Shows such as the prestigious Hoosier Salon, Black Creativity at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, Indiana Artist Club exhibitions and The Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields are among some of the juried shows where his artwork has been accepted.  His work was also exhibited in Saks Fifth Avenue Gallery for the months February, March and July in 2021.

As a college professor of graphic design, he taught at International Business College in Indianapolis.  This is a position he held for 25 years.  He also taught drawing and airbrush at The Indianapolis Art Center for 12 years.

Artists that inspired his style are Leonardo Da Vinci, Rembrandt, Michael Angelo, Norman Rockwell, and Joseph Holiday.  Airbrush, acrylics, oils, pastels, and electronic graphics have all been mediums where he’s worked.

The return to his real passion, which is drawing, took place in 2016.  His Prismacolor pencil drawings have been shown in the Hoosier Salon, The Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields, The Indiana State Fair, The Indiana Artist Club and The Richmond Museum of Fine Art.  In 2016 a painting in the Gallery Forty Two exhibition “A Century of Speed” earned him the title “World Class.”  The Indy 500 presented an exciting opportunity for him as he is a racing fan to the core. His piece entitled “Pit Stop” was on display at the Speedway for the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500, amongst 32 other artists’ work.

His drawing titled “Jessica” was also selected by the Indianapolis Arts Council to be displayed around the city as a High Art Billboard.  His piece titled “Kings of the Castle” was currently displayed in a larger-than-life mural at Indianapolis International Airport on Concourse A, from 2021 until 2022.

One of his most recent accomplishments was induction into the Indiana Artist Club in 2019.  The Indiana Artist Club was established in 1917 by such notables as T.C Steele and Otto Stark.  He was elected President in 2022 of this elite 126-member organization and is currently serving his third term as President.  Kevin is the very first artist of color to hold this position.  One of his goals is to sell his art not just locally but globally.

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The Mélange Series at The Florence has been created by GHDT Executive Artistic Director Gregory Glade Hancock and is presented by Gregory Hancock Dance Theatre. For more information about Gregory Hancock Dance Theatre, visit gregoryhancockdancetheatre.org.