CHOREOGRAPHERS’ COMMISSION PROJECT
About the Commission
The project provides an opportunity for dance makers to develop and present original work that reflects their unique artistic perspectives. Choreographers will be selected through a panel review process and will create new works in collaboration with SMCDT artists.
The commissioned works will premiere at the Dance Hunger Action Festival on September 18, 2026.
2026 Commission Artists
ADAM CASTAÑEDA
Dancer, Writer, and Arts Administrator • Houston, Texas
Adam Castañeda is a dancer, writer, and arts administrator based in Houston, Texas. He is the artistic director of The Pilot Dance Project, and a five-time recipient of the Support for Artists and Creative Individuals Grant from the City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance. He is an alumni of the Art Omi Dance Residency in Upstate New York, and was a 2018-2019 Dance Source Houston Artist-in-Residence. When not performing with his own company, he dances with the Michele Brangwen Dance & Music Ensemble in Houston and New York City. Outside of dance, he is a proud full-time faculty member of the English department at Houston City College.
TRAVIS PROKOP
Artistic Director of Prokop_Theory Dance • Houston, Texas
Travis Prokop is a choreographer, educator, and Artistic Director of Prokop_Theory Dance, a project based collective dedicated to integrating LGBTQ+ culture, history, and lived experience into concert dance. As an Assistant Professor of Dance at the University of Houston, Travis has spent more than a decade helping dancers develop ownership of their movement style and identity.
His choreographic practice functions as a living archive, preserving queer histories through the body and performance. Works including A Friend of Dorothy, Ball Moderne, and CODED: Conversations You Didn’t Know We Were Having explore queer identity, cultural memory, and coded communication. His film Carnations was featured in the Wicked Queer Film Festival in Boston, while more recent works address themes of intimacy, addiction, power, and emotional survival within queer communities.
Originally from New Mexico, Travis has trained and performed internationally and his work has received national recognition for its exploration of identity, history, and embodied research through choreography.
Season 2026 - 2027 Guest Choreographer
KAMRYN WALDRON
Dance Dynamics Coach, Klein Cain Hs Assistant Director
Kamryn Waldron is a graduate of Sam Houston State University, where she earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and was a member of the nationally acclaimed Orange Pride Dance Team, earning four NDA National Championship titles.
With over 20 years of dance experience, Kamryn is passionate about sharing her knowledge and inspiring the next generation of dancers. She serves as an All-Star coach at Dance Dynamics and as Assistant Drill Team Director at Klein Cain High School. She is also a member of the Trendsetters Dance (TS Dance) Staff and Exclusive Camp Staff, teaching, mentoring, and judging dancers and officers from programs across Texas and the United States.
Kamryn has choreographed and instructed for numerous studios and school dance teams, helping dancers develop both technique and performance quality. In 2026, she earned her first UDA Bronze Medal with Klein Cain High School.
As a choreographer, Kamryn’s original work United in Grief, created as her senior capstone at Sam Houston State University, was selected for performance at the American College Dance Association (ACDA) conference. The work will be presented by Social Movement Contemporary Dance Theater in September 2026.
Kamryn is passionate about creating innovative choreography while fostering confidence, a strong work ethic, and a lasting love for dance in every student she teaches.
OUR SUPPORTERS
We are grateful to the organizations and partners whose support helps make our artistic, educational, and community programs possible.
WITH GRATITUDE
We also gratefully acknowledge the individuals whose generosity helps sustain SMCDT and the communities we serve.
Michell Rios-Ordonez Barbara Bender Deborah Ruble Sandra Loftis Dana Nicolay