Three questions for choreographer Karen Stokes

Choreographer Karen Stokes could have chosen an easy route when she came home to Houston 20 years ago to direct the University of Houston's dance department.

She didn't have to maintain her own, independent dance company on the side. But she has consistently produced new work under the umbrella of her eponymous company, often requiring her dancers to speak and sing as well as move, often in poignant or funny ways.

Keeping a small troupe of dancers afloat is an art in itself. Stokes celebrates the achievement next weekend with "X20," a concert that revisits favorite works of the past but also introduces a new one. She remains a forward thinker but recently took time to discuss some of her past.

Q: You have focused on Houston and its history through your dances for many years, far more than any other choreographer. What about the city makes it good dance material?

A: My family moved to Houston when I was 7. Though I left to earn degrees and dance professionally, I have history here. My interest in history is likely tied to my family. My mother had her own dance company and founded the Contemporary Arts Museum Choreographers project. My dad taught history at Rice University. Some of my favorite family memories revolve around the fascinating conversations my family had about history and current events. My first large-scale work stemming from history was a trilogy on Eastern Europe. Teresa Chapman will perform a solo from that work next weekend.

To name a few things I have investigated: 1836 and the founding of the city, NASA, the Houston Ship Channel, industry, weather, traffic, bayous. I'm interested in people, places and human endeavor.

Q: How have your thoughts about your older works, and Houston, evolved during these 20 years?

A: I am giving a talk about this very question Monday. From 1991-2007, I worked extensively on using poetry and text onstage - both with a cappella singing and speaking roles. Using poetry was wonderful. It gave me an opportunity to unpack verses, to consider the meaning behind the word distillation that poems encapsulate.

In 2011, I collaborated with composer Bill Ryan, which organically shifted me to a collaborative process with music and dance. After that, I started creating dance for camera projects with art installations, a series called "Gallery Constructions."

In 2014, I began working on site-specific projects in Houston, in part because I wanted to take a second look at the Houston Ship Channel. That was marvelous!

In any case, I am interested in what I can learn from a project. Where the project will take the work itself and what challenges a project offers.

One consistent area of interest: movement invention and the craft within it. Disparate elements may influence my process and direction, but in the end, I work steadily towards putting together a cohesive statement that fundamentally revolves around movement.

Q: Several excellent small dance companies have come and gone since you arrived. Is it fair to say that one of the reasons you've survived is that UH had your back? How has being there enabled you to produce work - and even dancers?

A: Like life, the answer is not clear-cut. In the late 1980s, I decided that I was in dance for the long haul. I spent a couple of years considering my interests and options while continuing the lifestyle of a dancer in NYC. I focused on a direction I thought might work for me. Academics offered a structure that would allow me to explore dance more deeply. The choice was not accidental, nor was it a guaranteed path. Getting hired by a university and receiving tenure are challenging and uncertain.

Dance is a strange beast. The university has offered me personal financial sustainability and a wonderful home base. However, the challenge of doing two full-time jobs 24/7 aligns directly with the experiences of my excellent, nonacademic colleagues. I relate profoundly to their decisions to exit the field because they are exhausted and unable to bring contemporary dance work to a sustainable level of operation.

Most of the dancers I work with are UH Dance alums. I feel it is similar to the Houston Ballet Academy: I don't hire them while they are still in school, but I get a chance to get to know dancers as students. As an educator, I feel it is important for them to focus on their academics. But after they graduate … yes! This is a wonderful perk for me, and one that I don't take for granted. Not for a second.