There's something haunting about watching a man go through the motions of existing while I myself am guilty of overconsumption and avoidance. 

ISHIDA Dance Company's world premiere of inside my walls at Asia Society Texas Center closed its four-day run on Sunday, June 15. The entire program consisted of four contemporary dance pieces, but it was Brett Ishida's titular work that lingered with me long after the show. 

The stage was black and white. A bedroom spread before us: a wooden desk with drawers, a chair, coat rack draped with black pants and white collared shirts, and towering stacks of newspapers lining the walls like paper fortresses. The main protagonist (alternatively performed by Daniel Domenech or Pakela Newalu-Gomes), embodies the typical salaryman moving through his daily routine with precision: wake up, turn on the light, go to work, return home, read the newspaper, sleep. Repeat.

Within these walls lives someone else–a visitor (alternatively performed by Corah Abbott or Georgia Greene) who emerges from the closet like a ghost. Over thirty minutes, we watch these two characters find each other and, in doing so, change each other's lives.

Inspired by Haruki Murakami, the work fuses magical realism with contemporary dance following "an isolated introvert who hoards newspapers as a form of protection–until a mysterious visitor emerges from within his walls, disrupting his routine and sparking unexpected connection." As a reader of Murakami’s works, I was invested in how these two characters' journeys unfolded.

We are, no doubt, the salaryman. Scrolling through news on my phone I feel my stomach tighten with each alarming TikTok or sensational headline. We consume social media like a drug experiencing visceral reactions to events we cannot control, trapped in what we now know well as doomscrolling or sometimes brainrotting. The newspapers stacked around his room aren't just props. They're mirrors reflecting our own need to stay informed and to feel connected.

The visitor is the "other," but not in a threatening way. She’s what we might become if we stopped hiding behind our daily routines and endless scrolls. Instead of leaning into othering, judgment, and the comfortable distance of our daily patterns, she offers something else: genuine connection.

This matters because, as Ishida herself said, "It's hard not to be distracted by what's going on." We're living through hypernormalization, a condition where we simultaneously see that systems are crumbling, yet we still have to function within them as if everything is normal.

The cognitive dissonance of holding two contradictory realities at once (knowing things are broken and having to keep functioning within broken systems) creates a strange personal hell. We read the news and feel overwhelmed by giant problems we cannot solve directly, yet we still have to get up, go to work, pay bills, maintain relationships. We're all salarymen in our own ways, going through the motions while something essential waits behind the walls.

"inside my walls is representative of my artistic vision to create visually alluring works that are thought-provoking, prompting awareness of self and others," Ishida explained. "I am happiest when audience members leave an ISHIDA production saying that was unbelievably beautiful, and are still thinking and talking about what it means in the days after."

If inside my walls is any indication of where ISHIDA is headed, I’m excited for Houston audiences. ISHIDA shows us dance doesn't just entertain; it excavates and questions. It asks us to examine the spaces we’re in (physically and spiritually) and to consider what might be waiting just behind the walls we've built around ourselves.

In a world where things feel broken but strangely still normal(ish), perhaps what we need isn't more information or better walls. Perhaps, what we need is the courage to let someone in.

LATELY IN HOUSTON

It’s a bar, it’s a library, it’s a coffee shop! A sign of the times, restaurants like The Kennedy are pivoting to coffee to bring more business during more hours of the day. Looks like we all need to multi-hyphenate these days.

Curation as a service? Yes, please. “If something doesn’t exist, you should start it.” Amarie Gipson of The Reading Room shares so many gems in this interview on starting a reference library. Turns out, context is indeed key!

Do one good thing: Buy a good book today. Looking for Black-owned businesses to shop from? Here’s a directory of Black-owned bookstores in Houston.

WEEKEND EVENTS

All Weekend

• Sat & Sun: Pixar’s UP at Houston Symphony

• Juneteenth@160 at Buffalo Soldiers Museum

Thursday, 6/19

4pm–6pm, Opening Reception | Restaurant Navy Blue is unveiling a new exhibition by artist David Hardaker, curated by Reeves Gallery. Light bites and drinks will be available.

5pm–7pm, Opening Reception | See Jubilee Art Exhibition at Neiman Marcus Houston. “Join us for an exclusive art exhibition in celebration of Juneteenth presented in partnership with The D.R.E.A.M Affect Foundation.” Artwork will be displayed until June 28.

5:30pm–8:30pm, Opening Reception | Buffalo Soldiers National Museum is presenting Terms & Conditions: The Promise vs Reality. Lite bites from ChopnBlok and two drinks are complimentary with admission. The exhibition lasts over the weekend. Free, but donations of $10-$15 recommended. 

7pm–8:30pm, DIY Crafts | Pottery studio Smashed Studio is hosting Mud + Mixology, an event blending mixology and handmade pottery. This week’s theme: Dirty Hands, Dirty Martinis. $75.

7:15pm, Film Screening | Watch When Houston Had the Blues which “focuses on the rich, but sadly unheralded, spawning ground of great Black music.” It’ll be followed by a Q&A. $15. Almost sold out.

Friday, 6/20

5pm–9pm, Culture Festival | AsiaFest 2025 will be at Asia Society Texas Center. “Celebrate the rich diversity of Houston’s Asian and Asian American communities through performances, art-making activities, food, live demonstrations, and more.” Free.

5pm–8pm, Art | Kroma Art House is celebrating its one year anniversary! “Experience an evening of inspiring art, live performances, and heartfelt moments as we mark this unforgettable chapter together.” RSVP.

8:30pm, Live Music | Anime fans—see Cowboy Bebop Live with a full 17-piece orchestra at Axelrad! “Experience an unforgettable night of jazz, animation, and atmosphere.” Free.

7pm–8:30pm, Film Screening | Watch Art Blakey: The Jazz Messenger, a “documentary portrait of Blakey [that] captures the legendary drummer, bandleader, and teacher in the 1980s as he leads workshops and performances in London and New York City,” at MFAH. $9.

Saturday, 6/21

3pm–4pm, Live Music | DACAMERA will present live chamber music and jazz music at The Menil Collection. Free.

3pm–8pm, Market | Spend Saturday afternoon and evening at the Juneteenth Jamboree with Houston BLCK Market at Houston Botanic Garden. $12. Free for members.

12pm–8pm, Coffee + Live Music | For Make Music Day, there’ll be a variety of live performances throughout Sawyer Yards, including a drum circle at Maven facilitated by Duke Hunter, a silent house and R&B disco from 6–8pm, and much more.

6:30pm–8:30pm, Museum Afters  | Experience a silent disco at MFAH in the Floating World: A.A. Murakami exhibition. “DJ Rick Arter spins ambient house music as you explore these immersive, sensory-forward installations featuring misty bubble clouds, spiraling fog rings, and flickering krypton ‘lightning’ tubes.” $35. Free for Art Crowd members.

8pm–10pm, Live Music | Enjoy a Motown tribute by local R&B band Cool Breeze, performing Top 40s and classic ’70s hits at the rooftop pavilion at POST. $30.

Sunday, 6/22

2pm, Symphony | Last chance to see Disney and Pixar’s UP in concert with the Houston Symphony. Tickets start at $56.

7:15pm, Film Screening | Watch The Rocky Horror Picture Show at Rooftop Cinema. Tickets start at $21.

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