News: URBAN SCUBA BRINGS AN UTTERLY UNIQUE ACROBATIC-AERIAL-DANCE-THEATER SPECTACLE TO COPPELL

 

URBAN SCUBA BRINGS AN UTTERLY UNIQUE ACROBATIC-AERIAL-DANCE-THEATER SPECTACLE TO COPPELL

COPPELL, TX (September 9, 2026) – Gravity has met its match. URBAN SCUBA fuses dance, circus, and death-defying invention into an electrifying, off-the-wall spectacle set to a pulsating original electro-rock score. The production hits the Coppell Arts Center stage Friday, October 16 at 8 PM and Saturday, October 17 at 2 PM. Tickets are $58.82 and can be purchased at CoppellArtsCenter.org or through the Arts Center box office at 972-304-7047.

 

In URBAN SCUBA, audiences are transported to the abandoned buildings and the cavernous substrata of an Any-City USA, where six fearless explorers delightfully re-imagine and re-purpose society’s leftovers in playful and literally high-flying ways. Performers dance upon spinning ladders, swaying boiler pipes and circling bicycles all suspended in air, high dive into an actual dumpster, vertical dance on a giant chain-link fence, and swim like an aquarium fish on a garment rack. The result is not only an audience thrill-ride, but a transformative experience, prompting audiences to see their world with a new perspective—to take joy in finding alternate possibilities for their surroundings as well as all those things people keep stored away in basements and attics, deeply personal treasures of the ordinary awaiting a new life. 

 

Director/Choregorapher Brian Sanders is inspired by the inventiveness of shows like Bob Fosse’s Dancin’ and Pilobolus on Broadway.  After an extensive career at MOMIX, Sanders founded his own company, Archetype Dance Company, in 1992. His artistic goal was to make modern dance more accessible to a younger urban audience. Sanders changed the company's name in 1998 to JUNK, to reflect a growing interest in using found objects as props, enabling people to see creative possibilities in everyday life and showing that dance can grow out of almost anything. With more than 30 seasons of creativity, Sanders is nationally recognized and celebrated as a prolific artist—creating accessible, and awe-inducing performances, while continuing to push the boundaries of modern dance. Since 1999, when Sanders launched his first Philadelphia Fringe Festival production, Patio Plastico, Sanders has become recognized as a choreographic iconoclast who offers alternative perspectives to dance and is sought after by more traditional dance and arts organizations (including the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and Philadelphia Ballet), looking to present bold work.

 

ABOUT THE COPPELL ARTS CENTER

The Coppell Arts Center is located at 505 Travis Street, Coppell, TX 75019. The Center is part of Coppell's 30-year-plan to present nationally touring shows and be the new home for its five resident art companies: The Ballet Ensemble of Texas, Coppell Community Chorale, Coppell Arts Council, Coppell Community Orchestra, and Theatre Coppell. Located in the heart of Old Town Coppell, the city's retail and entertainment district, the Center serves as the anchoring entertainment venue and fills a need expressed by Coppell residents to provide gathering spaces, a nightlife scene, cultural opportunities, and amenities for Coppell residents and visitors. The 30,000 square-foot Center boasts six versatile spaces for a diverse mix of performance styles, exhibits, and entertainment, including a 442-seat main hall to host a variety of performances and productions from concerts, to touring productions, orchestral music, and corporate events; a 120-seat black box theater designed for intimate theatrical productions, art exhibitions, and special events; a 2,000-square foot multi-purpose reception hall to host art exhibits, events, meetings, and nightlife; and The Grove Performance Plaza to serve as an outdoor community space for special events and performances with views of Old Town Coppell. For more information, visit CoppellArtsCenter.org or follow the Coppell Arts Center on Facebook or Instagram. Join the conversation by following #coppellartscenter and #oldtowncoppell.

 

ABOUT OLD TOWN COPPELL

Coppell is known for its small-town feel, and no place exemplifies this better than Old Town Coppell. Located in the City's historic district, Old Town stands where the community began the original townsite settled in the 1880s. Residential homes, businesses, and restaurants line the streets, creating a walkable, vibrant community and charming gathering place clustered around a beautiful town square. Home to the Coppell Farmers Market​, the Coppell Arts Center, and several boutiques and restaurants, Old Town visitors and residents live, work, and play in this dynamic community that captures the essence of Coppell's historical roots and high quality of life. For more information, visit coppelltx.gov/oldtown or Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), or Instagram. Join the conversation by following #visitoldtowncoppell, #oldtowncoppell, and #coppell.