ARTIST HOUSING IN ARTS DISTRICT: We’ve been following for almost a year now the local push to develop affordable housing specifically for artists. So far, the main player has been a nonprofit developer out of Minneapolis called Artspace. (You might remember the Artspace presentation at City Performance Hall in September.) But now La Reunion TX is spearheading an effort to build a similar complex right in the Arts District. The project, called the Flora Lofts, passed the first hurdle on Tuesday with an endorsement of its tax-credit application by the City Council’s Housing Committee. More details about how the development would operate are at dallasnews.com.

THE ROOTS OF DANCE: During Dallas Black Dance Theatre’s Cultural Awareness series, the company will explore the effect that African and African-American choreographers have had on modern dance. DBDT’s artistic director Ann Williams says this weekend’s program was a collaborative effort between the dancers and choreographers. “When I sat down a month ago to talk to them about the concept for our February show they were all enthused because there is something that is not in the history books of African American dance and that is improvisation,” she says in an interview with theaterjones.com. “So, when the dancers hear a poem that is symbolic or a beat of a Blues song they have the opportunity to improvise. I would then relate this too a worship scene in a church where men and women would get up and move which was not choreographed. Some of those very movements and feelings have remained and have become the ideas that African American choreographers now use to make new pieces.”

35 DENTON UPDATE: Planning to attend 35 Denton in a few weeks? The schedule is now up. Pay special attention to Sunday, when our little buddies over at KXT sponsor the showcase at Sweetwater Grill. And speaking of KXT…