WHY

Through performance and education, HOLDTIGHT’s mission is to illuminate the intersection of art, environmental activism, psyche, and body. Led by founder Gwendolyn Gussman, HOLDTIGHT is an interdisciplinary performance art company that creates, performs, and teaches experiential, interactive, and urgent contemporary work.

HOW

HOLDTIGHT collaborates with a range of boundary-pushing local, national and international artists. Using the core mediums of dance, music, theater, scenography, lighting, video, and spoken word, HT creates transformative experiences which elicit questions, conversations, interconnection, and deep joy, supporting humanity toward healing and radical forward-thinking change.

HOLDTIGHT is committed to fostering conversations and community through and beyond performance experiences; HOLDTIGHT hosts quarter-annual Community Events and offers monthly open-level educational workshops and pop-up classes.

HOLDTIGHT values experimentation, attunement, courage, open dialogue, reflection, and thoughtful action.

HOLDTIGHT is is a 501(c)3 based in Denver, Colorado, sharing work nationally and internationally, notably in our secondary home of New York City.

HISTORY

Since 2016 HOLDTIGHT has collaborated with over 60 acclaimed artists, including Grammy and Emmy-award winners, in genres such as dance, theater, live and original music, scenography, video design, visual arts, sculpture, lighting, digital rendering, and the culinary arts. The company’s repertoire includes site-specific work created for non-traditional performance spaces including an 1800's carriage house, an armory, historic mansions, museums, galleries, and both conventional and unconventional theaters. Since its founding, HOLDTIGHT has created & premiered 13 evening-length immersive works, including the Nourishment series. HOLDTIGHT has received artist residencies and been presented by the Newman Center for the Performing Arts (CO, 2024), The Arts Complex with Denver Arts & Venues (CO, 2024),The Cell Theatre (NYC, 2020-2022), Carroll Hall (NYC, 2023), MOVE! Dance and Arts Space (CO, 2019), and others. Additionally, HOLDTIGHT has been presented nationally at the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver, The Olympic Auditorium Complex (CO), Church Street School for Music and Art (NYC), The Wadsworth Museum (CT), YourMove Festival (NJ), HiArtist (NYC), and more. HOLDTIGHT has been featured in publications such as Westword, The Brooklyn Rail, The Dance Enthusiast, The Denver Post, 303 Magazine, Colorado Public Radio’s ‘Colorado Matters’, Onstage Colorado, Front Row Center, No Proscenium, Presenting Denver, Interludes, and more.

In 2025 HOLDTIGHT is partnering with two different Denver restaurants to create & premiere immersive dining performances, including bringing back the Nourishment series. Nourishment :: What Feeds You? premiered in May 2025 in partnership with Stowaway Kitchen. Wild Oscillation premiered in April 2025 in partnership with Somebody People and performances will run monthly through November 2025.