October 10th - February 20th, 2026
Waltz Across Texas
Dance Inside the Historic Dance Halls of Texas
By Gail Wendorf
Step into the rich history and lively spirit of Texas dance halls through Waltz Across Texas, an exhibition of oil paintings by Gail Wendorf. Inspired by the historic dance halls that have served as gathering places, cultural landmarks, and centers of community across the Lone Star State, Wendorf’s paintings capture the character and nostalgia of these beloved spaces.
Through vibrant color, architectural detail, and a deep appreciation for Texas history, Wendorf invites viewers to experience the unique stories held within these iconic halls. From their weathered exteriors to the atmosphere they evoke, each painting celebrates the places where generations of Texans have gathered to dance, celebrate, and create lasting memories.
Waltz Across Texas offers a glimpse into a cherished part of Texas culture while honoring the enduring legacy of the state’s historic dance halls.
A Conversation with the Artist
I will forever be indebted to Ray Trotter. It was he who gave me the idea for my painting series, Waltz Across Texas, bringing together my love of dance—the two-step, the swing—with the historic dance halls of Texas. His belief in my ability to record the dancers and their emotion was all I needed to jump in with both feet.
We thought the project might take five months. At the time, people believed there were fewer than a dozen dancehalls still open on a regular basis. I began with a knowledge of Gruene Hall, Luckenbach, and the Broken Spoke, along with a three-year-old Texas Monthly article on old Texas dance halls.
In early 1999, I set out across New Mexico and Texas in my trusty steed—an un-air-conditioned Honda Civic. I spent weekends driving from hall to hall, sometimes visiting two in a single evening. During the week, I followed leads from fellow dancers, researched new halls, and planned the next journey.
Sometimes I would arrive so tired that I had to steel myself to walk through the door. But once inside—hearing the music, feeling it in my bones, dancing—I was transported and in love all over again.
Each month, I spent about ten days on the road driving, researching, dancing, and photographing. Then I returned home to New Mexico with rolls of film, sketches, and memories, spending the rest of the month stretching canvases, painting, and researching the history of each dance hall.
I quickly realized that Waltz Across Texas was much bigger than we had imagined. There were more dance halls, more stories, and more miles to travel. I became so passionate about the series that I knew I had to see it through.
I finished painting the series in September 2001—three years and more than 75,000 miles after I first drove across Texas in search of the Texas dance hall and all it represented to me.
In 2000, I met then First Lady of Texas Laura Bush, who showed the first group of paintings in her offices at the Texas State Capitol. Along the way, I also had the opportunity to look at my heritage firsthand, to get to know the people of Texas in a completely different way, and to come to love it.
I began with the Broken Spoke
Artist Bio
My academic background began at Southern Methodist University, Dallas, then to the University of California, Irvine, where I studied painting as a studio art major. My lifelong interest in archaeology led me to California State University, Los Angeles, where I combined my love of painting and drawing with my interest in archaeology to create a unique degree program. I was awarded a bachelors degree in Archaeological Illustration in 1978. This allowed me to remain an artist while participating in the archaeology field. From 1978 to 1991, my work as an onsite illustrator took me all over the world. This global perspective has been a great influence on my life and work.
My next major achievement was a solo show with RB Ravens Gallery, Taos, NM in 1993. In 1996, I produced a solo exhibition in Fremantle, West Australia, in conjunction with the Artist’s Foundation of West Australia in their public space, the Moore’s Building. Titled Paintings of Multicultural Dance and Ritual, the work was about “aboriginal dance”. To me that didn’t mean just indigenous people; it was any spontaneous, gut level response to music or rhythm that I saw – a theme that continues today. In both my figurative and landscape paintings, whether painted on canvas or board, my goal is the interpretation of movement, light, colour and passion in the music, dance or landscape. My work helps the viewer be drawn into the emotionally charged atmosphere, living the landscape, the music and the musician’s passion.
Duncan R. Miller Fine Arts became interested in work I produced while on my first painting trip, autumn 1998, to Glenfinnan, Scotland. I have shown each year with the gallery since then. In 1999, I began Waltz Across Texas, a study of Dance Inside the Historic Dance Halls of Texas, (WAT) at the request of RB Ravens Gallery. A Preview exhibition of the work was held at the Texas state capitol by then first lady of Texas, Laura Bush. New Braunfels Museum of Art and Music’s inaugural exhibition, WAT in its entirety in conjunction with Dance Halls and Last Calls, opened May, 2003.
I have spent the thirteen years living and working in Glenfinnan, Scotland. Painting the musicians, the ceilidhs, and the landscape that carries so much of the Scots’ passion for life. CEILIDH! has now been exhibited at the Scottish Parliament, at a charity exhibition for Mercy Ships at Kinfauns Castle, at Paisley Museum of Art, and most recently, at Radio France in Paris. I have now begun to establish another studio in the USA, as well as Scotland and France.
In the past few years, my interest in new places has surfaced again, and while I continue to enjoy painting ceilidhs and landscapes in Scotland, I have begun to explore new territory. So far, Tenerife, the French coast, and now Morocco have captured my imagination! I’ve no idea where my muse will take me next!
