For three nights in early October, the Bootleg Theater will present BlakTina 6 produced by Los Angeles dance artist Licia Perea, who has had a long relationship with the Bootleg Theater. The festival will feature works by seven very talented Los Angeles choreographers and two from Phoenix, Arizona, a sister city of BlakTina Festival LA. As the title BlakTina 6 suggests, this is the sixth year that Perea has provided an opportunity for Black and Latinx dance artists to present their work in a professional setting.

Licia Perea – Photo courtesy of the artist.

Perea is well-known within the Los Angeles dance community and beyond. Born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, she received her BA and Master of Arts in Choreography and Performance from the University of New Mexico and stayed on as an Adjunct Faculty member for eight years teaching modern technique, choreography, improvisation and repertory. She performed with and eventually became the Artistic Director of Danzantes in New Mexico. After relocating to Los Angeles, Perea became the Co-Artistic Director of Latina Dance Theatre Project and in 2012, the Executive Director of BlakTina Dance Festival.

Lee Connor and his dance partner Lorn McDougal, founded Danzantes in Albuquerque during this time. She joined the company and shortly after Connor passed away in September of 1987, Perea took over as Artistic Director. The company featured two well-known dancers, Nora Reynolds, daughter of Bella Lewitzky, and Tim Wingard who also performed with Repertory Dance Theatre in Utah and with the Martha Graham Dance Company. During the company’s existence, Danzantes performed throughout the United States, Germany, Mexico, and Russia.

Perea brought the company with her when she moved to Los Angeles in 1994, but it eventually morphed into a vehicle for her as a solo performer and, like many dance artists, her career shifted yet again. This time she changed Danzantes into a collaborative company titled the Latina Dance Theater Project. It was a unique company because all four artists involved lived in separate cities and spoke with four very distinctly different choreographic voices. Eva Tessler resided in Tucson, Juanita Suarez was at SUNY Brockport, Eluza Santos was at University North Carolina, Greensboro and Perea was working in Los Angeles. Santos migrated to the U.S. from Brazil as a child, Tessler was born in Mexico City, and both Perea and Suarez were born in the US.

We would get together for weeks at a time.” Perea said. “We lived together, cooked together, danced together and brainstormed together. We would work together, go away, let it percolate, and then come back for more.” This went on for twelve years, each with distinct but connected careers. Their non-profit acted as an umbrella for them to work separately as well as together on different projects; hence the name Latin Dance Theatre Project. The four still stay in touch and deciding what direction to go in next.

When they retired from performing, the Non-Profit for the Latina Dance Theatre Project became the umbrella Non-Profit for BlakTina Dance Festival. Perea also produces a festival called Shut Up & Dance, which is a separate entity with separate funding. In addition to producing these two festivals, Perea also operates a business, Licia Perea Pilates Studio.

Perea’s connection to the Bootleg Theater started with Latin Dance Theatre performing and teaching dance classes there. It was not called the Bootleg Theater at that time, but the Evidence Room.  The Bootleg Theater was created around the year 2000. When asked what led her to create the BlakTina Festival Perea confirmed my thoughts as to her reasons. “We (she and her husband) have lived in this city since 1994.” she said. “There are a lot of festivals and I performed in some of these festivals. I felt that there was a lack of support for choreographers of color. When I was going to and performing in festivals….yes, there was an occasional black, brown or Asian choreographer, but not…..enough!”

Licia Perea – Photo courtesy of the artist.

Perea said that when she decided to leave performing as a career, she truly felt that she wanted to get back to the community. She did not want to go back into academia but instead reach out to young choreographers who were either just graduating from college or who had perhaps not had been able to attend college. She wanted to give them the opportunity to have their work performed in a professional or semi-professional setting. Perea may be one of the few producers of dance festivals who pays the artists for their work; although it is only a small honorarium. This is her way of giving back to her community.

As for why Black and Latinx? “I know that there are prejudices between our two communities.” She said, citing names of several black and Latino gangs. “I wanted to find a way to bring our communities together AND to give opportunities to these young choreographers.”

Perea took her ideas to Alicia Adams, the Artistic Director of the Bootleg, and her husband Jason, who have long been supporters of her work. They were thrilled with the idea and in 2012 the first BlakTina Festival was launched. I asked Perea the delicate question: after six years, and how things have improved in our society, is it still relevant for the festival to include only Black and Latinx choreographers. Was that not being exclusive rather than inclusive?

I think that there is a need.” She answered after a thoughtful pause. “If I had funding, and I could totally build a program at the Bootleg like that at REDCAT, I would have dance [performances] every month.” For example, it is Perea’s dream to have events such as a Hula festival, or a tap, a Flamenco, a Folklorico, or even a modern dance festival. “This city is rich with so many styles and traditional dance forms.” She added. “I would love to expand.” She told me that she had recently seen a Native American Hip Hop artist at a local battle and would love to have him perform at the Bootleg. Funding wise, however, Perea explained that she is barely hanging on with what she is already doing.

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Alan Perez and Jamal Wade - Photo courtesy of the artists

The BlakTina Festival has a sister city: Phoenix. Perea first took BlakTina Festival to Tucson and is hoping to expand the sister cityhood beyond Tucson and Phoenix to other cities across the country. She mentioned Miami, Detroit and New York as examples of where she would like to embrace the Black and Latinx choreographic voices. (Latinx is what now includes all genders or non-gender specific persons in the Latin community.) Those communities will, of course, be different in each city. Last year was the first time Perea brought two choreographers from Phoenix and this year two from Los Angeles will travel to Phoenix to perform on the BlakTina Festival there. Again, due to funding constraints, Perea has only managed to take solos and duets back and forth between cities. She is working with choreographer Lilliana Gomez in Phoenix, teaching her how to organize and run festivals and about grant writing, etc. The arrangement has been beneficial to both women in coordinating festivals. “Lilliana found me and that is how BlakTina got to Phoenix.” Perea said.

Perea is now looking into finding national, state, corporate funding, and to increase the number of private donors. She feels that if she applied as an independent artist, she would be able to get that type of funding more readily. But because she has a “package” within the Bootleg Theater and this package involves many different artists; applying for grants to support BlakTina Festival is difficult.

According to Perea, the BlakTina Festival is not just about the performance, but it is equally about building community. She tells the artist involved not to simply come into the theater, warm up, present their work and leave. She said that she tells them “I want you to find out who that is, to introduce yourself. I really want to build community.”

New this year, both in Phoenix and in Los Angeles, is a requirement that all the choreographers who are premiering a new work meet three weeks prior to going into production for a feedback session from their peers and from a professional panel. For the premiere works, this is mandatory, but any of the other choreographers are free to participate. This year the panelists included Alvin Rangel-Alvarado (UC Fullerton), Maya Saffron (former Bill T. Jones Company member), Alicia Adams and Perea.

Also new, BlakTina Festival is excited to announce the BlakTina Alumni Concert titled It’s Not About Pretty. It will include three choreographers who could not presently afford to present a full evening of their own work, will share a program on November 30 and December 1, 2018. Choreographers include Bridget Dunn, Mallory Fabian, and Vannia Ibarguen. It is a program that Perea hopes to present every year.

Except for Anthony Kelly from Phoenix whose work is based in Hip Hop and Theater, the style of dance on BlakTina 6 is primarily contemporary. Kelly’s style of Hip Hop originates out of Chicago and involves fast footwork that Perea has not seen around Los Angeles. “He has a script and he is telling a story”. She said. Dance viewers in Los Angeles may recognize many of the seven Los Angeles choreographers: Bernard Brown, Alan Perez, Joshua Romero, Irishia Hubbard, Kassy Francis, Andrea Ordaz, and Dorcas Roman. The choreographers from Phoenix are Kelly, and RaShawn Hart.

The performances of BlakTina 6 run Thursday – Saturday, October 4 – 6 at 7:30 PM. The Bootleg Theater is located at 2220 Beverly Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90057.

For more information and to purchase tickets for BlakTina 6, click here.     Prices: Until Oct 1st, the “Early Bird Discount” is $15 GA and $20 after 10/1.

Tickets for BlakTina Alumni Concert, It’s Not About Pretty, are $30 and can also be purchased at the Bootleg Theater website.

Featured image: Alan Perez and Jamal Wade – Photo courtesy of the artists