The San Pedro ♥ Festival of the Arts 2022 returns for its 16th year of free family-friendly events. Founded by Joe Caccavalla and formerly known as the SP TriArt Festival, Festival Executive Producer & Dance Director Louise Reichlin will be presenting an all dance program again this year featuring DAGDAG Dancers, Jazz Spectrum, Jeevika Bhat – Jyoti Kala Mandir, Kairos Dance Company, Kaitlyn McKinney, Katrina Ji, Louise Reichlin & Dancers/ Los Angeles Choreographers & Dancers, Megill & Company, Pranamya Suri, Re-borN Dance Interactive, Sahlala Dancers, SINDHOOR & NATYAVEDA – Navarasa Dance Theater, The Mcculla Movement, Encore Dance Company, Cabrillo Dance Company, Degas Dance Studio, Santa Barbata Community College Dance Company, and Showtime-Katusha.
Jeevika Bhat – Jyotikala Mandir – Photo courtesy of the artist
Reichlin has added a new and unique feature called “2 Move” which involves the participating artists sharing “2 Moves” from their dance with the audience to learn. This activity will help them “experience some of the nuances” of the work that they will be viewing.
Lousie Reichlin & Dancers in “Gotta Get Up” – Photo courtesy of the artist
Louise Reichlin is the Artistic Director and Choreographer of one of the longest running dance companies in Los Angeles, Los Angeles Choreographers and Dancers, founded in 1979. She has received numerous awards and artists grants including the Gary Bates Award by the Horton Awards Committee for creativity. In March 2016 Reichlin was awarded a WORD Artist Grant, the Bruce Geller Memorial Prize, which went towards the creation of “A Jewish Child’s Story”, aided in its development by a grant from DCA LA and the NEA called LA Stage Advance.
Sahlala Dancers – Photo courtesy of the artist
Professional Division: DAGDAG Dancers, Jazz Spectrum Dance Company, Jeevika Bhat – Jyoti Kala Mandir, Kairos Dance Company, Kaitlyn McKinney, Katrina Ji, Louise Reichlin & Dancers/Los Angeles Choreographers & Dancers, Megill & Company, Pranamya Suri, Re-borN Dance Interactive, Sahlala Dancers, SINDHOOR &NATYAVEDA – Navarasa Dance Theater, The McCulla Movement
Community/School Division: Cabrillo Dance Company, Degas Dance Studio, Encore Dance Company, Santa Barbara Community College Dance Company, Showtime-Katusha
Information from a just a few of the artists’ websites
DAGDAG Dance – Photo courtesy of the artist
DAGDAG Dance is a contemporary dance company based in Long Beach, CA. It was founded in 2017 to provide performance opportunities for local dancers and musicians to work closely in a collaborative and professional environment.
Jazz Spectrum – Photo courtesy of the company
Founded by movement luminary Christine Baltes, Jazz Spectrum Dance Company represents the tradition and culture of American Jazz Dance. Built upon the solid foundation of classical Baltes Jazz Technique, JSDC is dedication exploring & honoring the superior stylistic movement of our founder and other jazz dance legends. The compa
Kairos Dance Company – Photo courtesy of the company
ny is now under the current Artistic Direction of Janell Burgess.
Kairos Dance Company (est. ‘06) uses dance as a platform to build social awareness. We have performed works about erasing the stigma of mental illness, the homeless epidemic, social media and its effects on society, and more. Kairos has showcased its pieces in L.A., Palm Desert, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Denver, and Ogden, UT. Awards include the Dance Under the Stars Choreography Festival (finalist – ’07 and ‘09), Rocky Mountain Choreography Festival (winner – ’13), and sjDANCEco Choreography Festival (winner – ’15).
MeCo – Photo courtesy of Megil & Company
Megill & Company (MeCo) is a non-profit 501c3 theater and dance production company that provides an artistic outlet for community members who seek to take part in dance and theater at the semi-professional level. Productions are usually new works and are intelligent, finessed, humorous, clever, emotional, and fulfilling to those on stage, backstage and in the audience. Besides production work, MeCo is committed to increasing dance notation awareness, education, and publication.
Re:borN Dance Interactive – Christine Gregory in “Aware of Love” – Photo by Sky Schmidt
Re:borN Dance Interactive is a contemporary dance company and artist collective based in Southern California founded by Boroka Nagy. The company is composed of a group of 21st century artists who strive to go beyond the aesthetics of contemporary modern dance and delve deeper into the emotional and social content of the work. Re:borN has presented both concert stage and installation work at various nationwide dance festivals, collaborative performances and cultural events with composers and galleries, and self-produced evening length works.
SINDHOOR & NATYAVEDA – Navarasa Dance Theater: Sindhoor has trained in Bharatanatyam (an Indian classical dance form) for over 20 years, including 15 years with Dr. K. Venkatalakshamma, one of the foremost proponents of the Mysore style of Bharatanatyam, where Abhinaya (facial expression) and graceful Jathis (pure dance compositions) are emphasized. Sindhoor has been giving accomplished professional performances since her arangetram (graduation solo recital) in 1989. Sindhoor holds a Vidwat (Masters) in Dance, a Masters in English, and a bachelor’s degree in Dance, Literature and Dramatics. She was awarded the gold medal in 1990 for finishing first in dance at the University of Mysore. She received her doctorate in Dance, Cultural and Women’s Studies from Boston University in 2009. Anil Natyaveda is a Co-Director of Navarasa Dance Theater. He is a choreographer, dancer, teacher and martial artist (kalari ppyattu) from Triuvanathapuram, India. Anil has trained in classical, contemporary and aerial dance forms with renowned teachers including Daksha Seth, Professor Shivanandan, Jayachandran, Vembayam Appukuttan Nair, Uday Deshpande and Govindankutti Gurukal. He has a degree in Dance from Sree Swathithirunal Music College, India. He also acquired the teacher-training degree in Dance: Project Sakrthaya. He has been a professional dancer since 1991. He has performed all over the world including at the Edinburgh Dance Festival, Germany International Summer Theatre Festival, Hong Kong Art Festival, Khaguraho Festival in Dance, Kozh Company, UK celebrating Indian Independence.
Santa Barbara Community College – Photo courtesy of the artist
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WHAT: San Pedro ♥ Festival of the Arts 2022 – A family event featuring Dance
WHERE & WHEN: Peck Park – on the upper lawn next to the Community Center
560 N Western Ave, San Pedro CA 90732
Saturday Sept 24, 2022 from 1-4:15pm
ADMISSION: FREE
PARKING: FREE
For more information, please visit the festival’s website.
Written by Jeff Slayton for LA Dance Chronicle.
Featured image: Navaarasa Dance Theater – Photo courtesy of the artist
