Most dance performances do not bring you to your feet until the very end, but this time around, audience members were encouraged to stand, dance, and more.
The annual BlakTinx Dance Festival shared seven works by Black and Latino dance artists at Lula Washington Dance Theatre on March 30. While some were traditional ensemble pieces, others were impromptu celebrations in need of audience assistance. In between performances, the festival honored three leaders for their contributions to dance in L.A., including Kar Lee Young who founded Crenshaw Yoga and Dance, Keilah Glover who founded Go To Heaven Dance Company, and Fernando Pullum of the Fernando Pullum Community Arts Center.
The festival was more than just a dance performance; it was a community gathering.
BlakTinx Dance Festival – Lula Washington Dance Theater – Photo © Cory J. Graves.
The night began with a work by Lula Washington inspired by the pandemic and the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests. The piece, “Today,” was performed by company members Danny Guerrero, Ongelle Johnson, Kozue Kashara, Lainey Bowers Brooks, Glen Rodriguez, and Juquari Baskin alongside apprentices Grace Martin and Kahleela Jones. The performers came in strong, leaping and stammering to the edges of the performance space. Their eyes held a feeling of fear and confinement, reflecting the moods of the pandemic. Slowly, the mood shifted to joy. The choreography mixed balletic movement with grooves from Latin styles like salsa and bachata. The piece was made up of vignettes from Washington’s memory of the tumultuous year of 2020. Although many of us remember the time as a period of despair, through movement, Washington dug out the strength and power of community that kept life going.
BlakTinx Dance Festival – DaanseKou – Photo © Cory J. Graves.
The stage performance quickly shifted to a piece choreographed by King Daunté Annabi Fyall. “BANTABA” was beautifully introduced with music led by Baba Fode Sissoko who walked through the space plucking a kora, a West African string instrument. Dancers of the DaanseKou Cultural Arts Collective started to enter the space with new energy while Mansa Djeliya assisted with percussion. The performance welcomed audience participation, bringing people to clap and shout. The West African dance gained intensity, so much so that the rhythm reverberated from the floor and to the seats in the audience. As the floor rattled our bones, one dancer leaped up the middle aisle of the stands, riding the rhythm with each step and pulling out a joyous roar from the audience.
BlakTinx Dance Festival – Sasha Rivero – Photo © Cory J. Graves.
Sasha Rivero’s solo “The past, the future and everything in between” calmed the room and transported the audience into a kitchen before shifting into an ethereal atmosphere. She elevated from her pedestrian movement and transitioned into contemporary dance. Her style was magical and mesmerizing. You can see how a move initiated by the arm or elbow tugged the rest of her body in a new direction. Rivero donned a dress and suit jacket, applying lotion to her legs. Even through these simple tasks, she was fully immersed in the world she built and invited viewers into. Even when she was still, the performance felt alluring.
BlakTinx Dance Festival – FUSE Dance Company – Photo © Cory J. Graves.
FUSE Dance Company followed Rivero with an ensemble-led piece by Joshua D. Estrada-Romero, who also danced in the piece alongside Sophia Bernardo, Kathy Duran, Phillip Lu, Julia Rae Moran, Stephanie Lin Ocampo, Maili Schlosser, Candi Spahr, and Katie Walsh. The contemporary piece centered on the theme of what it means to be American. The choreography made smart use of gestures, like a salute, woven it into traditional dance moves to share the complexities of being American. The work starts to drive the message forward as Amanda Gorman’s “The Hill We Climb,” a poem in response to the January 6 insurrection, started playing over the work. As the piece carried a new emotional weight, the choreography buckled at the knees, unable to fully support the message. While there were sections of poignant formations and movements, it had a subtle conclusion that softened a tough blow.
BlakTinx Dance Festival – “Tres Golpes” by Shantel Ureña – Photo © Cory J. Graves.
Shantel Ureña’s work titled “Tres Golpes” told the story of three Latina women struggling to move forward, at least until their unity brought along a new sense of possibility. The work — assistant choreographed by G’bari “GQ” Gilliam and performed by Ureña, Jovahna Solalindez Rivas, Elizabeth “EastLos” Rodriguez — mixed bachata steps with house footwork, letting each performer shine in fun solos. The message of unity came profoundly as the trio held onto a house groove while they moved from a straight line into a horizontal formation, and back. Their flawless grooves and connection made the piece memorable.
BlakTinx Dance Festival – Byron Tittle – Photo © Cory J. Graves.
Byron Tittle took the stage for a solo titled “Virtuosic Heritage,” which traced his heritage as a Black queer man through dance. He entered with a contemporary solo filled with intentional and sharp steps. As he slipped on a skirt, the environment dropped into the ballroom scene as he vogued down the stage and honored the roots of ballroom culture and vogue. When he put on a pair of baggy pants, his feet started moving to a new tempo, bouncing into a farmer step of the house genre. His smooth grooves landed on a pair of tap shoes, closing out his solo with tap dance. The solo was a sampler of Tittle’s movement heritage, sharing bits of himself and his identity with the throughline being his existence — a profound statement to land on.
BlakTinx Dance Festival – Old School Skinny – Photo © Cory J. Graves.
The festival ended with a reminder that the night’s gathering, at its core, was a community extravaganza. Old School Skinny presented a tribute to MC Hammer, who also celebrated his birthday on the day of BlakTinx. Everyone stood up in front of their seat as music blasted, dancing along with performers Dorene Nelson, Dorian Cohen, EJay Lewis, Erika Humphries, Greg Connor, Janae “Jenger” Jones, Keilah Glover, Kerrie Everitt, Leslie Laneuville, Rochelle Hall, Spencer Robinson, Steven Lopez, and Tina Dela Cruz. A girl, antsy to move beyond the confines of the audience, rushed to the stage as the performers brought people down. She, along with many others, started following along with iconic dance steps.
As the night closed out with the essence of MC Hammer still ringing, people stepped down from the stands with smiles on their faces out of the joy of dance.
For more information about BlakTinx Dance Festival, please visit their website.
Written by Steven Vargas for LA Dance Chronicle.
Featured image: BlakTinx Dance Festival – “Tres Golpes” by Shantel Ureña – Photo © Cory J. Graves.
