Social media meet personal feelings in the Arts District; Korean visitors in University Park; a modern dance icon’s twisty 60th in Northridge; Bollywood in Cerritos; contemporary dance in West LA, El Sereno, Irvine, and two different ways in Lincoln Heights; more SoCal dance this week, plus a peek at next week.
Live This Week
Turbulent times
The unsettled state of the world provides grist for Choose the Face that best describes how you’re feeling, the newest from choreographer Laurie Sefton and her Laurie Sefton Creates. The program also includes More Please (2014) and The Mythology of Self considering the impact of social media. The always strong line up of dancers includes Carmen Callahan, Hunter Wayne Foster, Leah Hamel, Enya Kollek, Harry Louis, Leah McCall, Zachary Medina, Megan Pulfer, and Jane Zogbi. LA Dance Project, 2245 E. Washington Blvd., LA Arts District; Thurs.-Sat., Feb. 20-22, 8 pm, $35 presale, $40 at door. https://ci.ovationtix.com/35353/production/1189190
Laurie Sefton Creates – Nicholas Sipes, Marlie Couto, Sidney Scully in Herd. Person? – Photo by Skye Schmidt Varga.
Time flows
Under the banner, Rivers of Time, BrockusRED presents works from the company repertoire that the dancers selected as their favorites. Led by founder/choreographer Deborah Brockus since 1991, there is a lot to choose from. Brockus Project Studios, 618B Mouton Ave., Lincoln Heights; Fri., Feb. 21, 8 pm, $20. Zelle @ 562-412-7429 (note date), Venmo @brockusprojectstudios, cash at door.
BrockusRED. Photo by Denise Leitner
And there is more
The audience will select the winner as fifteen choreographers, split into two evenings, present new choreography in a Choreography Competition presented by BrockusRED. The prize? Thirty hours of free rehearsal space. Saturday’s line up includes Elsie Neilson, Afton Leigh Coombs, Halima Dodo, Tsiambwom M. Akuchu, Stephanie Mizrahi, Sean Greene, Denali Huff, and Ruby Karen. Sunday offers Gael Garcia Martinez, JacobTaylor, Nathan Madden, Rashaida Hill, Caitlin Javech, Jolyn Rae, and Sean Greene. Brockus Project Studios, 618B Moulton Ave., Lincoln Heights; Sat., Feb. 22, 8 pm, Sun., Feb. 23, 6 pm, $16. Zelle @ 562-412-7429 (note date), Venmo @brockusprojectstudios (note date), Cash at door.
BrockusRED. Photo by Denise Leitner
Revisitating a rarity
Considered a masterpiece, choreographer Blondell Cummings’ 1981 solo Chicken Soup has a rare performance by SoCal choreographer/dancer Marjani Forté-Saunders. Focusing on domestic labor as the soul of a household, the work is presented as part of Uplifting Black Legacy through the City of Santa Monica Cultural Affairs Division’s partnership with New York City’s Danspace Project. Annenberg Beach House, 415 Pacific Coast Hwy., Santa Monica; Thurs., Feb. 27, 7 pm, free w/reservation at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/uplifting-black-legacy-tickets-1223981554779
Marjani Forté-Saunders. Photo courtesy of the artists
Where did the time go?
For six decades Twyla Tharp has brought her ever innovative brand of dance to everything from modern dance to ballet companies to Broadway and to her own touring troupes. For Tharp’s Diamond Jubilee, the choreographer eschewed a ‘greatest hits’ program, instead selecting her Olivier-nominated Diabelli Variations that tackled Beethoven’s masterpiece, and a new dance set to Philip Glass’ Aguas da Amazonia, arranged and performed by Third Coast Percussion. The Soraya Theater, Cal State University Northridge, 18111 Nordhoff St., Northridge; Feb. 22, 8 pm, Sun., Feb. 23, 3 pm, $47-$128. https://thesoraya.org/en/
Twyla Tharp Dance – Photo by Mark Seliger.
Collective change
Postponed by the wildfire evacuations, Tanz Tanz Revolution is an LA-based collective composed of Anna Kazwell, Eva Silverton, and Emily O’Rourke. In their evening-length debut work, Deception of a Fall, they grapple with inevitable change and uncertainty, elements they dealt with in bringing this work to the stage. Highways Performance Space, 1651 18th St., Santa Monica; Fri.-Sat., Feb. 21-22, 8 pm, $20.50. https://www.highwaysperformance.org/
Tanz Tanz Revolution. Photo courtesy of the artists
Dance and more
An evening of performance, music, art installation, and a live DJ are part of The Soft Creates’ Spotlight from Natalie Badalie and Rydre. Stomping Ground LA, 5453 Alhambra Ave., El Sereno; Sat., Feb. 22, 7 pm, $10. https://www.stompinggroundla.org/events/soft-creatives-spotlight
Rhythm India: Bollywood & Beyond. Photo courtesy of the artists
Going Bollywood
For many, Bollywood films are less about the plot and more about the exuberant dance sequences which are celebrated by Rhythm India in Bollywood & Beyond, created by award winning choreographer Joya Kazi. Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts, 18000 Park Plaza Dr., Cerritos; Sat. Feb. 22, 8 pm, $40-$80. https://ccpa.cerritos.gov/
World Ballet. Photo courtesy of the artists
A novel in pointe shoes
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby, captured the gilded and the corroded sides of the jazz age. The story gets a ballet rendition from the touring company World Ballet. Irvine Barclay Theatre, 4242 Campus Dr., Irvine; Tues.-Wed., Feb. 25-26, 7:30 pm, $68-$114. https://www.thebarclay.org/Online/default.asp
UCI Dance Visions Photo courtesy of UC Irvine Dance Department
Full dance card
Works by faculty choreographers from UC Irvine’s Claire Trevor School of the Arts showcase the university’s dancers in Dance Visions. The program includes Tong Wang’s take on the ballet Giselle Act II, Molly Lynch’s Moonlight set to a Rachmaninoff piano sonata; Cyrain Reed and S. Ama Wray’s Archaea Extremophiles, and the legendary Lar Lubovitch’s MARIMBA. This edition of the annual concert by the Department of Dance is overseen by artistic directors Diane Diefenderfer and Tong Wang. UC Irvine, Irvine Barclay Theatre, 4242 Campus Dr., Irvine; Thurs.-Fri., Feb 20-21 8 pm, Sat. 22, 2 & 8 pm, $34, $30 seniors, $13 students. https://www.thebarclay.org/Online/default.asp
Bereishit Dance Company. Photo courtesy of the artists
From Seoul
Known in South Korea for its use of space and rhythm, Seoul-based Bereishit Dance Company makes its LA debut with two works. The dynamic pull of opposition and harmony of relationships is explored in Balance & Imbalance, while Judo explores sports as a channel for humans’ violent impulses. The event includes a conversation with the founder Soon-ho Park and some of the dancers. USC, Bovard Auditorium, 3551 Trousdale Pkwy, University Park; Sun., Feb. 23, 6 pm, free. https://visionsandvoices.usc.edu/
Influential events
Originally commissioned for the Egyptian Pavilion at the 2024 Venice Biennale, the film installation Drama 1882 from Wael Shawky considers the events that countered a revolt against European colonial influence, resulting in Britain cementing its control of Egypt for another seven decades. Adapting the storied events into the form of an opera and performed in classical Arabic, Shawky choreographed, wrote, scored, and directed. This event is the latest in the museum’s Wonmi’s WAREHOUSE Programs. Related events include a conversation with Shawky and assistant curator Alex Sloane on Sat., Feb. 22 at 3 pm. WAREHOUSE, MOCA Geffen Contemporary, 152 N. Central Ave., Little Tokyo; Thurs., Feb. 20 – Sun., March 16, 11 am, free w/reservation at https://moca.ticketapp.org/portal/product/288/events
Wael Shawky. Photo courtesy of the artist
Showcase
Something of a one-stop audition, this Commercial Dance Showcase 2025 features graduating B.F.A. students from the commercial dance program at Boston Conservatory at Berklee. The registration seems to indicate the performance is open to the public, not just entertainment industry pros. El Portal Theater, 5269 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood; Wed., Feb. 26, 7 pm., requires registration. https://bostonconservatory.berklee.edu/commercial-dance/commercial-dance-showcase-2025
Bonnie Langford, Bernadette Peters, Lea Salonga and the company of Stephen Sondheim’s “Old Friends” – Photo by Danny Kaan.
With friends like these
Directed by legendary choreographer Matthew Bourne, with additional choreography from Stephen Mear, Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends is headlined by Bernadette Peters, Lea Salonga, and a lineup of British and American musical theater luminaries. Perhaps because of Bourne’s long relationship with the Center Theater Group, LA nabbed the U.S. premiere before the Sondheim celebration goes to Broadway. Music Center, Ahmanson Theatre, 135 N. Grand Ave., downtown; Tues.-Fri., 8 pm, Sat., 2 & 8 pm, Sun., 1 & 6:30 pm, thru March 9, $25 – $195.50. https://www.centertheatregroup.org/
A Peek at Next Week
New Shoes 2025 – Week 1 at Highways Performance Space, 1651 18th St., Santa Monica; Fri.-Sat., Feb. 28-March 1, 8 pm, $25.63. https://www.highwaysperformance.org/events/new-shoes-2025-week-1-2025-02-28-20-00
State Street Ballet – Little Mermaid at Lobero Theatre, 33 E. Canon Perdido St., Santa Barbara; Sat. & Sun., March 1 & 2, 7:30 pm, $35-$65, $24 children under 12 years. https://www.lobero.org/events/the-little-mermaid/
Rosanna Tavarez / Dancing Through Prison Walls– WIP Work in Progress LA at G-Son Studios, 3218 Glendale Blvd., Atwater Village; Mon., March 3, 7:30 pm, $15. Tavarez-WIP
Featured image: BrockusRED – photo by Denise Leitner
Ann Haskins’ Blog appears at CulturalDaily.com
