Tap dance romance in Culver City, immersive fado in Santa Monica, post disco explorations in Lincoln Heights, a dance fest in Westminster, dancers creating dances in Pasadena, and more SoCal dance this week.
5. Integrating dance and dancers
Choreographer Donna Sternberg and her Donna Sternberg & Dancers explore the possibilities of integrating the audience into the dance space and among the dancing. Set to the Portuguese musical genre known as fado, Small Gestures seats the audience in specific configurations throughout the art gallery providing different perspectives depending on the seat location as the dancers move around and among the viewers. Noted fado singer Ramana Viera is also part of the event. A reception with light refreshments provides a post-performance opportunity to further mingle with the performers. Lia Skidmore Gallery, Bergamot Station, 2525 Michigan Ave. B-4, Santa Monica; Sat., Apr. 6, 8 p.m., $20, $15 students & seniors. http://dsdancers.com.
4. Sparks will fly
The Israeli troupe Mayumana combines dance, song and fierce percussion in their show Currents, loosely based on the rivalry to develop electricity between Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla. Segerstrom Center for the Arts, 600 Town Center Dr., Costa Mesa; Sat., Apr. 6, 7:30 p.m., $39-$99. https://www.scfta.org.
3. Tapping into the romance
Combining live dance and film, choreographer Louise Reichlin and her Louise Reichlin & Dancers offer Tap Dance Widows Club. Well received at its premiere, but not been performed since 2015, the work recounts the love stories of three performers, their late husbands and the enduring bonds of tap dance and romance. Performers include Ruth Bruno, Natalie Ellis, Caitlin M Heflin, Kensiwe Mathebula, Coree McKee, Eve Metsäranta, Artur Aaleksanyan, Jill Collins, Glenn Rodriguez with Corrina Gemignani and Dominique Kersh. With guests M’saada Nia and Sean & Jon Scott. Visual artist Audri Phillips also participates. Culver City Senior Center, 4095 Overland Ave, Culver City; Sun., Apr. 7, 1:30 p.m., free. 310-253-6700. https://lachoreographersanddancers.org.
2. Almost a dozen
Ranging from contemporary ballet to street dance and covering lots of turf in between, eleven SoCal companies take the stage at the 3rd Annual Orange County Dance Festival. The line up includes APA Repertory Ensemble, Andrew Tiamzon, fabe, Trevyn & Dancers, SiZa, Frank Soares, BrockusRED, Alan L. Perez, Bradford Chin & Dancers, Fuse, Evan Rosenblatt & Dancers, Emergent Dance Company and host company Akomi Dance. Rose Center Theater, 14140 All American Way, Westminster; Sat., Apr. 6, 7 p.m., $10 https://boxoffice.diamondticketing.com/rosecentertheater/events.
1. Something old, always new
The deservedly popular Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater arrives with seven shows of four different programs. The programs range from premieres to classics and, yes, the company’s signature work, Ailey’s Revelations, will close every performance. With Rennie Harris’ Lazarus, AADT offers its first two-act work (Wed. & Sat. eve.). The company premiere of Wayne McGregor’s Kairos and West Coast premiere of Ronald K Brown’s The Call are paired with Jawole Willa Jo Zollar’s Shelter (Thurs. & Sun.). Excerpts from repertoire classics are assembled from Blues Suite, Streams, Mary Lou’s Mass, The Lark Ascending, Hidden Rites, Night Creature, Cry, Phases, Opus McShann, Pas de Duke, For “Bird”–With Love, Love Songs and Memoria (Fri.-Sat. eves.). The L.A. premiere of company dancer Jamar Roberts’ Members Don’t Get Weary is paired with a new production of company director Robert Battle’s Juba, and his duet Ella (Sun. mat.). Music Center, Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, 135 N. Grand Ave., downtown; Wed.-Sat., Apr. 3-6, 7:30 p.m., Sat.-Sun., Apr. 6-7, 2 p.m., $34-$145. https://www.musiccenter.org.
Other dance of note:
New solos inspired by literature and created by company members are offered in Nancy Evans Dance Theatre’s second annual Figures of Speech. Linda M Grinstead Theatre, 3880 E. Sierra Madre Blvd., Pasadena; Sun., Apr. 7, 4 p.m., $25, $20 students & seniors. http://www.nancyevansdancetheatre.com.
Choreographers Eric Skinner and Daniel Kirk transport Inland Pacific Ballet under the sea and onto the shore in this retelling of the Hans Christian Andersen’s classic The Little Mermaid. Fox Performing Arts Center, 3801 Mission Inn Ave., Riverside; Sat., Apr. 6, 2 & 7:30 p.m., Sun., Apr. 7, 2 p.m. Also at Lewis Family Playhouse, 12505 Cultural Center Dr., Rancho Cucamonga; Sat., Apr. 13, 2 & 7:30 p.m., Sun., Apr. 14, 2 p.m. Also at Bridges Auditorium, Pomona College, 450 North College Way, Claremont; Sat. Apr. 27, 2 & 7:30 p.m., Sun., Apr. 28, 2 p.m., $26-$52. http://www.ipballet.org/mermaidPage.php.
Searching for new life in old music, Barry Brannum looks to the post-disco era to extract from early house music movement that speaks to the present in BLOOD BLOOD BLOOD. Pieter, 420 W. Avenue 33, Suite 10, Lincoln Heights; Sat., Apr. 6, 8:30 p.m., non-monetary donation to free bar or boutique. https://pieterpasd.com.
Under the banner Collaborations 2019, this concert brings dancers from CHAMPS Charter High School and Melody McKnight’s Dance & Pilates to the stage. The Madrid Theatre, 21622 Sherman Way, Canoga Park; Fri.-Sat, Apr. 5-6, 7:30 p.m., $18, $10 students. https://madridtheatre.tix.com/Schedule.aspx?OrgNum=1385.
Expect a slipper will be lost as Ballet Repertory Theatre offers its version of Cinderella. Golden West College Mainstage Theater, 15751 Gothard St., Huntington Beach; Sat., Apr. 6, 7 p.m., Sun., Apr.7, 2 p.m. $16, $20. 714-846-0215. http://www.gwctheater.com.
The interplay of the architecture contained in R.M. Schindler’s famous concrete “Slab-Tilt” Schindler House in West Hollywood and artist Alison Knowles’ 1960’s intermedia piece The Play House is grist for Shelter or Playground-The House of Dust at the Schindler House, a series of performative investigations that involve new and recreated performances from around the world. Last month the four month exhibit launched with a day of performances from an international roster of choreographers including locally-based Milka Djordjevich. Djordjevich’s work is the only one getting a repeat showing, twice a month until June. Details on the Schindler House, Knowles’ poem The House of Dust that inspired The Playhouse, the Fluxus avant garde movement in the late 1950s & 60s of which Knowles was part, and the extended endeavor running through June 2 that incorporates Djordjevich’s performances at https://makcenter.org. Schindler House, 835 N. Kings Rd., West Hollywood; Sat., Apr. 6 & 20, May 4 & 18, June 1, 3 p.m., free. https://makcenter.org.
Promising to distill millennia of Chinese culture in a swirl of colorful costumes and in sync dancing, the touring production Shen Yun 2019 stops off at nine local venues over the next two months. At Pomona College, Bridges Auditorium, 450 N. College Way, Claremont; Fri., Apr. 5, 7:30 p.m., Sat., Apr. 6, 2 & 7:30 p.m., $80-$150. Also at Music Center, Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, 135 N. Grand Ave., downtown; Wed., Fri. & Sat., Apr. 10, 12 & 13, 7:30 p.m., Thurs. & Sat., Apr. 11 & 13, 2 p.m., Sun., Apr. 14, 1 p.m., $80-$220. Also at Segerstrom Center for the Arts, Tues.-Sun., Apr. 16-28, (dates & times at website), $80-$200. Also at The Soroya, Cal State University Northridge, 18111 Nordhoff St., Northridge; Tue.-Wed. Apr. 30-May 1, $80-$165. Also at Dolby Theatre, 6801 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood; Fri., May 3, 7:30 p.m., Sat., May 4, 2 & 7:30 p.m., Sun., May 5, 1 p.m., $80-$200. Also at McCallum Theatre, 73000 Fred Waring Dr., Palm Desert; Thu. & Sat., May 9 & 11, 7:30 p.m., Fri.-Sat., May 10-11, 2 p.m., $80-$165. https://www.shenyun.com/la.
Note to readers: In keeping with the growing activity surrounding the Cunningham Centennial (including the upcoming singular Cunningham event at UCLA, New York and London), LA Dance Chronicle is providing a place for individuals who worked with Merce Cunningham, saw his work or otherwise just want to say something about Merce Cunningham to participate in the Centennial remembrance. L.A. Dance Chronicle founder Jeff Slayton danced with Cunningham’s company and championed the idea of a place individuals could post a remembrance or comment about Merce Cunningham, his dance works or his legacy. The Cunningham Centennial Page now is live at the website (http://LADanceChronicle.com). Comments will be collected and passed on to the Cunningham Trust.
Feature photo: Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Photo by Andrew Eccles.
Ann Haskins Blog appears at CulturalWeekly.com