Heidi Duckler Dance (HDD) announces the return of its free site-specific festive Ebb & Flow: Chinatown first launched in 2018. The festival showcases local artists who incorporate dance, visual arts, music and technology to investigate the effects of climate change on the environment and one’s health. Since 1985, HDD has been presenting site-specific around the world that is “rooted in democratic dance, art education and spatial justice”. Over the years Ebb & Flow has engaged community members, local arts, health and environmental organizations, as well as LA’s multidisciplinary artists.
This summer HDD will host the outdoor festival Ebb & Flow on June 12 and 13, 2021 at 1 PM in the Los Angeles State Historic Park in Chinatown. Audience members will have the opportunity to walk at their own pace around the park to experience dance performances, visual arts, music and more. HDD will be joined by local choreographers and musicians the community.
Heidi Duckler – Photo courtesy of the artist
“The pandemic has made it clear that our health is intertwined with our environment and our access to the outdoors. In many ways, nurturing our environment is nurturing ourselves. Our right to clean air and clean water is no different from our right to smile. In order to shape an equitable future, we need to create open space where the public can thrive. The original short works presented in the festival investigate environmental justice and imagine radical new ways we might reconstitute space on earth, the only home we have ever known,” Stated HDD’s Founder and Artistic Director, Heidi Duckler.
Guest artists who will be joining HDD for Ebb & Flow: Chinatown include 3-19 Dance Art, founded and directed by Beatniz E. Vasquez; Director/Choreographer, Shannon Janet Smith; Dance-theater performer and director, Lily Ockwell; Co-director of GROUND SERIES, Brittany Delaney; LA-based performance artist, Holly Seeley, performer and multidisciplinary artist, Sydney Lozier; performer Carissa Songhorian; and dancer, choreographer, creative director and actor, Darrel “Friidom” Dunn;
WHAT: Ebb & Flow: Chinatown – Free
WHO: Heidi Duckler Dance
WHEN: June 12th and 13th @ 1pm
WHERE: Los Angeles State Historic Park in Chinatown
3-19 Dance Art – Photo courtesy of the company.
3-19 Dance Art, Founded and Directed by Beatriz E. Vasquez uses and combines the language of Ballet, World Dance, Performance Art, Storytelling, Music and Visual Art, to transport those around to a different place in time. Beatriz E. Vasquez creates works that draw from different disciplines and ethnicities bridging the gap between cultures, gender, and the lines that so often divide humanity.
Shannon Janet Smith – Photo courtesy of the artist.
Director/Choreographer Shannon Janet Smith‘s goal is to create art that will provoke an emotional response from her audience. She thrives in a collaborative environment where ideas flow freely and a memorable story comes to life. Shannon enjoys blurring mediums to elevate the artistic process and enhance movement. She wishes to continue joining forces with other creative minds in order to generate more art into the world.
Lily Ockwell – Photo courtesy of the artist.
Lily Ockwsell is a dance-theater performer and director. She’s performed lead roles in immersive shows such as Punchdrunk’s Sleep No More NYC and Shanghai; Punchdrunk’s The Drowned Man London; Faena Theater’s The Cook The Thief His Wife and Her Lover Miami; Third Rail Project’s The Grand Paradise; She has performed and toured with Adam Barruch’s Sweeney Todd; Luke Murphy’s On Triumph and Trauma, Carnivore; Martha Clarke’s God’s Fool; and companies David Dorfman Dance, Race Dance, lonely goat dance, Kyle Abraham, and Gibney Dance. As an Artistic Director for the McKittrick Hotel, she created immersive shows: The Lost Supper, Inferno, The King’s Masquerade, Mayfaire, and Hitchcock Halloween. She was the resident director for The Cook The Thief His Wife and Her Lover at the Faena and co -directed Raise Your Voice-VOTE for the Fountain Theater, LA. She’s created immersive events in partnership with many organizations including Google, Samsung, Panasonic, Lululemon, Emursive and TBS. She holds a BA from Connecticut College in Dance and French, and divides her professional time between Brooklyn, Los Angeles, and London.
Brittany Delany – Photo courtesy of the artist.
Brittany Delany (she/her) was born in Boston and is based in Los Angeles, where she works in cultural heritage and technology. She is founding co-director of GROUND SERIES dance & social justice collective. Postmodern and Hip Hop dance traditions inform her practice and performance. She holds a BA in Dance from Wesleyan University. She has performed at Counterpulse, Highways Performance Space, Joshua Tree National Park, Movement Research at the Judson Church, Temescal Arts Center, among other stages. With over a decade of experience as a dancer, choreographer, event producer and writer, Brittany values the power of imagination and teamwork.
Holly Seely – Photo courtesy of the artist.
Holly Seeley is a performance artist based in Los Angeles. Holly founded Sand Dance Project in 2018. She holds an MA in Dance from Texas Woman’s University and a BA from The University of Texas at Austin. Holly’s choreography features post-modern contemporary dance in textured surface environments filmed from a bird’s eye view for live audiences and dance film. Most often, this textural dance is achieved in the sand on the beach with drone cameras. Holly’s focus is on dance performances as rhetorical, non-verbal, persuasive communication, or sign-acts. Holly danced for the Jazz Ballet Company of Austin and Commedia Ballet Theater before founding Preston Hollow Dance in Dallas. She is a member of Sag-Aftra. Learn more about her art at sanddanceproject.com.
Sydney Lozier – Photo courtesy of the artist.
Sydney Lozier works as a performer and educator whose versatility has allowed for a multidisciplinary career in the arts. She holds a degree in Performing Arts and Social Justice from the University of San Francisco, as well as a Masters of Art in Education. She has moved and taught with interdisciplinary, progressive institutions including: Heidi Duckler Dance, Alonzo King Lines Ballet, 13th Floor Theater, and the Resolve to Stop the Violence Project (San Bruno County Jail). Sydney’s work with the Sand Dance Project continues to enrich her understanding of site-based work, and how moving bodies in space can create real social impact. Learn more about her upcoming works and virtual teaching programs via sydneylozier.com or IG (@sydneylozier).
Carissa Songhorian – Photo courtesy of the artist.
Carissa Songhorian, a BFA in Dance and Dance Composition graduate from California Institute of the Arts, began her training at Los Angeles Ballet Academy under the direction of Andrea Paris and Conny Mathot. Throughout her years as a dancer, she has performed professionally with Ate9 Dance Company, Los Angeles Contemporary Dance Company (LACDC), Heidi Duckler Dance, String Theory Harp, Sarah Elgart | Arrogant Elbow, Strange & Elegant Dance, Voices Carry, Fabe Dance Company, Iris Company, and Dream Walker. As a choreographer, Carissa has created multiple successful works for stage and film, including: Your Kingdom (2019, Iris Company + C3LA’s Breath + Body), First Light (2019, Heidi Duckler Dance’s Ebb & Flow Festival), Mixed Body (2019, “Best of” New Shoes, Highways Performance Space), Odes 1-2 (2019, Mashup Dance’s Balance for Better – International Women’s Day Festival, 2018, LAMusArt Winter Festival), Ghosts (2018, Hollywood Fringe Festival – in collaboration), Helmet | Goliath (2018, Highways Performance Space – in collaboration), Premiere (2017, Visual Artists Group), Ours is Malice (2017, Sharon Lund Theater), Habits (2014, Sharon Lund Theater), Dreamscape (2016, Valencia), Beneath the Tissue (2016 film), Dark Places (2016 film), and Ours (2016 film). Carissa has also received honorable mentions for some of her works, including her pre-professional work, Never Mess with Sunday (2013), and some of her work has even been described as “intriguing” (LA Dance Chronicle), and “twisted.” Currently, Carissa continues to create as a solo artist, as well as in collaboration with companies and artists such as Dream Walker, Misaq Eshaghi, Joan Padeo, Manuel Meza, Davy Sumner, and more.
Darrel “Friidom” Dunn – Photo courtesy of the artist.
Darrel “Friidom” Dunn is a Dallas native, graduated from The University of Texas at Dallas with a degree in Arts and Technology in 2014. With his degree, he moved to Los Angeles, CA in order to cultivate his creative process. Since moving to LA; Friidom has worked a number of commercial and industry jobs as a dancer, choreographer, creative director, actor, and artist in front and behind the camera. His life’s crowning work is the growth of “The Epiic” movement and philosophy, often performed with orchestral progressions, cinematic scores, and soundscapes. Friidom’s work is on its way to revolutionizing the world of movement, visual arts, technology, and entertainment.
To learn more about Heidi Duckler Dance, please visit their website by clicking HERE.
To read more about the Los Angeles State Historic Park in Chinatown, click HERE.
Written and compiled by Jeff Slayton from Heidi Duckler Dance press release.
Featured image: Ebb & Flow – Heidi Duckler Dance – Photo by Sean Deckert
