On Thursday, January 16, 2025, one of Los Angeles’ cultural treasures, the Lula Washington Dance Theatre launched its 45th Season at the beautiful Théâtre Raymond Kabbaz. The performance was sold out and the audience appeared very excited to be there to experience this iconic dance group’s new season, as well as a special performance of a piece created in 1996 by Rudy Perez. I’m sure that many were also looking forward to artistic relief from the past week’s unimaginable destruction caused by the fires and hurricane force winds that destroyed parts of our city. There were people in the audience who had lost their homes but who were there to support LA’s cultural icon Lula Washington.
The works on the program ranged from BANG BANG created in 1996 by the late dance pioneer Rudy Perez to two works created in 2024. In one of her talks to the audience in between pieces, Washington said that Perez had a great influence on her choreography and that her work Something To Think About (2024) was a tribute to him.

Lula Washington Dance Theatre – “There’s Always Tomorrow” by Tamica Washington-Miller – Photo by Eric McGinnis.
Choosing whether or not to see the world through rose colored glasses was the essence of Tamica Washington-Miller’s 2019 There’s Always Tomorrow. The entire set consisted of a square black box that was moved around the stage with two long swatches of gauzy material and sunglasses acting as essential props. When the glasses were worn, the world appeared blissful and beautiful, evoking the words “La vie en rose” from the performers. When off, their demeanor shifted to noticing the seriousness of reality. The choreography was strong and the dancing wonderful, but the overall theme eventually became increasingly repetitive.
The cast of There’s Always Tomorrow was Ongelle Johnson, Danny Guerrero, Kozue Kasahara, and Thomas Davis. The music was by composer Marcus L. Miller. Costume concept by Tamica Washington-Miller. Kudos to Ongelle Johnson for her beautiful performance.

Lula Washington Dance Theatre – “There’s Always Tomorrow” by Tamica Washington-Miller – Photo by Eric McGinnis.
Lula Washington’s solo Dr. King, (2009) was one of the highlights of the evening due not only to the stunning choreography, but to the powerful performance by Michael Tomlin III. The solo is an excerpt from Washington’s Martin Luther King, Jr.’s“The Movement/Little Rock 9”, a tribute to the nine African-American students who integrated Central High School on September 25, 1957. The audio is an excerpt from a speech by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., that he gave at Mount Pisgah Missionary Baptist Church. Washington’s choreography matched the power of King’s words without becoming too literal, and Tomlin’s performance rose to meet both.
Folk Dance was created for the company in 1992 by American choreographer Donald Byrd, who brilliantly combined elements of American folk dance with his style of modern dance while throwing in an elegant dash of simplicity. Complex groupings were formed while the dancers mainly walked in the rhythm of the music by Mio Morales. Later this evolved into elements of what resembled a Do-Sie-Do Your Partner in square dancing with highly complicated dance phrases. It was fun to watch and the dancers appeared to be enjoying the work as well.
While looking for a work by Rudy Perez to set on her company, Washington excitedly chose his 1966 Bang Bang choreographed to the sound of TV chef Julia Child explaining how to cook asparagus. The juxtaposition of Perez’s pedestrian-like movement to Child’s humorous instructions, made for quite an experience that has withstood the test of time.
Bang Bang was restaged by Anne Grimaldo, a long-time member of the Rudy Perez Performance Ensemble. Although performed very well by Isabbel Van Ziji, what was missing was Perez’s matter-of-factness and clarity. I am certain that over time, Ziji will learn to inhabit these qualities.

Lula Washington Dance Theatre in “Folk Dance” by Donald Byrd – Photo by Claire Painchaud Photography.
Something To Think About, a tribute to Rudy Perez, was choreographed last year by Lula Washington and Perez’s influence was visible. Here too, however, the performers need time to discover the simplicity of Perez’s style and implement the wonderful dance phrases created by their mentor, Lula Washington. The work was set to the music of The Village People and spoken word written by Tamica Washington-Miller.
The final piece on the program was the lively and humorous Cultural Exchange (Excerpt from Ode To The 60s) choreographed by Lula Washington and performed by her entire company. This section featured the music and performance style of singer, dancer and musician James Brown; including dancer Micah Moch sporting a wig a la Brown and who expertly accomplished a few of his iconic dance moves.

Lula Washington Dance Theatre in “Cultural Exchange” by Lula Washington – Photo by Claire Painchaud Photography.
The evening concluded with Lula Washington receiving two awards for her contribution to the arts and to the community of Los Angeles. The first was presented by Jennifer Granville, the Marketing & Communications Manager for Théâtre Raymond Kabbaz and the second aware was presented by David Bright, representative with the Office of Karen Bass, Mayor of Los Angeles.
Lula Washington has not only been an active choreographer in LA since 1980, but she has been and continues to be an important and inspirational educator and mentor to the youth of LA, and an activist for human and civil rights. She and her husband and Co-founder of the Lula Washington Dance Theatre, Erwin Washington have changed the lives of so many young dancers. Thank you!
For more information about the Lula Washington Dance Theatre, please visit their website.
To learn more about Théâtre Raymond Kabbaz, please visit their website.
Written by Jeff Slayton for LA Dance Chronicle.
Featured image: Lula Washington Dance Theatre in Folk Dance by Donald Byrd, photo courtesy of LWDT.