A Trisha Brown tribute in Jefferson Park, new dance and dance films from Jacob Jonas in West L.A. and Sarah Elgart in Venice, plus dozens of Pacific Standard Time events all over L.A.

4. Being spontaneous

A choreographer equally known as an improviser, Judith Sánchez Ruiz offers her latest solo Encaje. Dancer/choreographer Laurel Jenkins joins Ruiz for an improvised duet honoring the late Trisha Brown. We Live in Space, 2520 W. Jefferson Blvd., Jefferson Park; Fri.-Sat., Jan. 12-13, 8:30 p.m., $15 in advance, $20 at door. http://showboxla.org.

3. Psst! Go to the side door

In a short four years, Jacob Jonas has emerged as a significant player on the L.A. dance scene. Growing up in Santa Monica, as a teen he frequently joined a street-dance group performing at Venice Beach, eventually going on tour with them, spent time in Seattle with the respected choreographer Donald Byrd before starting his L.A. based Jacob Jonas The Company. Jonas draws on dance styles ranging from hip hop to ballet, gymnastics to modern dance. Perhaps more important, the individual dancers represent that range of dance styles and one of Jonas’ skills is melding those different trainings and body types into a cohesive whole. Beyond the company, Jonas has gained local and national attention for his imaginative use of film, photography and social media in ways that reach new audiences for dance. The influential Dance Magazine recently included Jonas among its 25 to Watch in 2018. This informal performance offers One Me, One Pair Off, a new work titled Regret Minimalization Framework, plus two new dance films. The Side Door, Los Angeles Ballet Center, 11755 Exposition Blvd., West L.A; Thurs.-Sat., Jan. 11-13, 8 p.m. $25. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/jacob-jonas-the-company-side-door-series-tickets-37320364214.

Jacob Jonas The Company. Photo by Jacob Jonas.

 

2. How arrogant is your elbow?

Whether orchestrating an outdoor event in Santa Monica or organizing a Dare to Dance in Public video competition or concentrating on more straightforward dancemaking, Sarah Elgart pretty much does it all. For these evenings, the choreographer and her troupe Sarah Elgart/Arrogant Elbow offers a combination of live dance performance and film. Elgart’s latest, Unicorn, considers three pivotal moments in a dancer’s life, captured in solo turns for Lenin Fernandez, Charissa Kroeger and Sam McReynolds. The two dance films are Ideologies and Ghost Story. Electric Lodge, 1416 Electric Ave., Venice; Fri.-Sat., Jan. 12-13, 8 p.m.; $25, $20 students. http://electriclodge.org. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/unicorn-an-evening-of-new-dance-and-dance-film-works-tickets-41507420813.

Sarah Elgart/Arrogant Elbow. Photo courtesy of the artists.

1. What time zone for which L.A.?

The next two weeks are jammed with live movement and dance performance (plus workshops, lectures, installations and family events) as the Getty, REDCAT and other collaborators, launch Pacific Standard Time: Live Art LA/LA, the live performance component of the ongoing festival. The number and scope of the events is stunning, some running over several days or weeks and almost all free. See below for a summary of the Live Art LA/LA events that feature dance and performance. More details and other events at http://REDCAT.org and http://www.pacificstandardtime.org/en/events.

Dance Round up in Pacific Standard Time: Live Art LA/LA

Chilean Sylvia Palacios Whitman collaborated with local performers including L.A. choreographer Meg Wolfe in a work that “activates” props including giant hands, mummies, and a volcano, all to reenact actions from New York’s 1970s minimalist dance movements. Whitman’s work is known on the East Coast, but this marks her West Coast debut. REDCAT Gallery, 631 W. 2nd St., downtown; Thurs., Jan. 11, 7 p.m. & & Sat., 13, 6 p.m., free. http://redcat.org.

Over nine-days, a quintet from Mexico’s Colectivo AM will staff a mobile kiosk at LACE (Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions) and other neighborhood venues for a participatory dance performance that solicits L.A. residents to contribute dance steps and moves to be videotaped. The videos will become part of the group’s Banco Universal de Pasos (Universal Bank of Steps). In addition, excerpts can be viewed at LACE’s storefront and, for the finale, as part of a large, al fresco participatory dance and music event, La Pista de Baille (The Dance Floor) on Saturday, Jan. 20.The main kiosk is at LACE, 6522 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood; Thurs.-Fri., Jan. 11-19, 6-10 p.m., free. Outdoor finale at Hollywood Blvd. & N. Hudson Ave., Hollywood; Sat., Jan. 20 at 6 p.m., free. 323-957-1777. http://welcometoLACE.org.

Throughout the festival, Rio de Janeiro art collective OPAVIVARÁ! will activate locations in downtown and East L.A. with OPAVIVARÁ!: TRANSNÔMADES, interactive events exploring issues about the use of urban space. The website info was incomplete at press time referencing only “various venues”, but no address or link. Somewhere in L.A.; Thurs.-Sun., Jan 11-21, noon, free. http://redcat.org.

Mexico-City performance art diva Astrid Hadad brings her signature wearable art and a live band for a provocative cabaret-style production. The Mayan Theater, 1038 S. Hill St., downtown; Thurs., Jan. 11, 9 p.m., $15, $12 students. http://redcat.org.

Astrid Hadad. Photo courtesy of the artist.

Over two days, Live Artists Live’s Simultaneity brings performances by Nao Bustamante, Carlos Martiel, Mickey Negrón, Rafa Esparza, Xandra Ibarra, Marcus Kuiland-Nazario and Dorian Wood, along with dialogues and a key note address, all exploring binational and multicultural lives. USC Graduate Fine Arts Building (IFT), 3001 S. Flower St., downtown; Fri., Jan. 12, 6 p.m., free; Sat., Jan. 13, 10 a.m., free. http://visionsandvoices.usc.edu.

Performers Jonathan Gonzalez and Tiran Willemse join Dominican-born/Berlin-based choreographer Ligia Lewis in minor matter, with the dancers entangled with the black box stage, each other, and with light and shadow. Redcat, 631 W. 2nd St., downtown; Fri.-Sat., Jan. 12-13, 8 p.m., Sun., Jan., 14, 6 p.m., $15, $12 students. http://redcat.org.

Pacific Standard Time: Live Art LA/LA’s Ligia Lewis Photo by Martha Glenn

Described as a performance and “social practice”, five L.A. artists who self-identify as Latinx performers/artists, separately respond to a related exhibit of Laura Aguilar’s photography. The quintet also collaborate on a final performance ritual. Organized by Edgar Fabián Frías, he joins with Irina Contreras, Cesia Dominguez, Cindy Vallejo, and Freddy Villalobos. Vincent Price Art Museum, 1301 Avenida Cesar Chavez, Monterey Park; Sat., Jan. 13, noon to 4 p.m., free. http://vincentpriceartmuseum.org.

L.A. Butoh artist Oguri joins a Mexican vocalist and 40 member brass band on floating stage on Echo Park Lake in FIESTA PERPETUA! Echo Park Lake, 751 Echo Park Ave., Echo Park; Sat., Jan. 13, 1-5 p.m., free. http://redcat.org.

Occurring over two Sundays, this project by artist Raul Baltazar dubbed Mi Sereno invites the public to join in a participatory ritual procession, folk dances, picnic, music and dialogue. Ascot Hills Park, 4371 Multnomah Street, East L.A.; Sun., Jan., 14 & 21, 11 a.m.-2 p.m., free. http://redcat.org.

Portraying a physically abused fashion model as metaphor for the conflicting positive and violent realities in her country, Mexican performance artist Lorena Wolffer reprises If She is Mexico, Who Beat Her Up?, originally performed during 1997 and 1998. This iteration includes a new interactive lecture in the event. Armory Center for the Arts, 145 N. Raymond Ave, Pasadena; Sun., Jan. 14, 3 p.m., free. http://armoryarts.org.

Lorena Wolffer. Courtesy of the artist.

Peruvian American artist Mariel Carranza organized local and international guests for Encounters #43 and #44. The first is indoors and the second is outdoors at as yet secret location. Announced participants include John Burtle, Mariel Carranza, Rochelle Fabb, Douglas Green, Rebeca Hernandez, Benjamin Jarrett (USA/Hungary), Carol McDowell, Fausto Mendez Luna (Mexico), Lala Nomada (Mexico/Austria), Paul Outlaw, Graciela Ovejero Postigo (Argentina), Crystal Sepúlveda (Puerto Rico/USA), Cecilia Stelini (Brazil), Rossen Ventislavov, and Allison Wyper. Audiences are invited to come and go as they wish, and a meal will be shared at the end of the first performance. Encounter #43, Human Resources LA, 410 Cottage Home St., downtown; Sun., Jan. 14, 4-7 p.m., free; #44 Secret location; Sat., Jan. 20, 3-6 p.m., free with non-monetary contribution to the post performance meal. To RSVP for either encounter, contact http://rhizomaticarts.com.

A mechanical bull, the Roman Coliseum and dildos are employed by Katia Tirado in Performance Paradise backed by a sound track with testimonies of people and organizations seeking missing persons in Mexico. Armory Center for the Arts, 145 N. Raymond Ave., Pasadena; Sun., Jan. 14, 6 p.m. free. http://armoryarts.org.

Shades of Pina Bausch as the Mexican performance collective Teatro Línea de Sombra employs tons of soil, giant construction vehicles and giant projections in the installation/performance Durango 66 to draw connections between Mexico’s student protest movement in the 1960s and recent massacres attributed to crime syndicates and government collusion. REDCAT, 631 W. 2nd St., downtown; Tues.-Thurs., Jan. 16-18, 8:30 p.m., $15, $12 students. http://redcat.org.

In a three-part performance, Rafa Esparza’s cumbre: look as far as you can see in every direction—north and south, east and west considers bridges and bodies of waters as sites of connection and healing, as well as spaces of division and risk. He draws on familial histories of immigration into the United States and downtown Los Angeles’ complex history. Esparza collaborates with Sebastian Hernandez in the final segment of the performance. Geffen Contemporary at MOCA, 152 N. Central Ave., downtown; Sun., Jan. 21, 3 p.m., free. http://moca.org.

 

Ann Haskins‘ blog appears at CulturalWeekly.com