Formerly known as the SP TriArt Festival founded by Joe Caccavalla, the San Pedro ♥ Festival of the Arts 2021 has, as all events, been affected by the pandemic. Louise Reichlin, long time Festival Executive Producer & Dance Director keep the festival alive in 2020 by presenting only dance films virtually. This year the San Pedro ♥ Festival of the Arts 2021 will include three FREE family events featuring six dance films (which began on September 1, 2021) and twenty-seven dance companies performing at the Alvas Showroom (September 12, 2021) and on the lawn of the Anderson Memorial Senior Center (September 19, 2021).
Pranamya Suri – Photo courtesy of the artist.
The many of dance companies and artists that are being featured in the San Pedro ♥ Festival of the Arts 2021 are based in Southern California, but a few are based in New York City, Portland, Seattle, Boston, Santa Barbara, and Las Vegas. The full list of companies participating include: BodyVox, Kraken Still & Film, Louise Reichlin & Dancers/ Los Angeles Choreographers & Dancers, Abilities Dance Boston, Pranamya Suri, Tonia Shimin, Degas Dance Studio, Aoi Aihara, LL Moves, CalliOpus Contemporary Dance, Leah Hamel, VIDA-Vannia Ibarguen Dance Arts, DRDT/Dorcas Román Dance Theatre, Jose Costas Contempo Ballet, ARTSWORKS Studio Company, Jyoti Kala Mandir, Dagdag Dance, Ke’Aira Roberson, Raiz Brazil Dance Company, Paso de Oro Dance Company, Freaks With Lines, Pasion Flamenca Los Angeles, Katrina Ji, Selcouth, Megill & Company, Re:borN Dance Interactive, Kairos Dance Company, Showtime- Katusha, and Contemporary West Dance Theatre.
Showtime-Katusha – Photo courtesy of the artist.
There are several premieres on the program: “Reboot! Reboot!” by Louise Reichlin and 2 ballet premieres by Freaks With Lines at Anderson Park, and a new collaboration by VIDA-Vannia Ibarguen Dance Arts with DRDT/Dorcas Román Dance Theatre at Alvas Showroom.
Louise Reichlin describes the events this way:
“In the film section, three of the dances are especially unusual. In Kraken Still & Film’s Distant World the imagery is striking, and although from Phoenix AZ they wanted to integrate the work with live dance for a mixed media piece, but with the Pandemic looming over our heads, we decided to just feature the film. The same is true of BodyVox from Portland, who want to show Garden of Synaesthesia, live as it is created by a live dance that uses an onstage camera to project a mirrored image on the cyc behind the dancers. Again, we felt an extended tech and the limited resources at Alva’s Showroom made it better for the film part. Also in that program is an unusual film of Pranamya Suri’s Naiharwa, a reflection of her constant struggle of balance between medicine and dance. She is a practicing medical doctor as well as a prize winning East Indian classical dancer. A short excerpt from Abilities Dance Boston marries a spoken narrative in detail describing three dancers as their mission has to do with sharing dance with those of intersectional disability rights. Louise Reichlin’s film of a reimagined Urban and Tribal Dances is also included here with its political overtones. One part is performed live for the first time on the Alvas’s program on the 12th.
“In the Alva’s program, LLMoves from NYC is making their first appearance here, and premiers include VIDA – Vannia Ibarguen Dance Arts & Dorcas Román Dance Theatre – DRDT collaborating on a work Clandestine based on the original idea of how tango originated historically as a social dance in marginalized areas as an underground, illicit, and clandestine dance form. They explore the idea of how it is to live in a society in which you could be marginalized because of cultural heritage, sexual orientation, social status, or the color of your skin. My own reimagined Remembrance also has its live premier, with the added character of the Nurse who becomes a victim of Covid-19. Leah Hamel’s experimental work for dancer and cello came about when she asked “Why can’t I play cello and dance at the same time?”
“At Anderson Park, Contemporary West Dance Theatre from Las Vegas brings both its professional and studio company with a premier, and Megill & Company shows two new works. New works will also be shown by Selcouth-Marianna Varviani and by Dag Dag Dance. Freaks With Lines premiers two new works and Louise Reichlin & Dancers premiers Reboot! Reboot! about how we are constantly rebooting everything we have known with the ever-present pandemic. Or perhaps it just asks how we have always dealt with uncertainty and the necessity for adaptation while maintaining who we are.”
Jeevika Bhat Jyoti Kala Mandir – Photo courtesy of the artist.
Among the list of exciting and beautiful dance films are “Another World” by Kraken Still & Film, and “Garden of Synaesthesia” by BodyVox.
Pasion Flamenca Los Angeles – Photo courtesy of the artists.
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Where & When:
#1: 6 films in our Film Division, opening 9/1/21 at vimeo.com/showcase/2021sanpedroartsfest
#2: Alvas Showroom, 1413 W 8th St, San Pedro, CA 90732 – 9/12/21 at 4:00 pm, vaccination cards and masks required.
#3 Anderson Memorial Senior Center – on the lawn, 828 S Mesa St in San Pedro, 90731 – 9/19/21 at 1-4:15 pm, vax or negative covid-19 test and masks required.
Admission: FREE
About: Dance performances with different program each day (29 companies)
BodyVox – Photo by Michael Shay Polara Studio
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For more information: Please visit the WEBSITE
To learn more about the producing company LA Choreographers And Dancers, click HERE.
Aoi Aihara – Photo courtesy of the artist.
This re-introduction of the San Pedro ♥ Festival of the Arts using film and multiple performances is made possible by a federal stimulus grant supplement. The San Pedro Festival of the Arts is made possible in part by a grant from the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs.
Written and compiled by Jeff Slayton from San Pedro ♥ Festival of the Arts 2021 press release.
Featured image: Louise Reichlin Dancers in “Reboot Reboot” – Photo courtesy of the artist.
