Like night one of the Los Angeles Dance Festival 2025, night two took place on Saturday, April 26 at Brockus Project Studios and included several premiere works. The themes of these new dances demonstrated how these artists have been paying attention to and are now commenting on what is happening in the United States and elsewhere. They are noticing that people’s rights are being taken away and that immigrants and foreign students are being deported or “disappeared” without due process.
LADF – Gretchen Ackerman in “feminine, greed, rage, whatever” by Mallory Fabian – Photo by Don Q. Hannah.
The incredibly talented dance artist, Malory Fabian’s “feminine, greed, rage, whatever” opened the evening, performed by the amazing dancer Gretchen Ackerman. Through her prompts to the light and sound board operator, we knew that this was a very strong and direct speaking woman. The sound score by Fabian ran the same range of emotions that her choreography displayed, giving vision to the adjectives in her title.
Fabian has her own style of movement and Ackerman took that and powerfully integrated it into her physical body. Much of the movement was off center and Ackerman performed it with ease without softening Fabian’s punch. I do not know for certain, but the structure of the work appeared to suggest that when the music shifted, so did the choreography. It looked and sounded like the sound person was randomly selecting what would play next and Ackerman had to change to the movement choreographed to it. At one point Ackerman stopped moving and shouted “Deb, I don’t like that section. Change it!”
These two dance artists were not afraid of being direct, forceful or saying ‘Here. Look at this and learn!”
Sound Score for “feminine, greed, rage, whatever” was by Mallory Fabian.
LADF – Norianna Galindo-Ramirez, Madeline Gruenler, Amina Yufanyi, Alondra Zitlaly Perez in “I Prayed” by Maura Townsend – Photo by Don Q. Hannah.
Making its premiere, “I Prayed” by Maura Townsen was a lovely dedication to the victims of the recent Los Angeles fires. She called it ‘a healing prayer for the country.’ What I enjoyed about this work was that it came across as sincere. There was a sense of spirituality but the choreography was direct and very well constructed.
The central figure (performed extremely well by Alondra Zitlaly Perez) represented the spiritual element while the other three women, Norianna Galindo-Ramirez, Madeline Gruenler and Amina Yufanyi symbolized the world’s turmoil. The work needs rehearsal, but “I Prayed” is worth keeping.
The music for “I Prayed” ‘I Prayed For You’ by MAJOR and speeches by Michelle Obama and Nelson Mandela.
LADF – Rebecca Lee, Bryan Burns, Arturo Gonzales, Denali Huff, Jolyn Lambey, Raven Smith in “Black Ice” by Deborah Brockus – Photo by Don Q. Hannah.
“Black Ice” by Deborah Brockus premiered on the opening night’s program and readers can read my full review HERE. I truly enjoy seeing a dance more than once and I am so glad that I had this chance. In just one night the dancers, Bryan Burns, Arturo Gonzales, Denali Huff, Rebecca Lee, Jolyn Lambey and Raven Smith had already begun to better exhibit their character and to take control of the space. Also clearer on second viewing were the sophisticated patterns within the dance. I encourage Brockus to retain this work in her repertoire as it is one of her best.
LADF – Charlotte Katherine in her solo “Drift” – Photo by Don Q. Hannah.
Charlotte Katherine Smith is a well known choreographer and dancer in LA. For her work titled “Drift” (premiere) she told the audience to sit back and become immersed in her work and to try to forget what is taking place in the world. Smith is such a well-seasoned performer that it was easy to heed her advice.
Wearing a light gold colored outfit, Smith began slowly, almost meditatively before she expanded her movement into the space and gained speed. Her movement style is very contemporary, fusing together modern dance with lyrical. A few times Smith moved through a fourth position with a Cunningham-like back curve. It was gorgeous. She incorporated the outside whirlwind of events but soothed our feathers down again by returning to her meditational movement.
The music for “Drift” was by Zac Greenberg. Costume was by Charlotte Katherine Smith.
LADF – Madeline Sharp in her solo “Troubled Water” – Photo by Don Q. Hannah.
“Troubled Water,” choreographed and performed by Madeline Sharp, was the third premiere on the program with movement that combined modern dance with subtle street dance moves. Sharp is an excellent mover and has put together some beautiful movement phrases with the solo, but by the end I was not convinced that she fully expressed her vision which she stated before the second half began, that it was about living through troubled times while keeping faith that we will make it out the other side ok. Within the work there were moments when Sharp would begin a phrase only to be interrupted by an unseen element. These worked very well but the thread throughout the work was not consistent. It is a work, however, that showed potential and I’m confident that Sharp is strong enough to realize her vision.
LADF – Kathy Duran, Joshua D. Estrada-Romero, Robert Huerta, Julia Rae Moran, Erik Jaimes in Estrada-Romero’s “WINEdown” – Photo by Don Q. Hannah.
Comedic relief eased some of the tension that had built up over the evening with Joshua D. Estrada-Romero’s excerpt from an unfinished work titled “WINEdown” that will premiere next month at the Curtis Theater in Brea, CA. Described as a Queen’s ball gone wrong, this section of the work introduced five totally different characters, all of which were somewhat off the norm. Dressed in costumes that hinted at the Renaissance era there was prim and proper lady, a brazen one, a very effeminate man, a drunk who carried his wine bottle throughout the piece and an elegant man who subtly showed his distaste for women.
These misfits moved about the space looking for a purpose and not quite finding one. Their personalities clashed at every turn and Estrada-Romero brought great humor to those moments. I hope to see the finished work.
The Musice for “WINEdown” by by Adrian Berenguer. Costumes were by Joshua D. Estrada-Romero.
LADF – Rashaida Hill in her solo “Use Your Imagination” – Photo by Don Q. Hannah.
“Use your imagination” suffered by where it was on the program…last…and by a technical mishap at the very end. Choreographed and performed by Rashaida Hill with music by Jamiroquai, the work had at least three moments where Hill stood facing the back wall for what felt like 30 seconds. It was unclear what this represented or how it affected what came before and after.
Hill, discarding items of clothes and her long black wig, told us that she was willing to accept and be proud of who she was, but just standing facing upstage did not help us imagine what was going on internally.
Unfortunately, LADC was unable to cover the final performance of the festival which included works by Chakravartin Sokhomsan, C Eule Dance, Mia Moraru, Charlotte Katherine & CO, Caitlin Javech TORRENT, Louise Reichlin & Dancers/ Los Angeles Choreographers & Dancers, and Alondra Zitlaly Pérez P[alo]mas.
The Los Angeles Dance Festival also include classes taught by Deborah Brockus, Adam Kerbel, Sean Green, Nancy Evans Doede, and Jolyn Lamby.
For more information about the Los Angeles Dance Festival, please visit their website.
To learn more about Brockus Project Dance, please visit their website.
Written by Jeff Slayton for LA Dance Chronicle.
Featured image: LADF – Gretchen Ackerman in “feminine, greed, rage, whatever” by Mallory Fabian – Photo by Don Q. Hannah.
