Artists and Activists for Health Equality was conceived by gay activist Phill Wilson and dancer Desmond Richardson in 2021 and inspired by the Fire Island Dance Festival. The third annual Los Angeles Dance for Life Festival performances will take place on July 20, 2024 at the Nate Holden Performing Arts Center. This year’s festival will include a variety of events: master classes with leading choreographers, a VIP pre-festival on Friday, July 19th at the Journal Fine Art Gallery in West Hollywood, 6:30 to 8:30 pm, two different performances and a post-performance talk back with leading choreographers and dancers, and an after party on July 20th. There are twenty-one choreographers taking part in the Dance for Life festival with all proceeds going to support organizations fighting for health equity in marginalized communities. The 2024 recipients are the Amaad Institute, St. John’s Community Health, Better Brothers LA scholarship fund, and amfAR, the foundation for AIDS Research. Tickets range from $50 to $1000. Tickets are available at www.DanceforLife.info
The primary reason that the Dance for Life Festival is taking place is to provide financial support to the recipients: St. John’s operates 20 clinic sites throughout South LA as well as 26 COVID vaccination sites which have vaccinated over 400,000 primarily African American and Latinx residents of South, and East Los Angeles. The Amaad Institute was one of the first organizations to offer Covid-19 testing and Monkey Pox vaccines in South Los Angeles. amfAR created a new emergency grants program to support Covid-19 research. Better Brothers Los Angeles has been providing critical support to LGBTQ+ students of color by providing scholarships, mentorship, and other levels of support.
Complexions Contemporary Ballet – Joe and April Black – Photo courtesy of Dance For Life Festival.
The team of four who organized the festival include Wilson, Richardson, actress and producer Vanessa Estelle Wilsons, and dancer/choreographer Ido Tadmor. Wanting to do our part in helping to raise awareness of this extraordinary fundraising event, I interviewed Tadmor who among other things is the curator and co-director of Dance for Life.
Dwight Rhoden, Co-founder & Co-artistic director of Complexions Contemporary Ballet – Photo courtesy of Dance For Life Festival.
It would take another long article to describe all the incredible things that Phill Wilson has done as a gay activist, so I will highlight just a few. Wilson founded the Black AIDS Institute in 1999, and served as its CEO, and is a prominent African American HIV/AIDS activist which led to his being inducted into the Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame in 1999. He has been a prominent advocate for persons with AIDS, particularly those of color. Wilson helped found and co-chaired the National Black Lesbian and Gay Leadership forum and he is the director of the Black AIDS Institute. Wilson has served as Director of Public Policy for AIDS Project Los Angeles and is the former AIDS Coordinator of Public Policy for the City of Los Angeles. You can read more about this amazing man HERE.
The major reason Tadmor accepted the job of co-directing the festival is that besides understanding the importance of supporting the cause of the fundraising, he is a great believer in helping to build a stronger Los Angeles dance community. “There’s so much beauty in LA as far as the dance world is concerned,” he said. “But the city is so big.” The fact that Los Angeles is so large and spread out has been a problem that has plagued our dance community for decades. “I feel that we need to do everything possible to bring everyone together into one community that is going to be supported and, I’m going to take a risk and say even more of a loving community.”
Laurie Sefton Creates – Genevieve Zander in “More Please” choreography by Laurie Sefton – Photo by Denise Leitner.
Putting so many people together for several days of master classes, dress rehearsals, and after parties following two performances, Tadmor believes will help “Tying [together] this dream that I have of having a tighter community.”
The goal was to present two totally different programs, and because Tadmor was able to invite several companies that have never performed in the festival, he was able to accomplish that objective; one performance at 2pm and another at 7pm. There are a total of 21 choreographers with a total of 22 works being performed. Each and every one of them, including the dancers and producers, are donating their time, travel, housing, and performance efforts to the Dance for Life cause. No one is getting paid. This guarantees that the majority of the funds raised will go directly to the beneficiaries.
Klein Collective – Photo courtesy of Dance For Life Festival.
There is, however, a 10% discount code that companies can access that gives them the 10% of each ticket sold. In an email exchange with Phillip Wilson about this, he wrote, “Artists play an important role in helping us see and understand our role in addressing the challenges facing our communities and world. Dance for life seeks to raise awareness about health disparities by supporting non-profit health organizations and the dance companies that use their talents to shine a spotlight on these issues. The promo code allows us to support the dance companies and the non-profit organizations.”
Stanislav Tsoy – Photo courtesy of Dance For Life Festival.
Only three companies will be performing in both shows because they are traveling to LA from New York. Those are A.I.M by Kyle Abraham, Complexions Contemporary Ballet, and Peridance Contemporary Dance Company. The companies performing on one show only include: Ashley Lindsey x Grady Bowman, Backhausdance, BalletRed, Blue13 Dance Company, Castagna and Dancers, Elements by Victor Adeniran, Hollywood Ballet, Ian Schwaner, The Ido Tadmor Project, Klein Collective, Kybele Dance Theater, Laurie Sefton Creates, Luminario Ballet, Motus The Company, Pacifico Dance Company, Risqué, Sara Silkin, and Stas Tsoy.
Some of the companies listed have performed in the festival before. “The idea behind the festival is about creating a festival that is a multi-genre type of festival that brings all sorts of genres of dance in the festival, so that it’s not only one direction,” Tadmor said. The programs include contemporary dance, ballet, dance theater, American dance, cabaret, a movie, and a short film. “I was looking for companies that I believe in, that I felt could bring something unique and really special to these evenings,” he said. “Some of the companies have already presented last year and have given their time and we wanted to also respect them.”
Victor Adeniran – Photo courtesy of Dance For Life Festival.
He went on to describe that it was a combination of a few different elements that came together in deciding which companies to invite to participate in the festival. “It was all under the understanding that every company that comes into this festival is on the highest level with the best dancers,” Tadmor added. “And for me, it was interesting to meet some new people that I’ve never met before. But also with the people that I do know for quite a long time now, to really not only bring them into the festival, but to be involved in the works that are going to be presented in this festival.”
I mentioned to Tadmor that there were a few dance artists on the program of which I have not heard. He said that some of the younger choreographers have not had an opportunity to show their work.
Alejandro Perez, Clinton Kyles, Jessica Dunn, Junji Dezaki, Laura Ksobiech, Olivia Bollfrass, Seda Aybay/ Kybele Dance Theater – Photo by Lois Greenfield.
“With the progress that this festival is making, the idea is to have next year a festival of three or four days with completely different shows so that we can grow with it,” he explained. “So my idea was to also bring younger very, very talented choreographers to open a window for them to be seen and for the dancers to be seen. And I’m happy to say that we found really extraordinary choreographers.”
Tadmor is already thinking ahead to next year and one idea that he has is to have a full evening performance totally dedicated to young choreographers, “opening a window” for their work to be seen. That window may be a rare opportunity for some, as anyone working in the dance business knows.
Luminario Ballet – “What is LedZAerial” – Photo by Paul Antico.
I am unfamiliar with the group called Klein Collective. “It’s a contemporary commercial group directed by Erica Klein,” Tadmor said. It’s a very, very strong physical group. It has passion and fire that I haven’t seen in a very long time.” He went on to say that this group brings something totally new and different from the commercial videos that we have seen on TV or in the movies. Klein is a very strong dancer and surrounds herself with dancers of equal talent.
Diana Matos – Motus the Company – Photo courtesy of Dance For Life Festival.
Regarding Motus The Company, Tadmor said that they are one of the hip hop companies “that have basically thrown me back with their energy, musicality, sharpness and fire.” Risqué, a cabaret style company, is also new to me.
Desiree – Photo courtesy of Dance For Life Festival.
In addition, there is the world premiere of a short film by Ashley and Grady. Ashley Lindsey and Grady Bowman combine their talents to create work across a myriad of mediums including Broadway, off-Broadway, regional theatre, TV/film, opera, circus, and dance companies. French-American-Tunisian multi-disciplinary dance artist and filmmaker Sarah Silken will present a dance theater film with a live performance on stage. The newly formed company Hollywood Ballet led by artistic director Petra Conti will make their debut at the festival. LA based companies The Ido Tadmor Project, Laurie Sefton Creates, Blue13 Dance Company, Kybele Dance Theater and Luminario Ballet are also on the program.
Ashley Lindsey and Grady Bowman – Photo courtesy of Dance For Life Festival.
Tadmor has been in LA for eight years now and he talked about the wonderful dancers that he has seen on stage and in his classes that have so few opportunities to perform on larger stages is truly sad. “So, every stage that we can give, every window that we can open, every door that we can open for people to perform to show their talent,” he stressed. “For the audience also to come together, for the dance audience to come together is important.”
There will be many celebrities attending the festival mixing the dance world with Hollywood, which, as Tadmor said, is very important since we live in Los Angeles, the film capital of the world. Perhaps the festival is a place where some of the money from the film industry will flow down to the LA dance artists who are struggling with high rent, food and gas prices.
Hollywood Ballet – “The Slow Momentum of Memory” – Dancer Petra Conti – Photo by Sarah Madison
What is also very important to state again is that everyone from the dancers to the choreographers to the technicians to the studio owners to the artistic team to the people that are dealing with the ads are donating their time and space to volunteer for this special event. “And what I’ve mentioned before, the building of a beautiful, loving and tight dance community.
Master Classes
Wednesday, July 17th, 10:00am to 12:00pm, with Internationally renowned Dance and Choreographer, and Dance for Live Co-Artistic Director, Ido Tadmor.
Sunday, July 21st, 10:00am to 12:00pm, former Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater principal dancer, award winning choreographer, and Complexions Contemporary Ballet Co-founder/co-artistic director, Dwight Rhoden.
Both classes take place at MeMoDa Studio, 5774 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90019.
Performance Program
2 PM
A.I.M by Kyle Abraham
Ashley x Grady
Castagna and Dancers
Complexions Contemporary Ballet
Elements by Victor Adeniran
Ian Schwander
The Ido Tadmor Project
Klein Collective
Kybele Dance Theater
Pacifico Dance Company
Risqué
7 PM
A.I.M by Kyle Abraham
Backhausdance
BalletRed
Blue13 Dance Company
Complexions Contemporary Ballet
Hollywood Ballet
Motus The Company
Peridance Contemporary Dance Company
Sara Silkin
Stas Tsoy
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WHAT: Dance For Life Festival
WHEN: July 20, 2024 at 2:00 PM and 7:00 PM
WHERE: Nate Holden Performance Center, 4718 W Washington Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90016
TICKETS: To purchase tickets, please click HERE.
General Admission Ticket: $50.00
Preferred Ticket: $100.00
Premium Orchestra Ticket: $150.00
VIP Ticket: $500.00
Sponsor Ticket: $1,000.00
For one low price of $250: Get access to the entire 2024 Dance for Life festival: The Master classes, closed rehearsals, opening night reception, both performance, closing night hosted after party, AND special Dance for Life swag
- Additional festival activities: master classes with leading choreographeron July 17th and 21st, a VIP pre-festival on Friday, July 19th at the Journal Fine Art Gallery in West Hollywood, and a VIP Post performance reception.
- For more information, to purchase tickets or to donate, please click HERE.
Written by Jeff Slayton for LA Dance Chronicle.
Featured image: Blue13 Dance Company – Janae Holster and Chelsea Correa in “1947” – Photo courtesy of the company.
