The last holiday of 2022 in Crenshaw/Baldwin Hills, first waltz of 2023 downtown, and Costa Mesa, Japanese dance in Little Tokyo, Brazilian dance at Disneyland, and more SoCal dance to start off a new year.
Live This Week
One more celebration
Christmas, Chanukah and all those Nutcracker ballets have ended. Time for Lula Washington Dance Theatre to share Kwanzaa 2022! L.A’s African American community was where Kwanzaa began and its attention to values of children, family, and community are cause for all to celebrate. These three days of performance find the company’s high energy dancers joined by alumni, students, and guest artists. The opening night fundraiser, an Umoja Circle Celebration, offers dance from LWDT, traditional African drumming, and Marcus L. Miller’s Freedom Jazz Movement Band. Each show includes Washington’s newest work, Master Plan, paying tribute to the late Pharoah Sanders, plus works from the LWDT repertoire. Lula Washington Dance Studio Theatre, 3773 Crenshaw Blvd., Baldwin Hills/Crenshaw; Wed.-Fri., Dec. 28-30, 7:30 pm, $15-$75, (Wed. fundraiser $500). Performance details at https://www.lulawashington.org/performances-tickets/events/. Tickets at https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/5635168
Lula Washington Dance Theatre. Photo courtesy of the artists
Dancing in the street
The Rockettes’ stamina in their multi-performance show days has met its match in the Afro-Brazilian dancers of Viver Brasil. For the 9th year, the LA-based troupe is performing as part of Disneyland’s ¡Viva Navidad! street fiesta. That means six performances a day until early next year. If Disneyland is in the holiday plans, find time to enjoy the always exuberant dancing and cheer on this home team. Disneyland, California Adventure Park, 1313 Disneyland Park Dr., Anaheim; daily to Jan. 8, 12:05, 1:15, 2:15, 3:50, 4:45, & 5:45 pm, free with park admission. Info on Viver Brasil at https://www.viverbrasil.com/. Park ticket info at https://disneyland.disney.go.com/destinations/disneyland/
Viver Brasil courtesy of the company
Empire Envy
Vienna’s famous Neujahrskonzert set a European standard for New Year’s concerts that continues today. Dancers from the Vienna Opera Ballet perform in one of Vienna’s elaborate palaces evoking the era when the Hapsburgs ruled the Austro-Hungarian empire. The dance along with music and opera is performed for a live (and presumably shivering) audience and also broadcast nationally, easily vying with New York City’s crystal-ball countdown. Recreating the Neujahrskonzert, Salute to Vienna tours with waltzes, polka, ballet, singing and lots of music provided by the Strauss Symphony of America. Like Vienna pastry it is definitely mit schlag, but a fun way to stretch the New Year’s celebrating with a post concert glass of champagne before committing to those resolutions. At Segerstrom Concert Hall, 600 Town Center Dr., Costa Mesa; Sun., Dec. 1, 3 pm, $49-$129 https://seats.scfta.org/single?id=26440 Also at Music Center, Disney Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., downtown; Mon., Dec. 2, 2:30pm, $45-$150. https://www.musiccenter.org/tickets-free-events/lease-events/salute-to-vienna/ Info at https://www.salutetovienna.com/concerts/los-angeles
Salute to Vienna. Photo courtesy of the artists
Let’s hear it for the first rabbit
Celebrated Japanese American kabuki dancer Fujima Kansuma, dancers from the Colburn School, flower arranging (Ikebana), the Kimono Organization Nadeshiko-kai, music from violist Ken Aiso and pianist Valeria Morgovskaya, are all part of the 40th Annual Kotohajime (事始め) new year’s celebration. This year’s theme is Hatsu-U or First Rabbit, an animal known for fortune, luck and cleverness. The event’s centerpiece involves an archery ritual with Los Angeles Kyudo Kai that has become a popular draw. This year, the event is both in person and online. https://jaccc.org/events/40th-annual-kotohajime/
Kotohajime. Photo by Courtney Mariko
SoCal Dance Notes
Live, from New York
Uncannily anticipating the holiday snow cyclone and flight cancellations, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater offers free streaming of its opening night gala through Mon., Jan. 2. The performance includes excerpts from several works and its signature Revelations. The freebie is also an intro to the company’s upcoming season which offers a subscription to future streams. https://www.alvinailey.org/performances-tickets/ailey-all-access.
Featured Image: Salute to Vienna. Photo courtesy of the artists.
Ann Haskins Blog appears at CulturalDaily.com
