A flamenco finale in Silverlake; ten experimental dances downtown; a festival sequel in Santa Monica; downtown dancing turns 20, more SoCal dance this week, plus a peek at next week.

Live This Week

Forever-ing, for now

Over three decades, Deborah Culver Lawlor was lauded for incubating Tony-award winning theater as the Fountain Theatre’s co-artistic director with Stephen Sachs. During those 30 years, Lawlor also indulged in a not-so-secret passion, mostly once a month, when the 80-seat theater hosted Forever Flamenco. Lawlor curated the series behind the scenes while artistic direction of each show moved among a roster of LA’s flamenco notables who brought in local and visiting flamenco-istas for an evening of live dance and music. With Lawlor’s death last year and Sach’s announced retirement, the fate of the flamenco series was bleak until Forever Flamenco returned with four special August shows in honor of Lawlor and her legacy. This week, dancer/artistic director Yaelisa takes the helm for the final August show, Caminos Flamencos with dancers Vanessa Albalos and Alexandra Rozo, guitarist Jason Mcguire, and singer Felix de Lola. The series’ future after this show remains up in the air, but for this moment, Forever Flamenco is for now. The Fountain Theatre, 5060 Fountain Ave., Silverlake; Sat., Aug. 24, 8 pm, $40-$50, $35 seniors, $25 students. https://www.fountaintheatre.com/

Forever Flamenco - August 3, 2024 - Photo by James Bennett.

Forever Flamenco – August 3, 2024 – Photo by James Bennett.

 
Doing some more

Four performances offering one encore and otherwise different works each weekend are the hallmark of CHAOS! fest Vol II. Hosted by Psychopomp Dance, each evening includes the company’s newest, Der Golem from artistic director Shenandoah Harris. This weekend also includes Stephanie Mizrahi’s VULGAR, Catilin Vanderveen’s SAFE, Mara Hancock and Harry Peterson’s Unable to Take You Off, Kat Lin’s light of our lives. Next weekend, the host company is joined by Stevie Lamblin’s Lair’s Mane, Lydia Mcdonald’s Artifice , Elsie Nielson’s Yutori, and a collaborative project titled The Wasteland. Highways Performance Space, 1651 18th St., Santa Monica; Fri.-Sat., Aug. 23-24, & 30-31, 8 pm, $35. https://www.highwaysperformance.org/

Pyschopomp. Photo courtesy of the artists

Pyschopomp. Photo courtesy of the artists

 
Having fun-nier yet?

Choreographer/instigator Rosanna Gamson and her ensemble RGWW (Rosanna Gamson WorldWide) assembled an eclectic band of artists for DIY DECAMERONOver a ten hour window, the participating dancers, singers, actors, musicians, and visual artists were challenged to create works that were “louder, faster and funnier.” The resulting ten short works from Jules Mara, Alicia Pak, Gabriel Salazar, Jul Wigs, William L Miller Jr., Chorang Yang, Liessa Son, Mandolin Burns, Kyreeana Alexander, and Alve Fu take the stage. Pieter Performance Space, 2701 N. Broadway, downtown; Sat., Aug. 24, 8 pm, $5-$50. https://www.rgww.org/

DIY DECAMERON’s Mandolin Noelani Burns. Photo courtesy of the artist

DIY DECAMERON’s Mandolin Noelani Burns. Photo courtesy of the artist

 
Downtown dancing

Come summer, the al fresco series Dance DTLA provides an ongoing Friday night party on the Music Center Plaza. This summer’s finale kicks the celebratory atmosphere up several notches as the usually free Friday event shifts to a ticketed party Saturday to mark two decades. The three hours will include instruction from the variety of dance genres featured over the two decades with the music from a line up of DJs. The fun and dancing funds future dance programming like the DanceDTLA evenings next summer. Music Center, Jerry Moss Plaza, 135 N. Grand Ave., downtown; Fri., Aug. 23, 7 pm, $60. Music Center | Dance DTLA

Dance DTLA Bollywood night - photo courtesy of the artists

Dance DTLA Bollywood night – photo courtesy of the artists


A Peek at Next Week (August 30 to September 5)

Jobel Medina – IMMDED IMMGEWD at LA Dance Project, 2245 E Washington Blvd., Arts District; Thurs.-Sat., Sept. 5-7, 8 pm, $26-$35. https://ci.ovationtix.com/35353/production/1211085

Mash-Up Contemporary Dance Company  – She Wolf at Mash Up Studios, 2828 Gilroy St., Frogtown; Sat., Aug. 31, 7 pm, $15. Calendar — MashUp Contemporary Dance Compan

Bodies in Play – Dance is Pleasure at LA LGBT Center, Lily Tomlin/Jane Wagner Cultural Arts Center, 1125 N. McFadden St., Hollywood; Fri., Aug. 30 & Fri., Sept. 28, $25-58. https://ci.ovationtix.com/36684/production/1205350

Featured photo Rosanna Gamson/WorldWide Photo by Jose Diaz

Ann Haskins Blog appears at CulturalDaily.com