At quick glance, the dance lineup for this year’s Off Center Festival at Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa might appear underwhelming. There’s the Barcelona-based performance group Agrupación Señor Serrano, which advertises “minimalist choreography” among its many attributes. And then, as the concluding act of the festival, there are … [Read more...]
A Great Guy Created Sia’s Creepy Videos
Meet Ryan Heffington, the beloved, unapologetic L.A. dance studio owner behind Sia's eerie "Chandelier" and "Elastic Heart" videos (and subsequent live performances). I profiled him for KCET's Artbound. … [Read more...]
Best Dance of 2014
Norwood Pennewell, of the Garth Fagan Company, danced exquisitely in "Prelude," performed at the Nate Holden Center -- it's my no. 1 pick. Now in his 50s, Pennewell's continuing power and delicacy raises the hairs on the back of my neck. It's thrilling to watch. How glorious to see Pina Bausch's "Kontahkof," captured in both radiant … [Read more...]
Perform or Die
Concert dance is ridiculously evaporative. It enters through your eyes, yet you can't study it. Repeated music phrases might linger, but live movement performance can barely be held or stored. It’s why people ask to see “Revelations” or “Serenade” again and again, year after year. And what of the dancemakers -- are they struggling … [Read more...]
Ira Glass’ Dance Theater Follies To Tour Through 2015
It feels like it might have been a dare. The group of quirky, brainy folks who produce “This American Life” radio show week after week, challenge its creator/host, the wildly popular Ira Glass, to produce a piece on an impossible to produce subject. “Federal Reserve regulators!” Already done that, he says. “Nine shows about poultry!” … [Read more...]
What’s the Answer to Abstract Dance?
Batsheva Dance Company 50th Anniversary Tour “Sadeh21” U.S. Premiere Royce Hall, UCLA Thurs Oct 30, Sat & Sun Nov 1-2 Touring the U.S. for the company’s 50th anniversary year, Batsheva Dance Company performed 3 shows at UCLA last week. The first was an invitation-only event: a rare assemblage of L.A.-area dance artists and … [Read more...]
On Bessies Night, L.A. Cheers for Keen Presenters
On the night of the Bessie Awards, New York City once again feels to eclipse all, sending L.A. into dark orbit. At the end of the night, however, L.A. dance-lovers have to come away with renewed appreciation for the great programmers out here who recognized the evening's genius, prize-winning solo artists from the U.S. and beyond, way before they … [Read more...]
Off-the-Radar Akram Khan Concert Next Week
Red alert, to anyone anywhere near Northern California on Oct. 24: Akram Khan is presenting his latest piece,“iTMOi” (“In the Mind of Igor”), which sounds amazing, at the UC Davis campus theatre next week. This blog page doesn't usually run preview notices, but this is the ONLY U.S. performance during the London-based company's international tour. … [Read more...]
Garth Fagan’s Ancient, Electric Storms
Back in 1991, when Tony Award-winning choreographer Garth Fagan first teamed with jazz composer Wynton Marsalis, Fagan gave Marsalis a poem he had written in the voice of a West African storyteller to use as a centering theme for the music of “Griot New York.” The juncture of these two revered artists made for soaring, warmth-spreading … [Read more...]
Top 10 Must-See Dance Concerts in L.A. this Year
If you count carefully, you'll actually find 16 concerts listed here. I expanded the roundup I wrote for the OC Register -- which highlights the great companies that Orange County's deep-pocketed Segerstrom Center and Irvine Barclay can bring in -- to add a few more affordable offerings in Los Angeles and beyond. It's a good year for dance: read … [Read more...]