Syncopation silliness in a downtown theater; final escapes in Lincoln Heights; around-town dancing in Hollywood and downtown; Japanese dance in Pacoima; contemporary ballet in Santa Monica; mid-century ballet downtown; energized urban dance in Sierra Madre, more SoCal dance performance this week, plus a peek at next week.
Insouciant siblings
Armed with insouciant physical comedy recalling Carol Burnett, sibling interactions reminiscent of the Marx Brothers, and just a dab of puppetry suggesting Mummenschanz, The Seaweed Sisters bring WEED OH NO! creating magical worlds rooted in fun, fantasy, and deep dance backgrounds. In their other lives, they are Jillian Meyers, Megan Lawson, and Dana Wilson, with impressive credentials in the commercial dance world including the film La La Land where Jillian also was assistant choreographer to Mandy Moore. As the Seaweed Sisters, the trio became a YouTube video sensation, and at least annually has inhabited a strikingly different parallel universe to their individual professional film, touring, teaching, and choreographing commitments. Their adventures, chronicled over 12 years in videos and brief performances, come to the stage in this 70-minute live performance. At the Los Angeles Theater Center, 514 S. Spring St., Downtown LA; Sat., June 13, 2 & 8 pm, Sun., June 14, noon & 5 pm, $38.50-$60.50. Seaweed Sisters — WEED OH NO!.
En plein aire
Last June, Paris saw four days of outdoor dance performances that toured the city, an effort led by Benjamin Millepied, French-born choreographer whose Paris Dance Project was behind the event. Now, his LA Dance Project brings an expanded edition to LA. After last week’s opening in Century City and Hancock Park, City of Dance runs for two more weeks, touring a total of eight al fresco sites from downtown to Santa Monica. Set to Philip Glass’ score for Koyaanisqatsi, choreography is provided by Dmitri Chamblas, Jamar Roberts, Pam Tanowitz, Madeline Hollander, and Millepied. LA is used to being an outdoor sound stage for film and tv, why not for dance? At Hollywood Forever, 6000 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood on Wed., June 17, 7 pm, free. Also at Gloria Molina Park at the Music Center, Block 4 (near City Hall), 200 N. Grand Ave., DowntownLA on Thurs., June 18, noon, free. Also at Hollyhock House, Barnsdall Art Park, 4800 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood on Sat., June 20, 11 am, free. Also at LA County Museum of Art, Plaza near Geffen Galleries, 5905 Wilshire Blvd., Mid-City on Sun., June 21, 3 pm, free. LA Dance Project-City of Dance.
Final escape…for now
From flashy appearances in the Emmy and the Grammy awards, and America’s Got Talent, to years of worldwide tours, the jaw-dropping, split second choreography of artistic director Jacques Heim and his LA-based Diavolo/Architecture in Motion has earned popular and informed acclimation. The company is home, reprising Escape that finds the dancers and gymnasts in a visceral exploration of individuals trying to break free. The tv appearances may have spread the word but can’t begin to capture the interplay of the movers and crescendo of powerful movement in a live Diavolo performance. This chance for the live experience of Diavolo should not be missed. At L’Espace Diavolo, 616 Moulton Ave., Lincoln Heights; Fri.-Sat., 8 pm, Sun., 6 pm, thru Sun., June 14, $39. Diavolo-Veterans Project.
Down to the wire
Later in June, The Realm officially premieres Wires & Whispers downtown, but this week the chamber ballet company offers a sneak preview of Chasen Greenwood’s newest, juxtaposing ghosts and an unstable reality with an original score by Taylor Briggs. The program also includes choreographer Bruce McCormick’s Crow Sky created for the company. The preview is at Westside Black Box Theatre, 1709 Stewart St., Santa Monica; Sun., June 14, 4:30 pm, $65, The Realm-sneak preview. The premiere is at Glorya Kaufman International Dance Center at USC, 849 W. 34th St., University Park; Sat., June 20 & 27, 7 pm, Sun., June 21 & 28, 4:30 pm, $65 The Realm-performances.
Ballet bites
Excerpts from various ballets by George Balanchine are assembled by American Contemporary Ballet under the banner Spectacular Balanchine. Listed items on this terpsichorean tasting menu include Union Jack, Western Symphony, Who Cares?, and Stars and Stripes. At American Contemporary Ballet, 333 S. Hope St., CO 150, Downtown LA; Spectacular Balanchine-Thurs.-Sat., 8 pm, thru Sat., June 20, $65-$105. American Contemporary Ballet.
Holding on and fitting in
In Roots of Loving Us, choreographer Holly Johnson and Contra-Tiempo artistic director Ana Maria Alvarez consider populations uprooted by circumstance and the dynamic tension that builds between holding on to one’s own heritage and trying to fit in after physically re-rooting by necessity. The dancers explore that dynamic in two performances. At the Sierra Madre Playhouse, 87 W. Sierra Madre Blvd., Sierra Madre; Sat. June 13, 2 & 8 pm, $35. Contra-Tiempo.
Last dance in mythical Scotland
Extended time in Scotland strongly influenced Alexandra Silber’s new adaptation of Lerner & Loewe’s Brigadoon. The playwright, joined by director/choreographer Katie Spelman, draws on Scottish dance to strengthen authentic Scottish presence in this musical about an American duo who stumble upon a magical Scottish village that appears only once a century. Pasadena Playhouse, 39 S. El Molina Ave., Pasadena, Tues.-Wed. & Fri., 8 pm, Thurs., 7 pm, Sat., 2 & 8 pm, Sun., 2 pm, thru Sun., June 14, 7:30 pm, $63-$152. Pasadena Playhouse-Brigadoon.
At the festival
The interplay among dancers and musicians is explored by LA Dance Project in new works by choreographers Janie Taylor, Jobel Medina, and Madeline Hollander responding to four sections of Luciano Berio’s Squenza. Festival musicians Rose Lombardo on flute and Nathan Schram on viola provide live music. At the Ojai Music Festival, Greenberg Center, Ojai Valley School Lower Campus, 703 El Paseo Rd., Ojai, Fri.-Sat., June 12-13, 3:30 pm, $65 + $12 fee. LA Dance Project at Ojai Music Festival.
Summer festival
Guests join the dancers and students in Bando Ryu Kyo no Kai’s Summer Dance Festival. At the San Fernando Valley Japanese American Community Center, 12953 Branford St., Pacoima; Sun., June 14, 1:30 pm, $8 in advance, $10 at door. Bando Ryu Kyo No Kai.
Sign of summer
Part public performance, part participatory dance party, and free! — the outdoor Tuesday Night Dance series hosts the last Tuesday devoted to Broadway dance. See the website for dance styles coming up on Tuesdays thru Aug. 25. At Segerstrom Center for the Arts, Argyros Plaza, 600 Town Center Dr., Costa Mesa; Tues., June 16, 6:30 pm. free. Tuesday Night Dance.
Hollywood Fringe Festival #1
Dance and physical theater are part of Paris Moon’s exploration of resilience in Emerge at the Cat’s Crawl (Main Space), 660 N Heliotrope Dr., East Hollywood; Mon.-Tues., June 15-16, 6 pm, Wed., June 17, 7 pm, $30. Paris Moon.
Hollywood Fringe Festival #2
In her solo dance theatre piece Split, Between Two Nervous Systems, Dimple Kaur explores migration, women, the cost of staying strong, and those who have had to reinvent themselves. At the Hudson Main Stage, 6539 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood; Sun., June 14, 6:15 pm, Sat., June 20, 4:30 pm, $20. Dimple Kaur.
Hollywood Fringe Festival #3
Shakespeare’s King Lear and his third daughter Cordelia receives a Korean reconsideration from Jiyoung Choi. Set in 13th century Korea, this Cordelia has been trained in the sword with different plot potentialities in K-Cordelia: Sword of the Wind. At the Hollywood Fringe Festival, Hudson Theaters, 6539 Santa Monica Boulevard, Hollywood; Thurs., June 11, 8:15 pm, Sat., June 13, 3:30 pm, Tues., June 16, 8:30 pm, $20. Jiyoung Choi.
Hollywood Fringe Festival #4
Argentine tango proves an effective salve for the mental health in Ruthie Danziger‘s solo show My Great Turnaround at the Hollywood Fringe Festival, the Zephyr Theater, 7456 Melrose Ave., West Hollywood; Thurs., June 18, 7:30 pm, $18. Ruthie Danziger.
Hollywood Fringe Festival #5
Blending physical theatre, dance and devised performance, Kelly Bourma brings a tribute to women everywhere in Your Mother Called. At the Broadwater Black Box, 6233 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood; Sat., June 13, 7 pm, Sun., June 14, 4:30 pm, $15. Kelly Bourma.
Hollywood Fringe Festival #6
Performer Damaris Perez offers multiple opportunities to view her solo performance, Dance Show. At LA City College, Caminito Theater, 855 N. Vermont Ave., East Hollywood; Thurs., June 11 & 18, 8 pm, Tues.-Wed., June 23-24, 7 pm, free. Damaris Perez.
A Peek at Next Week (June 19 to 25)
Sissies: Something Perfect Between Ourselves at Pieter Performance Space, 2701 N. Broadway, Downtown LA; Fri.-Sun., June 19-21, Performance at 8:30 pm, $30-$45, related exhibition from 1-5 pm w/appointment. SISSIES.
Kybele Dance Theater — Reminiscence at the Dance at the Odyssey Summer Edition, Odyssey Theater Ensemble, 2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd., West LA; Sat., June 20, 8 pm, $25 ($3 credit card fee). Dance at the Odyssey.
Kate Myers — Vestibule at Dance at theDance at the Odyssey Summer Edition, Odyssey Summer Edition, at the Odyssey Theater Ensemble, 2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd., West LA; Sun., June 21, 2 pm, $25 ($3 credit card fee). Dance at the Odyssey.
Lincoln Seymoure and Emma Shane — at the Dance at the Odyssey Summer Edition at the Odyssey Theater Ensemble, 2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd., West LA; Thurs., June 25, 8 pm, $25 ($3 credit card fee). Dance at the Odyssey.
New York City Ballet — Two Mixed Bills at the Music Center, Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, 135 N. Grand Ave., Downtown LA; Wed.-Fri., June 24-26, 7:30 pm, Sat.-Sun., June 27-28, 2 & 7:30 pm, $55-$204. New York City Ballet.
Butch Ballet at Outside In Theater, 1517 York Blvd., Highland Park; Fri.-Sat., Mon.-Tues., June 26-27, 29-30, 8 pm, Sun., June 28, 3 pm., $30, $15 students/students/seniors. Butch Ballet.
Taiko Project with Bombu Taiko and Kitsune Taiko at the Broad Stage, 1310 11th St., Santa Monica; Sat., June 20, 5 pm, $26.50-$36.50. Taiko Project.
LACMA x Jeffrey Deitch — The Art Parade procession along Wilshire Blvd, LA County Museum of Art, 5905 Wilshire Blvd., Hancock Park; Sat., June 20, 6 pm, free. The Art Parade.
LA Unbound at Mainstage Theatre, Glendale Community College, 1601 E. Mountain St., Glendale; Sat., June 20, 4 & 7:30 pm,$20-$30 (plus fees) Unbound.
Circa – Eternity at Judy Morr Theater, Segerstrom Center for the Arts, 600 Town Center Dr., Costa Mesa; Thurs.-Fri., Jun 18-19, 7 pm, Sat., June 20, 3 & 7 pm, $54. Eternity.
Dance DTLA — Global Mix at the Music Center, Jerry Moss Plaza, 135 N. Grand Ave., Downtown LA; Fri., June 24, July 10, 17, 24 & 31, Aug. 7 & 14, 7-11pm, free. Dance DTLA.