Stuck Inside the Story

A Santa Monica tech hub activates, New Yorkers dance into Irvine, a fest lands in Boyle Heights, prisoners’ words dance in Claremont, altered death in Jefferson Park, the Go Go’s dance into Pasadena, all live! Plus new dance films, online streams, plus more SoCal dance this week and a peek at next.

Live This Week

Out in the garden

Concluding ACTIVATE LA, its triptych of al fresco performances with live music, Jacob Jonas The Company  travels  to a garden nestled amid Santa Monica’s tech-hub office buildings. The music is by LA-based composer Steve Hackman. Jonas provides the choreography for At Work. Supported by the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, the series is another example of that theater’s laudable backing for LA-based dance companies. Live at The Water Garden, 1620 26th St., Santa Monica; Fri.-Sat., Nov. 12-13, 7:30 p.m., $100-$280 (tickets sold for 2, 4 or 9) Details on tickets, lawn or chair seating, picnicking, alcohol, and Covid protocols at The Wallis.

A woman lies on the ground and lifts her leg behind her
Jacob Jonas The Company. Photo by Jacob Jonas

All together now

Whether referencing a military regiment or a chorus in an opera, let alone dance, the word “corps” carries a connotation of cooperative, methodical, unified movement, concepts choreographer Milka Djordjevich explores in Corps. This latest consideration of practices continues her preoccupation with neutrality and anonymity, especially in dance practices. The cast includes Martita Abril, Dorothy Dubrule, Ayano Elson, Allie Hankins, Tiara Jackson, and DaEun Jung. Saturday’s show has a livestream option. Live at REDCAT, Disney Hall, 631 2nd St., downtown; Thurs.-Sat., Nov. 11-13, 8:30 pm, $25, $20 students. Also livestreamed Sat. Nov. 13, 8:30 pm, $15, $12 students. Info, tickets and Covid protocols at REDCAT.

people on the ground with a bicycle
Milka Djordjevich’s “Corps.” Photo by Maria Baranova

Tag team

This installment of the Body Weather Laboratory series Flower of the Season 2021 assembles four choreographer/dancers for three nights, each show with three of the performers. The four are Michelle Shiu-Lin Lai, Carmina Escobar, Chenhui Mao, and Jay Carlon. Live at the Electric Lodge, 1416 Electric Ave., Venice; Fri.-Sat., Nov. 12-13, 8 pm, Sun., Nov. 14, 3 pm, free with reservation. Info on performer line up, reservations, and Covid protocols at Body Weather Laboratory.

A man hits a tennis ball
Jay Carlon. Photo courtesy of the artist

Barres vs bars

The latest event evolving from Suchi Branfman’s five year residency at the Norco medium-security state prison continues as Dancing Through Prison Walls offers dance and then discussion about the movement contributing choreographers brought to words crafted by prisoners when the Covid lockdown prevented in-person workshops. Performance and panel discussion at Scripps College, Jaqua Quadrangle, 1030 N Columbia Ave, Claremont; Sat., Nov. 13, 3 pm, free. Scripps College.

A man looks upward and extends his arms
Suchi Branfman’s “Dancing Through Prison Walls.” Photo courtesy of the artists

Hardly showing its age

Entering its 50th anniversary, the New York-based Ballet Hispánico has been a frequent visitor, including a stint as resident company at Cal State University Los Angeles. This show offers three works from its vast repertoire: Vicente Nebrada’s Arabesque set to Enrique Granados’ music, Anabelle Lopez Ochoa’s Tiburones addressing Latinx stereotypes, and Gustavo Ramírez Sansano’s 18+1 that playfully marks his 19 years as a choreographer with mambo music by Pérez Prado. Live at Irvine Barclay Theatre, 4242 Campus Dr., Irvine; Thurs., Nov. 11, 8 pm, $30-$100. Info, tickets, and Covid protocols at The Barclay.

three dancers in red pants kneel before three shadowy figures
Ballet Hispánico. Photo by Paula Lobo

LAX not at LAX

The Live Arts Exchange (LAX) festival concludes this week with dance artists among the announced performers. Dancer/choreographers include Olivia Mia Orozco in The Messenger set in Alexa Eisner’s installation Atom Cycle (11/12)and Amy O’Neal’s The Hybrid Lab: Conversations in Merging Dance Cultures (11/14). Live at the Warehouse space dubbed “Frankie,” 300 Mission Rd., Boyle Heights; Thurs.-Sat., Nov. 11-13, 8 pm, Sun., Nov. 14, 7:30 pm; $8-$20. More info, a full listing of performers, Covid protocols, and tickets at Performance Practice LA.

A woman with a fan sits in a colorful art installation
Olivia Mia Orozco. Photo courtesy of the artis

Dualities of death

After an opening event to communally build an alter, the main occasion of this live and streamed series,  si| / embra, is a “movement celebration” led by ShowBox LA‘s artist in residence Isis Avalos. Employing the alter, Avalos invites the audience to consider how death is also a reminder of life. Live at, and available live-streamed from, Jireh Estetica Unisex, 2636 W. Jefferson Blvd., Jefferson Park; Opening event on Thurs. Nov. 11, 11 am to 2 pm., Main event on Sat., Nov. 13, 6 pm, both events free with reservation. More info, reservations and Covid protocols at Eventbrite.

A hand holds a photo
Showbox LA. Photo courtesy of the artists

It Go-Gos 

Music of the 1980s LA band The Go Gos fuels Head over Heels, a jukebox musical loosely based on The Arcadia by Sir Philip Sidney. The venue reopens with its first live performance filled with dancing on more than just the stage.The theater is being reconfigured to afford the audience a choice of onstage or theater seating as well as a general admission ticket to an open floor area inviting an audience-fueled dance party as part of the performance.  Live at Pasadena Playhouse, 39 S. El Molino, Pasadena. Tues.-Sat., 8 pm, Sun., 7 pm, Sat. & Sun., 2 pm, thru Sun., Dec. 12, $30-$106. Info, tickets, and Covid protocols at Pasadena Playhouse.

Five members of the band Go Gos face the camera
The Go-Gos. Photo courtesy of the artists.

Gather outside the gallery

In this event dubbed Art Speaks, audiences can follow Donna Sternberg & Dancers on a site-specific choreographed tour of public art installations the city has acquired as part of its Art in Public Places. Live at Culver City Hall Plaza, 9770 Culver Blvd., Culver City; Sat.-Sun., Nov. 13-14, 3 pm, free. Donna Sternberg & Dancers.

A dancer in blue tights and red top
Donna Sternberg & Dancers. Photo courtesy of the artists.

A Long Beach howdy

A champagne lunch and performance at a private residence is how South Coast Dance Arts Alliance and Nannette Brodie Dance Theatre welcome back audience and supporters to live dance. Private residence, 5411 E. Cedral St., Long Beach; Sun., Nov. 14, noon, $40. Info, tickets, & Covid protocols at Eventbrite.

A man lifts a woman on his shoulder
Nannette Brodie Dance Theatre. Photo courtesy of NBDT.

Let the season begin

Dancers, singers, acrobats, and other cirque performers get an early start on the holiday season with Cirque Musica Holiday Spectacular. Live at SabanTheatre, 8440 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills; Sat., Nov. 13, 7 p.m., $48-$198. Where Music Meets the Soul.

Back on the home stage

After 18 months screening performances from studios, CSULB Fall Dance Concert still streams but this time from onstage at the home theater. Contributing choreographers to Variance include faculty members Andrew Vaca, Tsiambwom Akuchu, Danzel Thompson-Stout, along with BFA choreographers David Bernal, Kevin Holland, Yukiko Nimura, and Aisha Reddick. Live-streamed from Martha B Knoebel Dance Theater, Cal State University Long Beach, Thurs.-Fri., Nov. 18-19, 8 pm, $15. CSULB.

A woman in a blue skirt leaps in the air
CSULB Dance. Photo by Gregory RR Crosby.

Post-modern rituals

The first-ever retrospective of the work of choreographer and video artist Blondell Cummings: Dance as Moving Pictures includes videos, interviews, and photographs. On view at Art+Practice, 3401 W. 43rd Pl., Leimert Park; Wed.-Sat., noon-6 pm, to Feb. 19, 2022, free. Research guide at Getty Research Institute, Exhibition at Art+Practice.

A woman in a black dress dances
Photo by Blondell Cummings.

Museum moves

Performance and dance are the metier of several artists in both of this museum’s big fall exhibits. Artists who are movers featured in Witch Hunt  include Okwui Okpokwasili, Pauline Boudry & Renate Lorenz, and Beverly Semmes. The performance duo Las Nietas de Nono are among the artists in No Humans Involved.  UCLA Hammer Museum, 10899 Wilshire Blvd., Westwood; Tues.-Sun., 11 am-6 pm to Jan. 22, 2022, free no reservation required. Details and Covid protocols at Hammer Museum.

A Peek at Next Week

  • Parsons Dance at Segerstrom Center for the Arts, Costa Mesa; Sat., Nov. 20, 7:30 pm. SCFTA.
A group of dancers leap
Parsons Dance
Photo by Lois Greenfield
  • Martha Graham Dance Company at The Soroya, Northridge; Fri., Nov. 19, 8 pm. The Soroya.
Martha Graham in iconic position
Martha Graham. Photo courtesy of the Martha Graham Dance Company
  • Luminario Ballet at the Avalon, Hollywood; Sun., Nov. 21, $35 + Luminario Ballet.
Two men hold up a dancer in the splits
Luminario Ballet. Photo courtesy of the artists.

Dance Films: Live and Online

Looking for something?

Not a live performance, but definitely a live film premiere as LA Contemporary Dance Company (LACDC) unveils FINDING MEEMOO featuring the company dancers and the five-year old son of artistic director Jamila Glass who also was the film’s executive director. The dancers include Christian Beasley, Kate Coleman, Hyosun Choi, Jamila Glass, Nicole Hagen, Tess Hewlett, JM Rodriguez, Ryan Ruiz, Angel Tyson, and Colleen Hendricks. At dots SPACE, 3951 Higuera St., Culver City; Thurs., Nov. 18, 6:30 pm, $5-$30, & at 8 pm, $20-$30. Details on the related family-friendly activities, tickets, and Covid protocols at FINDING MEEMOO.

A group of dancers in shadows
LA Contemporary Dance Company. Photo by Nathan Kim

Dancing briefs

The 5th annual Los Angeles Dance Shorts Film Festival presents 16 films. The evening includes a pop-up performance before the screening. Live or online at Mimoda Studio, 5774 W. Pico Blvd., Pico-Robertson; Sat., Nov. 13, 7:30 pm, $20; Online Sat., Nov. 13, 7:30 p.m., $12. Details, tickets, & Covid protocols at Los Angeles Dance Shorts Film Festival.

A woman in red dress
Zoe Rappaport’s “Unspoken Words.” Photo courtesy of the artist

Equality time

The film of bound / less, the October 23rd performance from MashUp Contemporary Dance Company celebrating Women’s Equality Day now is online, viewable through Nov. 30, free. MashUp Contemporary Dance Company.

3 women drape over a bridge
MashUp Contemporary Dance Company. Photo courtesy of the artists

A myth extended

Drawing a contemporary perspective on an ancient Persian story, The Scarlet Stone (Moher-ye Sorkh) combines traditional and contemporary Persian dance, music, and animation to find parallels between the myth and the 1979 Iranian Revolution, along with its aftermath. The 80-minute film in Persian with English subtitles has been extended online thru Nov. 30, free at Tirgan.

A woman offers a scarf to a seated man
The Scarlet Stone. Photo by James Carmody

Back for more

In January 2021, LA choreographer Jacob Jonas and his Jacob Jonas/The Company began a weekly roll out of 15 short dance films with artists from around the world under the banner Films.Dance. The project earned boasting rights with many of the films later winning film festival awards. Now comes Films.Dance Round Two, again with dance, dancers, and filmmakers from around the world. The original films, a preview, and e-mail sign up for free weekly film delivery at Films.Dance.

A woman watches a man carrying a woman near a large spherical structure
“Films.Dance Round 2.” Photo courtesy of the artists.

LA dance gets a little love

The third season of the Music Center’s digital series For the Love of L.A. keeps adding new videos filled with curated dance, music, and visual arts. Online free, at Music Center.

A dancer, Brianna Mims, straddles a tilted table. She wears bright blue high-heeled boots, tight blue jeans and a striking brown and white vest. Her face can't be seen, only the top of her head.
Brianna Mims. Photo courtesy of the artist.

What are you looking for?