The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills announced this week that its 2019-2020 dance season will be stocked with Los Angeles-based dance companies--only. It is, I believe, the first time a Los Angeles theater presenter has programmed a complete dance season just with L.A.-based companies. Quite a milestone. Artistic director Paul …
Category: News
DCW & To the Sea
Just a quick reminder that Dance Camera West, Los Angeles' screen-dance festival, and To the Sea: Dance Concerts at the Santa Monica Pier run through Sunday. I made it to Friday's (4/13) To the Sea performance and sitting at the end of the pier is a remarkable--and utterly unique--place to see a dance concert. The …
3 Questions: Rachel Moore, Music Center
The Music Center kicks off a new initiative this summer, called The Music Center on Location. The downtown performing arts center is moving off campus, presenting two smaller dance companies and music artists at the Ford Theatres: Aszure Barton Dance in "Awáa" on Aug. 18 and Jacob Jonas The Company on Aug. 19, in shared program with …
This Week: Laguna Dance Festival
Laguna Dance Festival returns this week and artistic director Jodie Gates is presenting two popular contemporary dance companies: Parsons Dance and Aspen Santa Fe Ballet. The former was founded by David Parsons in 1985 as an outlet devoted (mostly) to his highly athletic and accessible modern dance works. His most famous piece, "Caught," a solo in …
L.A. Dance Summit
"It feels that things are simmering, if not percolating" in the L.A. dance community.--Choreographer David Rousseve, artistic director of REALITY That was just one of the interesting comments made during the morning session of the L.A. Dance Summit, which took place today (June 8) at downtown Los Angeles' Japan America Theatre. I think David is right, …
Melissa’s Barak Ballet
Choreographer Melissa Barak, a onetime company member with New York City and Los Angeles ballets, has spent the past two years planning for her own contemporary ballet company to be based in Los Angeles, her hometown. Sunday night was the "pre-launch performance" and about 300 turned out at the new Ann and Jerry Moss Theater …
LA Rothbart is alleged mastermind of attack on Bolshoi director
News out of Moscow on the horrific acid attack against Bolshoi artistic director Sergei Filin, and the prime suspect -- even confessing on Russian television -- is a principal dancer with the company. The alleged ringleader is Pavel Dmitrichenko, who appeared as Rothbart in "Swan Lake" in June 2012, when the Bolshoi Ballet appeared in a sold-out …
Continue reading LA Rothbart is alleged mastermind of attack on Bolshoi director
Glorya Kaufman responds to my LAT article
In my Dec. 16 article for the Los Angeles Times wrapping up the year in dance, I expressed my disappointment with how heavy-hitter philanthropist Glorya Kaufman chose to lavish millions of dollars (exact amount undisclosed) on USC to start a new school for dance. I argued that donations are most urgently needed for daily operations to support …
Pentacle director to take a step down
Ivan Sygoda, the longtime co-director of the arts management non-profit organization called Pentacle, will be stepping back from his duties this July, the New York-based organization announced this week. Sygoda will still be involved in some of Pentacle's projects, but he is handing off the day-to-day running of the organization to a group of in-house leaders …
NYT on LA Dance Project
LA Dance Project makes its East Coast debut at Montclair State University in N.J. next week (Oct. 25-28). The New York Times ran a feature story online today about Benjamin Millepied and his fledgling company. The story's tone -- no surprise -- is the usual condescending, "Gee, they've got culture out there." But I was happy …
