Evoking Brando and Bernstein Beyond the Waterfront

Site specific dance debuts shipboard at L.A. Harbor, contemporary ballet and emerging choreographers in Santa Monica, flamenco in East Hollywood; classical Indian dance with Appalachian flatfoot dance in Hollywood, Russian ballet downtown, Brazilian dance in Glendale, contemporary dance in Culver City, Long Beach and downtown, plus more SoCal dance this week.

5.  Flamenco from Spain

Special guest Lola Mayo from Spain makes her Forever Flamenco debut, joining dancers Mizuho Sato and Daniela Zermeño, singer Jesús Montoya and guitarist/artistic director José Tanaka for this edition of the long-running flamenco series. Fountain Theatre, 5060 Fountain Ave., E.Hollywood; Sun., June 25, 8 p.m., $40-$50, $30 seniors/students. http://fountaintheatre.com.

Forever Flamenco's Mizuho Sato Photo by Gennia Cui
Forever Flamenco’s Mizuho Sato. Photo by Gennia Cui.

4.  Lots to dance about

The latest edition of New Shoes arrives, showcasing emerging and established choreographers and ensembles. Alfonso Cervera and Hyoin Jun evoke two friends’ struggle to seek help, Chantal Cherry explores the universal nature of sexual attraction, Rainy Demerson considers the vocabulary of the body, Daniel Miramontes tackles dancing as play, and Rosanna Tavarez takes her aging grandmother’s decline as her starting point. Highways Performance Space, 18th Street Arts Center, 1651 18th St., Santa Monica; Fri.-Sat., July 23-24, 8:30 p.m., $20, $15 students & seniors. 310-315-1459, http://highwaysperformance.org.

New Shoes' Alfonso Cevera & Hyoin Jun Photo courtesy of the artists
New Shoes’ Alfonso Cevera & Hyoin Jun. Photo courtesy of the artists.

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3.  Not the usual dance coupling

Malathi Iyengar and her Rangoli Dance Company bring classical Bharatanatyam dance from India while Rebecca Stout, Molly White and Steve Werner contribute Appalachian Flatfoot dance and music. Any seeming contradiction in this intriguing programming should be resolved with the finale combining both troupes in a cross cultural percussive dance jam. Barnsdall Gallery Theatre, 4800 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood; Sat., June 24, 8 p.m., $30-$50 in advance, $35 at door. http://rangolidancecompany.brownpapertickets.com.

Rangoli Dance Company Photo by Gene Lewis
Rangoli Dance Company. Photo by Gene Lewis.

2.  One Russian on another

Tortured souls are among choreographer Boris Eifman’s favorite subjects around whom he builds sensual, even downright erotic ballets on his splendid dancers. On prior visits Eifman and his Eifman Ballet of St. Petersburg‘s ballets focused on a Russian ballerina during the Soviet era who went mad, the sculptor Auguste Rodin’s muse and mistress Claudine Claudel who went mad, and other troubled souls including Anna Karenina, the Tolstoy protagonist who commits suicide. This visit, the choreographer’s subject is an historic Russian man. In Tchaikovsky, Eifman takes on the Russian composer, but is treading in well-mined territory including Ken Russell’s film The Music Lovers, a fever dream about the luscious music that emerged from the composer’s troubled life, hellacious marriage and early death, possibly compelled suicide. Whether Eifman is Russell’s match, there is all that swoony Tchaikovsky music. Music Center, Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, 135 N. Grand Ave., downtown; Fri.-Sat., June 23-24, 7:30 p.m., Sun., June 25, 2 p.m., $34-$125. http://musiccenter.org/eifman.

Eifman Ballet of St. Petersburg's Tchaikovsky Photo by Evgeny Matveev
Eifman Ballet of St. Petersburg’s Tchaikovsky. Photo by Evgeny Matveev.

1. Returning Bernstein to the waterfront 

That busy gang of dancers, musicians, actors and other performers at Heidi Duckler Dance Theatre join forces with the L.A. Opera and the L.A. Maritime Institute on the elegant twin tall ships for a one night only, site specific event celebrating sirens and sailors to the passionate Leonard Bernstein score for the film On the Waterfront. HDDT dancers Teresa “Toogie” Barcelo, Isaac Huerta, Corina Kinnear, Jillian Meyers and Ryan Walker Page join L.A. Opera singers Jamie Chamberlain, Lisa Eden and Melissa Treinkman. Composer Juhi Bansal contributes additional music. Port of Los Angeles, 2456 S Signal St., Berth 58, San Pedro; Sat., June 24, 8 p.m., $50. 213-536-5820, http://HeidiDuckler.org/beyond-the-waterfront.

Heidi Duckler Dance Theatre's Beyond the Waterfront Photo courtesy of HDDT
Heidi Duckler Dance Theatre’s Beyond the Waterfront. Photo courtesy of HDDT.

Other dance of note:

If this weren’t already sold out, it would be a leading recommendation. Led by Melissa Barak, her contemporary ballet company Barak Ballet consistently presents cinematic work performed by stunning dancers. Now an in-demand choreographer, Barak brings her background as a dancer with both New York City Ballet and Los Angeles Ballet to her own ensemble. This program includes Barak’s newest E/SPACE a collaboration with media artist Refik Anadol plus Barak’s popular Eos Chasma and Nicolas Blanc’s Tableaux Vivante. The Broad Stage, 1310 11th St., Santa Monica; Sat., June 24, 8 p.m., $25-$75. https://thebroadstage.org.

Barak Ballet Photo courtesy of the artist
Barak Ballet. Photo courtesy of the artist.

Other dance of note:

After performances in Hong Kong and Singapore, Entity Contemporary Dance returns to its L.A. base with Peel, choreographed by Will Johnston and Marissa Osato. Dancers include Kent Boyd, Karen Chuang, Will Johnston, Shiori Kamijo, Angel Mammoliti, Jason Martin, Grayson McGuire, Marissa Osato, and Diana Schoenfield. Info at http://entitycontemporarydance.com.  Los Angeles Theatre Center, 514 S. Spring St., downtown; Fri., June 23, 8 p.m., Sat., June 24, 2 & 8 p.m., $25. https://web.ovationtix.com/trs/pr/972012.

Entity Contemporary Dance Photo by Lexi Bonin
Entity Contemporary Dance. Photo by Lexi Bonin.

Joining in the celebration of Culver City’s centennial, C Eule Dance performs Fluid Memories. The show includes contemporary danceworks from Dominique McDougal, Stefan Wenta, Yuri Zhukov and artistic director Caron Eule. Dancers include Stephanie Cheung, Bradford Chin, João Ducci, Rachele Donofrio, Lorenzo Edwards, Leah Hamel, Dominique McDougal, Melody Nehls and Devon Riesenbeck. Special guests include Ida Victoria and the Culver City High School AVPA Dance Company. Ivy Substation, 9070 Venice Blvd., Culver City; Fri., June 23, 8 p.m., Sat., June 24, 4 & 7 p.m., $20, $15 students & seniors, children under 12 free at matinee only. http://ceuledance.org/dance/.

Global Water Dances Photo by Danielle Riniolo
Global Water Dances. Photo by Danielle Riniolo.

Under the banner Global Water Dances, the theme of this family-friendly dance festival is the need to take care of the beaches and to encourage environmental knowledge. Among the several participating dance troupes look for VIDA (Vannia Ibarguen Dance Arts), Dance4Oceans, and H2O Dance Company. Alfredo’s Beach Club at Granada Beach, 5098 E. Ocean Blvd., Long Beach; Sat., June 24, 4 p.m., free. http://globalwaterdances.org.

The revamped Brand Associates Dance Series concludes its season with the intoxicating rhythms of Brazilian dance as Viver Brasil takes the stage throughout the pastoral library setting. Brand Library, 1601 W. Mountain St., Glendale; Sat., June 24, 1:30 p.m., free. http://www.glendaleca.gov/Home/Components/Calendar/Event/25294/125.

Viver Brasil Photo courtesy of the artist
Viver Brasil. Photo courtesy of the artist.

Tv’s So You Think You Can Dance made him a star, but Shaping Sound is Travis Wall’s current focus. Wall returns with After the Curtain about a man struggling to find his creative voice after the loss of his true love. UCLA Royce Hall, 340 Royce Dr., Westwood; Mon.-Tues., June 26-27, 7:30 p.m., $48-$68. http://roycehall.org/calendar/event_detail.asp?id=929.

This shared bill includes Rebecca Brooks and this month’s Pieter artist in residence Nickels Sunshine. Pieter, 420 W. Avenue 33, Lincoln Heights; Sun., June 25, 8 p.m., donation of food or boutique or donation for new floor. https://pieterpasd.com.

Nickels Sunshine Photo by Jacob Sousa
Nickels Sunshine. Photo by Jacob Sousa.

In addition to books, L.A. libraries continue to host dance performances under the banner L.A. Made. This week enjoy hip hop as Culture Shock LA stops off at two local libraries. Edendale Branch Library, 2011 W. Sunset Blvd., Echo Park; Mon., June 26, 3:30 p.m., free. Also at Mid-Valley Regional Library, 16244 Nordhoff St., North Hills; Wed., June 28, 4 p.m., free. http://lapl.org/whats-on/events.

Culture Shock/LA Photo courtesy of the artist
Culture Shock/LA. Photo courtesy of the artist.

Come to watch the free show or join in (there’s a beginner lesson at each event before the free dance begins) at Dance Downtown LA. This week, come for Cumbia the infectious dance originally from Columbia, but like samba, mambo and salsa has traveled and morphed beyond regional beginnings. Grand Park, 200 N. Grand Ave., downtown; Fri., June 23, 7 p.m., free. http://musiccenter.org/dancedtla.

Samba dancers open the 23rd Annual Brazilian Summer Festival of music, song, and dance. Grupo Cupim do Samba and the Los Angeles Samba Dancers by Joany Macias lead off the festivities. The Fifth Rooftop & Lounge, Grand Legacy at the Park, 1650 South Harbor Blvd., Anaheim; Sun., June 25, 4 to 11 p.m., $48-$65. 818-1111, http://BrazilianNites.com.

With a theme of physical interpretation of music, Paint the Music with Your Body, involves self-designated participants who improvise to music selected by the organizers. The audience votes, and the top vote-getter wins a cut of the donated admissions. Participation is open but e-mail info@jazzo.co to confirm a performance spot. Mimoda Studio, 5772 W. Pico Blvd., Mid-City; Mon., June 26, 7 p.m., $10 suggested donation. info@jazz.com.

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