The Last Three Dancing…for NOW

Minnesota modern dance rocks Hollywood, Native American ballerinas celebrated downtown, Greek tragedy finale in West L.A., dance festival mixing it up in Santa Monica, last chance for NOW downtown, and more SoCal dance this week.

5.  War—Huh! What is it good for?

Last chance to see the latest 21st century exploration of classical plays involving movement mavens Not Man Apart Physical Theatre Ensemble considering another Greek classic in Lysistrata Unbound. Regarded as a comedy, Aristophanes’ original considers what would occur if Greek women withheld sex to protest the ongoing war with Sparta. Choreographer John Farmanesh is also directing with assistant choreographers Alina Bolshakova, Jones Welsh Talmage and the Not Man Apart company. Odyssey Theatre Ensemble, 2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd., W.L.A.; Fri.-Sat., Aug. 3-4, 8 p.m., $32-$37, $25 seniors, $22 under 30, $17 students. http://www.odysseytheatre.com.

Not Man Apart Physical Theatre Ensemble in "Lysistrata Unbound". Photo by Enci Box.
Not Man Apart Physical Theatre Ensemble in “Lysistrata Unbound”. Photo by Enci Box.

4.  Lenny gets another birthday tribute

Two new works are offered at Summer Premieres from American Contemporary Ballet and choreographer Lincoln Jones. Just in time for the Leonard Bernstein centennial celebrations, the first new dance is set to Bernstein’s exuberant Candide Overture. The second new work takes on Schoenberg’s Verklärte Nacht. ACB Studios, The Bloc, 700 S. Flower St., Ste. 3200, downtown; Thurs.-Sat., Aug. 2-4 & 9-11, 8 p.m., Sun., Aug. 5 & 12, 4 p.m., $40-105. https://www.acbdances.com.

American Contemporary Ballet. Photo by Anastasia Petrukhova.
American Contemporary Ballet. Photo by Anastasia Petrukhova.

3.  Rock music and modern dance Come Through

Choreographer Uri Sands and his St. Paul Minnesota-based modern dance troupe TU Dance take the stage with folk-flavored rocker Justin Vernon’s Bon Iver in their collaboration Come Through. Part of KCRW’s World Festival, the collaboration premiered in four sold out St. Paul shows in April. The two time Grammy-award winning band and the nine member dance troupe are joined by visual artists Aaron Anderson and Eric Carlson who provide video collage. Hollywood Bowl, 2301 N. Highland Ave., Hollywood; Sun., Aug. 5, 7 p.m., $15-$160. 323-850-2000, https://www.hollywoodbowl.com.

TU Dance. Photo courtesy of the artists.
TU Dance. Photo courtesy of the artists.

2.  Mixing it up

Now in its 12th year, the Mix Match Festival always delivers what it promises, a swirl of hip hop, ballet, tap, modern, tribal, contemporary, jazz, belly & other dance from SoCal and U.S. choreographers. Each of the four shows boasts a different roster with troupes performing in multiple shows but often lined up with different companies and in a different order. Opening night includes Maha and Company, Kira Bessey, Mojácar Flamenco, Toni Fuller, Rebecca Rufer, Rachel Turner, and Dominique Lyons. A complete line up is at host company Hart Pulse Dance’s website www.HartPulseDance.com. The Miles Memorial Playhouse, 1130 Lincoln Blvd., Santa Monica; Thurs.-Sat., Aug. 9-11, 7:30 p.m., Sun., Aug. 12, 2 p.m., $17. https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/3556500.

Mix Match Festival. Photo courtesy of the artists.
Mix Match Festival. Photo courtesy of the artists.

1.  NOW so almost gone

Each summer, the magical potential of a black box theater is explored by emerging artists in dance, music, theatre and that ever-elusive category multi-media during the three week New Original Works (NOW) Festival. The 15th annual NOW Fest is perhaps the most dance-drenched in recent years with dance the focus or major component of seven of the nine artists being presented and many employing live music. This final Week 3 has Butoh from Oguri set against Rachel Mason’s song cycle and a video environment. Choreographer Genna Moroni creates moves for dancers and 30-foot tall figures observed through 3-D glasses conceived by light artist Christine Marie. The choreographer Jay Carlon who recently set a large group work at the ocean in Santa Monica, this time sets his CARLON dancers against a malleable cardboard landscape in fold, unfold, refold. Program details at https://www.redcat.org. REDCAT 631 W. 2nd St., downtown; Thurs.-Sat.,Aug. 2-3, 8:30 p.m., $20, $40 for festival, $16 students.  https://www.redcat.org.

            Other dance of note:

Five Native Americans from Oklahoma who rose to fame in ballet are the subject of When Moons Become Stars. Sisters Maria and Marjorie Tallchief, Rosella Hightower, Moscelyne Larkin and Yvonne Chouteau are considered in a historical overview assembled by Bonnie Homsey that includes 70+ rarely-seen photographs gathered from NYPL, Library of Congress, Balanchine Trust, and seven private collections. The ballerinas’ struggles and accomplishments also provide the backdrop to a panel that includes ballet luminaries Virginia Johnson (former principal now director of Dance Theatre of Harlem and founding editor of Pointe Magazine), Eduardo Vilaro (Ballet Hispanico artistic director), Jenifer Ringer (former principal dancer New York City Ballet, now dean of the Colburn Dance Institute), and Renae Niles (Chief Operating Officer at USC Kaufman School of Dance).  Grand Performances, Marina Pavilion, 350 S. Grand Ave., downtown; Fri., Aug. 3, 8 p.m., free. http://grandperformances.org.

Backhaus Dance. Photo by Jack Hartin.
Backhaus Dance. Photo by Jack Hartin.

Almost as many dancers may be onstage as in the audience as Jennifer Backhaus and the ten dancers of her Backhausdance are joined by more than 90 additional dancers, many form the troupe’s summer intensive, in Backhaus’ latest Hive. A significant figure in the local contemporary dance scene, this event has shades of the type of “dance event” from choreographers like Maurice Bejart who filled sports stadiums as well as theaters. Musco Center for the Arts, Chapman University, 415 N. Glassell, Orange; Aug. 4, 6:30 p.m., $38.50, students $28.50. http://backhausdance.org.

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