Jazz fuels contemporary dance in Santa Monica and contemporary ballet downtown; female street dancers go to college in University Park; a flamenco fest commutes between Redondo Beach and Hancock Park; Delibes meets A.I. in Costa Mesa; dancing to Etta James in Mid-City; modern dance deciphered in Sylmar; more SoCal dance this week, plus a peek at next week.
Live This Week
What is real?
In the endearing 1870 comedic ballet Coppelia, Swanhilda and Franz have an fractious romance that is disrupted when Franz becomes enamored of a lovely girl sitting on a balcony who really is a mechanical doll the dollmaker hopes to bring to life. It is a plot ripe to be propelled into the present, asking an audience to consider the possibilities if the doll wasn’t mechanical, but powered by 21st century A.I. Artistic director/choreographer Jean-Christophe Maillot and Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo have done just that with Coppél-i.A. The architecture of the familiar plot is there but the Delibes score has been replaced with music suited for now. Segerstrom Center for the Arts, 600 Town Center Dr., Costa Mesa; Thurs.-Fri., March 7-8, 7:30 pm, Sat., March 9, 2 & 7:30 pm, Sun., March 10, 1 pm, $39-$149. SCFTA.
Telling tales
Since 1993, choreographer Pat Taylor and her Jazzantiqua Dance & Music Ensemble have employed contemporary jazz dance to tell stories, usually to jazz music, often played live. The joyous, high energy company returns with excerpts from company works under the banner The Stories We Tell along. Guest artists Jahanna Blunt, Tashara Gavin-Moorehead, Charles Reese, and S. Pearl Sharp also provide contributions. A post performance reception is included in the ticket. Highways Performance Space, 1651 18th St., Santa Monica; Sat., March 2, 8:30 pm, $25, $20 seniors/students. Performance | Highways | Santa Monica.
Getting a degree in hip hop
Putting a spotlight on often overlooked female contributions to the artform, the four-hour long Cypher Summitt Block Party brings together Ladies of Hip Hop, Toyin Sogunro of the Nefer Global Movement, and Breakthrough Hip Hop. USC, Glorya Kaufman International Dance Center, 849 West 34th St., University Park; Sat., Mar. 2, 2 to 6 pm, free w/reservation at Cypher Summit Block Party 2024.
To the pointe
Music from Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Jelly Roll Morton, Johnny Dodds, and Igor Stravinsky back choreography for Jazz, the latest from American Contemporary Ballet artistic director Lincoln Jones. ACB Studios, Bank of America Plaza, 333 S. Hope St., Suite C-150, downtown; Fri.-Sat., March 1-2, Thurs.-Sat., March 7-9 & 14-16, Thurs.-Fri., Ma4. 21-22, 8 pm, $60-$140. Season XII Jazz — ACB.
Flamenco with visas
This year’s LA International Flamenco Festival brings impressive dance and music visitors from Spain for two programs at two venues. The opening act at each theater is LA-based flamenco dancer Mizuho Sato with pianist Andrés Barrios. Thursday in Redondo Beach, dancer Karime Amaya is paired with Spanish guitar master Tomatito. On Saturday in Hancock Park, Madrid-based flamenco innovator José Maya joins avant garden flamenco guitarist Rycardo Moreno. Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center, 1935 Manhattan Beach Blvd., Redondo Beach; Thurs., March 7, 8 pm, $35-$90. Also at Wilshire Ebell Theatre, 4401 W. 8th St., Mid-Wilshire; Sat., March 9, 8 pm, $40-$90. LA International Flamenco Festival.
At last!
The stature of BODYTRAFFIC and its splendid dancers is underscored by the caliber of choreographers company artistic director Tina Finkelman Berkett attracts to set their works on the company. Trey McIntyre for one, doesn’t let just anyone dance his ballets. The upcoming program, In Pursuit of Love, offers a triptych including Blue Until June, McIntyre’s rapturous tribute to Etta James (yes, At Last is one of the songs). Also on the program, Micaela Taylor’s reconsideration of the Puccini opera Madame Butterfly and Ethan Colangelo’s Recurrence. Wilshire Boulevard Temple, Audrey Irmas Pavilion, 3663 Wilshire Blvd, Mid-City; Thurs., Feb. 29, 7:30 pm, $50. BODYTRAFFIC.
Woven spaces
A new work using fabric to carve and connect the space and dancers of Benita Bike’s DanceArt as well as a remembrance of the love and challenge of the relationship with her mother, highlight this performance of Benita Bike’s choreography. LA Mission College, AMP Theatre, 13356 Eldridge Ave., Sylmar; Thurs., Feb. 29, 7 pm, free. Benita Bikes Danceart Company.
The foot has it
Choreographer Michelle Elkin provides the moves for the new production of Footloose the Musical at the Colony Theater, 555 N. Third St., Burbank; opens Sat., March 2, 8 pm, then Fri., 8 pm, Sat., 2 & 8 pm, Sun., 3 pm, thru Sun., March 17, $55-$75, Colony Theater.
A Peek at Next Week
New Shoes at Highways Performance Space, 1651 18th St., Santa Monica; Fri.-Sat., March 8-9, 8:30 pm, $25, $20 students/seniors. Highways Performance Space.
home/LA & MoFundamental — The We in Me: Beyond House Resilience at The Box Gallery parking lot, 805 Traction Ave., Little Tokyo; Sat., March 9, 5 pm, free w/reservation at Eventbrite.
Kybele Dance Theater at the Glorya Kaufman Performing Arts Center, 3200 Motor Ave., Cheviot Hills; Sat., March 9, 7:30 pm, Sun., March 10, 3 pm, $30-$45, $20 students. Kybele Dance tickets.
LA Dance Project — Moving Parts and Tirade at LA Dance Project, 2245 E. Washington Blvd., Arts District; Sat., March 2, 1, 1:30, 2, 2:30 & 3 pm. free w/reservation at LADP.
Dance in Flight at Smothers Theater, Pepperdine University, 24255 Pacific Coast Hwy., Malibu; Thurs.-Fri., March 14-15, 8 pm, Sat., March 16, 2 & 8 pm, $20. Pepperdine University.
Niosha International Conservatory of the Arts — The Story of Nowruz at Irvine Barclay Theater, UC Irvine, 4242 Campus Dr., Irvine, Sun., March 10, pm, $65-$250. Irvine Barclay Theater.
Of Note
Canceled
Israel’s famed Batsheva Dance Company led by choreographer Ohad Naharin has cancelled its scheduled U.S. tour that included Santa Barbara’s Granada Theatre on March 5. Tickets will be refunded. UCSB.