Memetic Evolution

Vampires descend on El Segundo, ballet meets tap in Northridge and San Diego, durational performance in Little Tokyo, site specific adventures in Willowbrook, Pasadena, and Riverside, Korean dance revisited in the Arts District, Bella Lewitzky dances again in West LA, live-streamed ballet from around the world, more SoCal dance this busy, busy week and a peek at next, equally busy week.

Live This Week

Turning up

After opening in Santa Barbara, the four city SoCal tour of Tiler Peck & Friends continues with two more theaters. Led by New York City Ballet principal dancer Tiler Peck, Turn It Out includes choreography from Alonzo King, William Forsythe, tapper Michelle Dorrance, and Peck. Expect contemporary ballet in toe shoes side by side with tap dance. The Soraya, Cal State Northridge, 18111 Nordhoff St., Northridge; Sat., Oct. 28, 8 pm, Sun., Oct. 29, 3 pm, The Soraya. Also at San Diego Civic Theatre, 1100 Third Ave., San Diego; Wed., Nov. 1, 7:30 pm, $25-$125. San Diego Theatres. Also at Segerstrom Center for the Arts, 600 Town Center Dr., Costa Mesa; Sat., Nov. 4, 7:30 pm, Sun., Nov. 5, 2 pm, $29-$69. SCFTA.

Four ballet dancers in a line
Tiler Peck & Friends. Photo by Christopher Duggan

Residue

In her first major LA installation, artist Moriah Evans offers Remains Persist, a four hour durational performance considering the vestiges of past actions, personal histories, and socio-political movements. Evans draws on somatic practices and feminist critiques of performance and visual culture.The installation/performances are part of MOCA’s Wonmi’s WAREHOUSE Programs curated by Alex Sloane. The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA, 152 N. Central Ave., Little Tokyo; Sat.-Sun., Oct. 28-29, Thurs.-Sat., Nov. 2-4, 4 pm to 8 pm, $10. MOCA.

Three dancers in different positions
Moriah Evans. Photo courtesy of the artist

Getting to the root

For Dialogues + Sensations 2023, the contemporary company Wild Roots Dance and its choreographers Kindra Windish and Vannia Ibarguen are joined by six other West Coast movement artists. Contributing choreographers for the two evenings of new dance are Megan Fowler-Hurst, Marisa Malzone, Stephanie Mizrahi, Alondra Perez, Santiago Rivera, and Dorcas Roman, plus Windish and Ibarguen. ARC Pasadena, 1158 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena; Fri.-Sat., Oct. 27-28, 8 pm, $20-$25. Eventbrite.

A group in the dark and a man in a white shirt
Wild Roots Dance. Photo courtesy of the artists

There will be blood

As Halloween festivities begin and horror movies take over the airwaves, Dracula has emerged as the season’s answer to the Nutcracker. West Coast Ballet returns for the second year with its version. Guest artist Eduard Sargsyan from Pacific Ballet Dance Theater does the vampire duty. The audience is encouraged to wear costumes for post-performance photos with the cast. El Segundo Performing Arts Center, 640 Main St., El Segundo; Sun., Oct. 29, 6 pm, $39.  West Coast Ballet.

Dualities

Final shows of American Contemporary Ballet’s double bill opener from artistic director Lincoln Jones. Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring provides the score for The Rite while Burlesque draws on music from several composers. ACB Studios, Two California Plaza, 350 S. Grand Ave., Suite 2850, downtown; Fri.-Sat., Oct. 27-28, 8 pm. $100-$140. American Contemporary Ballet.

A dancer kicks her leg
American Contemporary Ballet. Photo by Caleb Thal

How they resist

Six Afro- and Afro-descent women articulate the movement and message of resistance in Dorothée Munyaneza‘s Mailles. The Friday show includes a post-performance discussion with the artist. REDCAT, 631 W. 2nd St., downtown; Thurs.-Sat., Nov. 2-4, 8:30 pm, $30. Tickets.

An audience watches a dancer on a window sill
HomeLA. Photo courtesy of the artists

Headed home

A new installment by the site-specific performance group homeLA sets down in Riverside as dance, sound, visual, and culinary artists gather for Together Fire. The extended event includes dance and dance video by Crystal Sepúlveda, Nohely Gomez, taisha paggett, and meital yaniv. Location in Riverside disclosed to ticket holders; Sat., Oct. 28, 3:30 pm to 7:30 pm, $25. Eventbrite.

Dancers in a green space
Heidi Duckler Dance. Photo by Rush Varela

Forget not

Continuing their ongoing relationship with this medical center and the Willowbrook community, choreographer Heidi Duckler and her Heidi Duckler Dance offer I Will Remember What I Forgot. Martin Luther King Jr. Behavioral Health Center, 12021 Wilmington Ave., Suite 2B, Wilmington; Thurs., Nov. 2, 12:30 pm, free with registration at Heidi Duckler Dance.

Dancers in white with arms raised
DATA or 7 ways to dance a dance through prison walls. Photo by Ciro Hurtado

On the outside

With funding from a California Arts Council fellowship, Suchi Branfman and her collaborators at Dancing Through Prison Walls bring a live performance of Undanced Dances Through Prison Walls During a Pandemic. Desert Hotsprings Public Library,14380 Palm Dr., Desert Hotsprings; Sat., Oct. 28, free. Dancing Through Prison Walls.

Let’s play

Drawing on and playing with traditional Korean dance and folk opera, choreographer DaEun Jung derives new contemporary movement for her full-length Nori. The title translates as “play” as the dancemaker sets out to play around and develop new approaches to tradition with her dancers Arletta Anderson, Hyoin Jun, and Tulsi Shah. LA Dance Project, 2245 E. Washington Blvd., downtown arts district; Thurs.-Fri., Nov. 2-3, 8 pm, $24. Performance Practice LA.

Dancers in multi-colored skirts
DaEun Jung. Photo by Michael Palma

Back in time

In A Matter of Time, performers at Lineage Dance take audiences on a moving tour throughout the venue, each room covering a decade from the 1950s to 1999. On arrival, audience members can choose whether to move forward or backward in time. Lineage Performing Arts Center 920 E. Mountain Ave., Pasadena; Fri.-Sat., Oct. 27-28, Thurs.-Sun., Nov. 2-5, 7 pm, $25-$40. Lineage Performing Arts Center.

four dancers in a web of blue and green scarves
Lineage Dance. Photo courtesy of the artists

About that train

How to dance Leo Tolstoy’s romantic tragedy Anna Karenina is the subject of See the Music, Hear the Dance, a Colburn School Dance program, live and live-streamed. Joffrey Ballet artistic director Ashley Wheater leads a demonstration/discussion of the ballet version choreographed by Yuri Possokhov that the Joffrey premiered in 2019. Former Joffrey dancers Leslie Carothers and Margaret Tracey join the discussion and current Joffrey dancers Jeraldine Mendoza and Dylan Gutierrez perform excerpts accompanied by musicians from the Colburn Conservatory. Colburn School, Zipper Hall, 200 S. Grand Ave., downtown; Sat., Oct. 28, 7 pm, $25, $10 livestream. Colburn School.

A man holds a woman in arabesque
Joffrey Ballet. Photo by Cheryl Mann

Self-ish

Described as somewhere between a work in progress and a work about process, Intimates is Spenser Theberge‘s consideration of longing for a true sense of self, the faking of it, and the weariness that comes with the struggle. LA Dance Project, 2245 E. Washington Blvd., downtown arts district; Sat., Oct. 28, 8 pm, $24. Performance Practice LA.

A dancer without a shirt
Spenser Theberge. Photo by Jacob Jonas

Speeding up

Six cross genre artists are presented in ACCELERATEDDDDDD: Works In Progress, part of the LA Performance Practice LAX Festival. Taking the stage are Future Human Support Positions byChelsea Zeffiro, Rooster Boi’s Fantastikal Lounge Act by DeLa aka Alison De La Cruz, Untitled Sisters Project by Mireya Lucio, Two of Pentacles by Daniel Corral, Object Permanence by Daria Kaufman, and We The Poor, a musical by Anu Yadav. Navel, 1611 S. Hope St., downtown; Sun., Oct. 29, 6 pm, $15. Performance Practice LA.

A Peek at Next Week

Studio Dimitri Chamblistakemehome at REDCAT, Disney Hall, 631 W. 2nd St., downtown; Wed.-Thurs., Nov. 8-9, 8:30 pm, $30. REDCAT.

Danza Floricanto/USAFiesta del Día de los Muertos at Floricanto Center for the Performing Arts, 2900 Calle Pedro Infante, East LA; Sat., Nov. 4, 8 pm, Sun., Nov. 5, 5 pm, $15 presale, $20 at door, $10 children at door. Danza Floricanto/USA.

A skeleton in Dia de Los Muertos
Danza Floricanto/USA. Photo by Frank Sandoval

Mark Morris GroupThe Look of Love at Musco Center for the Arts, Chapman College, 415 N. Glassell, Orange; Fri., Nov. 4, 7:30pm, $41.25-$78. Musco Center.

MashUp Contemporary Dance CompanyOpen Mic Night at Stomping Ground LA, 5453 Alhambra Ave., El Sereno; Sat., Nov. 4, 7 pm, $5. MashUp Contemporary Dance Company.

Benita Bike’s DanceArt at AMP Theatre, Los Angeles Mission College, 13356 Eldridge Ave., Sylmar; Thurs., Nov. 9, 7 pm, free. Benita Bike’s DanceArt.

Nihon Buyo KaiAn Afternoon of Japanese Dance at North High School, 3620 W. 182nd St., Torrance; Sat., Nov. 4, 2 pm, $20. Nihon Buyo Kai or email.

World BalletCinderella at the Irvine Barclay Theatre. 4242 Campus Dr., Irvine; Wed.-Thurs., Nov. 8-9, 7 pm, $35-$85. Tickets.

High Voltage at Electric Lodge, 1416 Electric Ave., Venice; Fri., Nov. 3, 8 pm, $10. Electric Lodge.

Max 10 at Electric Lodge, Scott Kelman Theater, 1416 Electric Ave., Venice; Mon., Nov. 6, 7:30 pm, $10. Electric Lodge.

Of Note

Hosted by San Francisco Ballet, Britain’s Royal Ballet, and the Australian Ballet, World Ballet Day opens up the ballet world with free, digital live-streamed classes and rehearsals from companies around the world. Wed., Nov. 1, all day, info at World Ballet Day.

Bridget Murname’s loving documentary celebrating the life and work of Bella Lewitzky opens for a limited run. Bella screens at the Laemmle Royal Theatre, 11523 Santa Monica Blvd., West LA; Fri.-Thurs., Nov. 3-9, see theatre website for times. Laemmle.

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