Ann HaskinsThis week's dance shows include two different Swan Lakes, a Garth Fagen premiere and a disaster's aftermath.
5. What did happen next?
In After It Happened, Invertigo Dance Theatre’s nine dancers, two musicians and a raft of blue trash bags mourn the trauma and celebrate the resilience of a community grappling with their upended world after a natural disaster. Choreographer Laura Karlin takes a page from percussive performance group Stomp to showcase the transformational theatrical possibilities of commonplace objects, in this instance the blue trash bags. Tickets at 424-229-2141 or www.invertigodance.org/aih. At the Odyssey Theatre, 2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd., West L.A.; Fridays, Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 6 p.m. Through Oct. 19, $27-$35, $20 students. 310-477-2055, www.odysseytheatre.com.
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4. What a woman wants
The efforts of Korean women against that repressive male-dominated culture gets dance and multimedia consideration in the U.S. premiere of Madame Freedom, from the Seoul-based Hyo Jin Kim/Hyung Su Kim. At REDCAT: Roy and Edna Disney/CalArts Theater, 631 W. Second St., dwntwn.; Through Oct. 4, 8:30 p.m.; Sun., Oct. 5, 7 p.m., $25-$30, $20–$25 students. 213-237-2800, www.redcat.org.
3. When it Rain(er)s, it pours
As the exhibition “Yvonne Rainer: Dances and Films” winds down, a fitting finale has been added with Yvonne Rainer: Two Works, a live performance of new choreography plus a 2013 work. A pivotal personality in the postmodern dance movement centered at New York’s Judson Church, Rainer moved into filmmaking and abandoned choreography for two decades before starting to make new dance. Although the videos in the exhibition include some more recent work, The Concept of Dust, or How do you look when there’s nothing left to move? will provide the first peek at Rainer’s current work in progress, along with her 2013 Assisted Living: Do You Have Any Money? Rainer is scheduled to be present for the performance. The exhibition of Rainer’s notebooks, diaries, videos and movies from her half-century in dance, choreography and film continues for another week. Two Dances: Oct. 3-4, 7:30 p.m., $20, $15 students & seniors, reservations recommended. Dances and Films: Tuesdays-Sundays, 10 a.m. Through Oct. 12, free, $15 parking. The Getty Center, 1200 Getty Center Drive, Brentwood, 310-440-7300, www.getty.edu.
Australian Ballet in Swan Lake; Credit: Photo by Jeff Busby
2. Swans from Down Under and right here
After 50 years of Swan Lake, the venerable Australian Ballet has displayed its youthful spirit with Graeme Murphy’s unconventional interpretation riffing on the tabloid triangle of Prince Charles, the late Princess Diana and Camilla now Duchess of Cornwall. By contrast, for the opening of its ninth season, the more youthful Los Angeles Ballet reaffirms its classical cred reprising its traditional production with choreography from co-artistic directors Thordal Christensen and Colleen Neary. In its 2012 premiere, LAB's Swan Lake sold out most of its performances. Both companies boast gorgeous dancers and stunning technical productions. The Aussie swans fly through this weekend with five performances downtown. LAB opens this weekend in Redondo Beach with a month of performances migrating to its other home theaters at Valley Performing Arts Center, UCLA Royce Hall and Glendale’s Alex Theatre. Australian Ballet at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion at the Music Center, 135 N. Grand Ave., dwntwn.; Oct. 9-11, 7:30 p.m.; Sat., Oct. 11, 1:30 p.m.; Sun., Oct. 12, 2 p.m., $36-$152. 213-972-0777, www.musiccenter.org. Los Angeles Ballet at Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center, 1935 Manhattan Beach Blvd., Redondo Beach; Sat., Oct. 4, 7:30 p.m., $31-$99, 20% discount students & seniors. Tickets and other performance details at www.losangelesballet.org or 310-998-7782, www.rbpac.com.
Alynne Noelle and Kenta Shimizu in Los Angeles Ballet's Swan Lake; Credit: Photo by Reed Hutchinson
1. Light and lightning
Celebrated contemporary choreographer Garth Fagan and his Garth Fagan Dance get help from equally celebrated trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, whose music provides the soundtrack for Lighthouse/Lightning Rod, Fagan’s new work making its West Coast premiere. At Nate Holden Performing Arts Center, 4718 W. Washington Blvd., Mid-City; Fri., Oct. 3, 8 p.m.; Sat., Oct. 4, 2 & 8 p.m.; Sun., Oct. 5, 3 p.m., $25-$60., 323-964-9768, www.ebonyrep.org.
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