5 Dance Shows to See in L.A. This Week, Including L.A.'s Largest Dance Fest

This week's dance events include two dance festivals, a Dream event, Spanish dance from Cuba and a lady in a tower.

5.  Kickstarter dance

With funding from a successful Kickstarter campaign, Licia Perea, her Latina Dance Theater and the ever-adventurous Bootleg Theater return with a new edition of BlakTina 2. The obliquely named showcase spotlights mid-career and emerging Latino and African-American choreographers based in L.A. The ten selected choreographers offer a blend of premieres and previously staged works. Dancemakers Cyrian Reed, Dorcas Román, Marina Magalhães/Allison Gray and Michelle Funderburk contribute the new works. Sofia Carreras, Rande Dorn, Joshua Romero, Crystal Sepúlveda and Maura Townsend offer previously restaged pieces. The styles range from dance/theater, hip-hop, tap, jazz and spoken-word including poetry by Maya Angelou. At Bootleg Theater, 2200 Beverly Blvd., Echo Park; Thurs.-Sat., Sept. 4-6, 7:30 p.m., $20. 213-389-3856, www.bootlegtheater.org.

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4.  Spanish dance from Cuba

Compañia Irene Rodriguez, a 2-year-old Spanish dance company stops off on its first U.S. tour. Headed by Irene Rodriguez, the company has won awards in its home base in Cuba and this is its only SoCal appearance. At Museum of Latin American Art (MOLAA), 628 Alamitos Ave., Long Beach; Sun., Aug. 31, 7:30 p.m., $25. 562-437-1689, www.molaa.org.

Lady of Shallot; Credit: Photo courtesy of TESPR

3.  Tower dancer

Choreographer Laura Linda Bradley teams with director Aaron Ganz for Lady of Shalott, a new dance drama based on Tennyson’s poem about that mysterious doomed lady in a tower. At TE San Pedro Rep, 311 W. Seventh St., San Pedro; Thursdays-Saturdays, 7 p.m.; Sundays, 3 p.m. Thru Sept. 21, $25. www.sanpedrorep.org.

2.  Dancing the Dream

Designed to demonstrate solidarity with the values and goals of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s I Have a Dream speech, Dance the Dream Los Angeles boasts a lineup of professional and student dancers. Also participating are singers from L.A. Opera’s Young Artist Program, a high school choir, a violin prodigy and a marching band. Register at www.eventbrite.com/e/dance-the-dream-los-angeles-registration-6951609451 to participate in the dancing, which will be filmed for a documentary. At the Music Center Plaza, 135 Grand Ave., dwntwn.;Thu., Sept. 4, 3:30 p.m., free with registration. 213-972-7499, www.musiccenter.org.

Mix Match Dance Festival; Credit: Photo couresy of Mix Match Dance Festival

1. Mixing and matching the dance

Hosted by Hart Pulse Dance Company, the annual Mix Match Dance Festival deserves its billing as L.A.’s largest dance festival with more than 60 works in hip-hop, ballet, tap, modern, tribal, contemporary, jazz, belly and pole dancing. Each of the four shows has a different lineup, but some groups repeat. Full lineup at www.hartpulsedance.com; tickets at www.brownpapertickets.com/event/239532. At Miles Memorial Playhouse, 1130 Lincoln Blvd., Santa Monica; Thru Aug. 30, 7:30 p.m.; Sun., Aug. 31, 2 p.m., $17. 310-458-8634, www.milesplayhouse.org.

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