Shana Nys DambrotFor this weekend only, Heidi Duckler Dance and their extended family of company members, colleagues, collaborators and cohorts stage a series of short, site-specific sound and movement pieces across 8 sites in the L.A. State Historic Park in Chinatown.
Addressing the theme of climate change and its implications for social fabric and public health, these evocative and eclectic works make use of vignettes in the natural environments, architectural features, passing trains, the distant dtla skyline, and both permanent and temporary sculptural installations in the park’s landscape, creating a meandering path through the grounds in innovative and unexpected encounters.
Beatriz Vasquez & 3-19 Dance Art: “Angelus Lamentum” in Heidi Duckler Dance: Ebb & Flow 2021 (Photo by Rush Varela)
Each piece will be performed multiple times between 1-3pm each afternoon, in such a way as to make it easy to catch them all in whatever order your stroll takes you. Each is about 10 minutes long and is performed several times; if you have two hours you can leisurely catch them all — and so you should. Every vignette is quite different to the others — generating a range of experiences and emotion from the gently surreal to the outright comedic, uplifting and unsettling, charming and romantic, spectacular and meditative.
Shannon Janet Smith, featuring art by Eddie Rodolfo Aparicio: “Transformation” in Heidi Duckler Dance: Ebb & Flow 2021 (Photo by Rush Varela)
Most of them also have live musical accompaniment, including drums, violin, unconventional wind instruments, and haunting vocals. Often the strains of a nearby performance drift through, beckoning the moveable audience along through the nonlinear journey. Some pieces also feature AR and live broadcast components accessible on mobile devices.
Holly Seeley (Sand Dance Project), featuring art by Anna Sew Hoy: “Entropy” in Heidi Duckler Dance: Ebb & Flow 2021 (Photo by Rush Varela)
At a time when social interaction, public health, environmental degradation and contested public spaces all demand our attention in intersecting dynamics, a project like this is just what’s needed for a thoughtful, poetic, evocative challenge to the status quo — couched in a free, welcoming, surprising cultural experience that provokes thought through the gentle agency of the arts.
Brittany Delany: “Rewilding” in Heidi Duckler Dance: Ebb & Flow 2021 (Photo by Rush Varela)
Los Angeles State Historic Park, 1245 N Spring St, Chinatown. The parking lot entrance is located at 1501 N Spring St, Los Angeles, CA 90012. Saturday & Sunday, June 12 & 13, 1-3pm, free; heididuckler.org.
Carissa Songhorian: “Two” in Heidi Duckler Dance: Ebb & Flow 2021 (Photo by Rush Varela)
Heidi Duckler Dance: “Three Men Fishing” in Ebb & Flow 2021 (Photo by Rush Varela)
Friidom (Darrel Dunn) & Kaz Mogi (TaikoProject): “The 4 Movements” in Heidi Duckler Dance: Ebb & Flow 2021 (Photo by Rush Varela)
Lily Ockwell, featuring sculptural and AR art by Snezana Petrovic: “Singin’ in the Smog” in Heidi Duckler Dance: Ebb & Flow 2021 (Photo by Rush Varela)
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