Five Dance Shows to See in L.A. This Week, Including a Hairspray Dance-Along Downtown

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This week's dance events includes Greek demi-gods, a San Francisco/Chicago match-up and a Hairspray dance-along.

5. Heavenly bodies from Chicago and San Francisco

It was a proposition Alonzo King could not refuse. As artistic director of his eponymous Alonzo King LINES Ballet in San Francisco and an internationally known choreographer, King was used to invitations to choreograph on other companies, but no one before had asked him to bring his 12 LINES dancers with him. The offer came from Hubbard Street Dance Chicago's artistic director Glenn Edgerton and King said yes. The product of that alliance, Azimuth, premiered earlier this year in Berkeley to ecstatic reviews and SoCal gets its first look this weekend.

Despite their seeming differences, the blending of the two companies' dancers was more like a gathering of distant relatives than a blind date among strangers. Hubbard Street generally is categorized as a contemporary company dancing in soft shoes not on pointe, while LINES is a neo-classical ballet company with women usually dancing in pointe shoes. Still, Hubbard Street dancers have strong ballet training and LINES dancers have strong backgrounds in contemporary and modern dance.

Those differences and similarities should be evident as each company takes the stage before they join forces for Azimuth. The 18-member Hubbard Street offers Little Mortal Jump, a perky, engaging showcase choreographed by resident choreographer Alejandro Cerrudo. LINES' contribution, Kings' Scheherazade, reconsiders the fabled storyteller in 101 Arabian Nights. Tabla master Zakir Hussain incorporated traditional Persian instruments in his reinterpretation of the familiar Rimsky-Korsakov score. The two companies combine for Azimuth, the title drawn from an astronomical term used by astronomers to locate a heavenly body in space which also nicely dovetails into what choreographers do. See where King locates these heavenly bodies at the Music Center Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, 135 N. Grand Ave., dwntwn.; Fri., June 21, 7:30 p.m., Sat., June 22, 2 2 & 7:30 p.m.; $28-$110. www.musiccenter.org

LINES dancers Ricardo Zayas, Michael Montgomery and Keelan Whitmore in Azimuth; Credit: Photo by Margo Moritz

4. Learn the dance; see the film

For this Hairspray Dance-Along, Contra-Tiempo dancers offer a dance lesson at 7:30 p.m. before the film (the original 1988 version) screens at 8:30 p.m., with Contra-Tiempo and anyone else in the mood dancing along. At Grand Park, 200 N. Grand Ave., dwntwn.; Fri., June 21, 7:30 p.m., free. 213-972-8080, www.grandparkla.org.

3. 30 is the new 30

Keshet Chaim, the popular local company known for its Israeli dance performances celebrates 30 years with Keshet @ 30: Behind the Scenes, a concert and a backstage look and remembrance. Israeli-American actress Yafit Josephson hosts the event, which includes singer-songwriter Meshi Kleinstein. American Jewish University, 15600 Mulholland Drive, Bel Air; Thurs., June 27, 8 p.m., $50-$100, (818) 916-7332. www.ajula.edu.

2. Catch some rising stars

For three decades, the youngsters who study with Lula Washington have offered an annual performance and they take the stage again for the 33rd Annual Youth Dance Performance. Prior performers have gone on to dance professionally with Lula Washington Dance Theatre, Alvin Ailey Dance Theater and on Broadway. Even those who don't move to dance careers convey their joy at the chance to dance. At the El Camino College Marsee Theater, 16007 Crenshaw Blvd., Torrance; Sat., June 22, 3 p.m., $30 advance, $35 at door; $20 12 & under, $25 at door. Tickets at (323) 292-5852.

Not Man Apart Ensemble in Hercules Furens; Credit: Photo courtesy of Not Man Apart Ensemble

1. Ancient anger management

Originally commissioned by the Getty Villa, this is the first full performance of Hercules Furens {The Madness of Hercules}, adapted from a play by Seneca. The Not Man Apart Ensemble explores the legend of Hercules, who returns from war and murders his wife and child in a mad rage. Seneca's play is considered one of the first to consider what is now known as post-traumatic stress disorder and also ponders questions of surviving one's own unforgivable crimes. At the Miles Memorial Playhouse, 1130 Lincoln Blvd., Santa Monica; Fri.-Sat., June 21-22, 8 p.m.; Sun., June 23, 5 p.m. $25. 310-458-8634, www.NotManApart.com.

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