Ann HaskinsThis week's dance events also include two Radar/LA events, a new dance/performance mix and Pony Box in a vacant lot.
5. Australia dancers debut Weather
Six bodies dance beneath an enormous puffy, snow-white, suspended ceiling that eventually erupts, releasing a blizzard of plastic grocery bags that float down to become part of the performance. It's Weather, the opening dance event of Center for the Art of Performance at UCLA's 2013-2014 season and the calling card for Australian choreographer Lucy Guerin's local debut. Guerin was connected with several New York modern dance troupes before returning home to Australia, where her work is credited with raising that country's international profile in contemporary dance. In Weather, Guerin reflects on the way weather affects human behavior and emotion, as well as referencing Australia's heightened awareness of drought, wildfire and flood as meteorological consequences of climate change. With Colorado still awash in flood water, the massive Yosemite wildfire finally under containment, and predictions of another record-breaking tornado season, Guerin's explorations certainly are timely. Come early for a chance to further explore the subject in a pre-performance event with UCLA's Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Studies. At Royce Hall, UCLA, 340 Royce Drive, Wstwd.; Thurs.-Fri., Oct. 3-4, 8 p.m.; $30-$50. (310) 825-2101, www.cap.ucla.edu.
4. Stardust for Generation Twitter
Among the delectables assembled for the Radar L.A. contemporary theater festival is David Roussève/Reality's Stardust. A winner of New York's Bessie and L.A.'s Horton awards for his richly textured choreography and evocative storytelling, Roussève employs projected text messages to convey the words of a gay American teenager while dancers articulate the conflicted young man's emotional arc. At REDCAT: Roy and Edna Disney/CalArts Theater, 631 W. Second St., dwntwn.; Tues., Sept. 24, 9 p.m.; Fri., Sept. 27, 7 p.m.; Fri., Sept. 27, 7 p.m.; Sat., Sept. 28, 2 p.m.; Sun., Sept. 29, 5:30 p.m.; $25. $20 students. (213) 237-2800, www.redcat.org.
Dancers in David Rousseve's Stardust; Credit: Photo courtesy of David Rousseve/Reality
3. Dance and theatre mixing it up
A new dance/performance series, Live Arts Exchange/LAX, assembles L.A. contemporary dance and theater troupes that freely incorporate film, video, animation and punk opera to perform and cross-pollinate. Masterminded by Los Angeles Performance Practice and the Bootleg Theater, the participants include Meg Wolfe, NICK + JAMES, Jennie MaryTai Liu and Hana van der Kolk from Early Morning Opera, Show Box L.A., Poor Dog Group and Chi-wang Yang. At Bootleg Theater, 2200 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles; Sat., Sept. 28, 3:30 p.m., $18, festival pass $75. 213-389-3856, www.bootlegtheater.org.
2. Dance in a vacant lot
In this free event, the contemporary troupe Pony Box Dance Theatre employs the sculpture of Joseph Umali Fernandez, and the music of Doug Hammond of Daisy House to transform an empty lot into an art-filled space. At the vacant lot, East Anaheim Street & Walnut Avenue, Long Beach; Sat., Sept. 28, 1 & 4:30 p.m., free. www.ponyboxdance.org.
MAU dancers in Stones in Her Mouth; Credit: Photo courtesy of MAU
1. Lessons New Zealand's Maori women have to teach
Choreographer Lemi Ponifasio and Mau, his 10-member New Zealand-based dance/theatre company, make their L.A. debut with Stones in Her Mouth as part of REDCAT's Radar L.A. contemporary theater festival. Based in New Zealand, Ponifasio and Mau travel the world, invited to international festivals by Peter Sellers and other far-sighted impresarios. For this festival, Ponifasio unveils Stones in Her Mouth, employing an ensemble comprised of Maori women (the indigenous people of New Zealand). The dancework blends traditional Maori ceremony with the choreographer's innovative mix of dance and theatre to consider the tumultuous tidal influences of tradition and modernity on Maori women specifically, and the larger world in general. At the Palace Theatre, 630 S. Broadway, dwntwn.; Thurs., Sept. 26, 7:30 p.m.; Sept. 27-28, 8:30 p.m.; Sun., Sept. 29, 5:30 p.m., $25, $20 students. (213) 553-4567, www.redcat.org.
See also:
5 Artsy Things to Do in L.A. This Week
Our Calendar Section, Listing More Great Things to Do in L.A.
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