THE WIDE WORLD OF DANCE TROUPES LARGE, SMALL SET TO INSPIRE L.A. WITH MYRIAD STYLES.Byline: Vicki Smith Paluch Correspondent Starting this week, the Southland will be in a whirl dance-wise. A number of major dance companies and some prestigious smaller ones will be appearing this fall, not forgetting outstanding hoofers like Savion Glover Savion Glover (born November 19, 1973 in Newark, New Jersey) is an American actor, tap dancer and choreographer. Glover is a graduate of the Newark Arts High School. , who will be at UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX Thursday and Friday. Here's a quick look at some of the performances -- covering a wide range of styles, from jazz to ballet -- you can look look forward to. City Ballet of Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. Robyn Gardenhire and her City Ballet of Los Angeles appear to be following the playbook of Arthur Mitchell's Dance Theatre of Harlem Dance Theatre of Harlem, the first black classical ballet company. The group was founded in Harlem, New York City, by Arthur Mitchell, then of the New York City Ballet, the first black principal dancer of a classical company of international standing. , basing her company in an underprivileged neighborhood and re-energizing classical ballet Noun 1. classical ballet - a style of ballet based on precise conventional steps performed with graceful and flowing movements ballet, concert dance - a theatrical representation of a story that is performed to music by trained dancers with a dash of jazz. After becoming one of the youngest African-Americans ever offered a contract with Joffrey II and going on to dance with American Ballet Theatre American Ballet Theatre, one of the foremost international dance companies of the 20th cent. It was founded in 1937 as the Mordkin Ballet and reorganized as the Ballet Theatre in 1940 under the direction of Lucia Chase and Rich Pleasant. , Mark Morris, the White Oak Project and Karole Armitage Karole Armitage (born March 3 1954 in Lawrence, Kansas) is an American dancer and choreographer based in New York. Armitage began her career dancing Balanchine as a member of Ballet du Grand Théâtre de Genève. , Gardenhire returned home in 2000 to start a ballet school and company to serve the multicultural community that is Los Angeles. Gardenhire, who grew up in Compton, based her ballet company Noun 1. ballet company - a company that produces ballets troupe, company - organization of performers and associated personnel (especially theatrical); "the traveling company all stayed at the same hotel" in the Pico-Union district downtown to serve the underprivileged youth and to re-energize ballet by infusing jazz and other musical and movement styles. The company made its debut in 2003. She has created a ballet noir -- ``Behind the Red Door'' -- set to the music of John Coltrane “Coltrane” redirects here. For other uses, see Coltrane (disambiguation). John William Coltrane (September 23 1926 – July 17 1967), nicknamed Trane, was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. that depicts the Greenwich Village jazz scene of the 1950s. Accompanied by the Atman atman (Sanskrit: “breath” or “self”) Basic concept in Hindu philosophy, describing that eternal core of the personality that survives death and transmigrates to a new life or is released from the bonds of existence. Ensemble, City Ballet of Los Angeles, the company's 12 dancers merge classical ballet and jazz. Some dancers will don high heels; others toe shoes, as they dance to Coltrane's ``Giant Steps.'' ``I always wanted to be a cabaret star, never missing Eartha Kitt at the Carlyle Hotel each spring. Dancing for Karole Armitage (who experimented widely with different types of music and movement) inspired me to go beyond the prescribed boundaries of my medium,'' Gardenhire said. City Ballet of Los Angeles will perform at 8 p.m. Friday at the Ford Amphitheatre, 2580 Cahuenga Blvd. East, in Hollywood. Information: (323) 46103673 or www.FordAmphitheatre.org Tango Fire Five tango couples and a quartet of musicians will set Southland stages ablaze this week with Tango Fire. The Bueno Aires-based company Estampas Portenas is making its U.S. debut with this tour. The show will be performed at the Smothers Theatre at Pepperdine University on Thursday; at the College of the Canyons College of the Canyons is one of the fastest-growing community colleges in the state. According to the National Junior College Research Association, College of the Canyons consistently ranks in the top 50 community colleges in the nation. Performing Arts Center A performing arts center, often abbreviated PAC, is a multi-use performance space that can be adapted for use by various types of the performing arts, including dance, music and theatre. in Santa Clarita on Saturday, and at Wilshire Theatre in L.A. on Oct. 8. Information: Ticketmaster at (213) 480-3232 or www.ticketmaster.com Kirov Ballet Widely regarded as one of the world's finest ballet companies, the Kirov Ballet will bring its lavish productions of ``Swan Lake'' and ``Romeo and Juliet'' to the Orange County Performing Arts Center's three-week Maryinsky Festival celebrating Russian opera, music and dance. The Kirov will close the festival when it performs Oct. 17-22. Information: (714) 556-2787 or www.ocpac.org. Pennington Dance Group Tackling themes of internal and external barriers, gender constructions, re-emergent time and matter, and dramatic recreations of German Expressionist dance, the Pennington Dance Group presents four new works under the collective title ``Disrobing Sites.'' ``I create dances that explore the human condition through movement,'' explained choreographer and PDG PDG Président Directeur Général (CEO) PDG Particle Data Group PDG Past District Governor PDG Parti Democratique Gabonais (Gabonese Democratic Party) PDG Product Development Group PDG Program Dependence Graph artistic director Pennington, who is also a dance professor at Pomona College. ``From abstract adventures to concrete concepts, my work embodies my belief in the body's potential as an expressive instrument with unending possibilities.'' ``Disrobing Sites'' will be performed at 8 p.m. Nov. 3 and 4 at the Nate Holden Performing Arts Center, 4718 W. Washington Blvd., Los Angeles. Information: (323) 993-8503 or www.penningtondancegroup.org. Lyon Opera Ballet France's Lyon Opera Ballet will celebrate the work of Europe's finest contemporary women choreographers in a fresh and compelling program that includes ``Die Grosse Fuge'' by Anne Theresa de Keersmaeker; Fantasie by Sasha Waltz; and Groosland by Maguy Marin, whose shocking remake of the Cinderella fairy tale, ``Cendrillion,'' vaulted the company to international fame. Lyon Opera Ballet at UCLA's Royce Hall, 8 p.m. Oct. 20 and 21. Information: (310) 825-2101 or www.UCLALive.org. Batsheva Dance Company The Batsheva Dance Company is a highly respected dance company based in Tel Aviv, Israel and founded by Martha Graham and Baroness Batsheva De Rothschild in 1964, after whom it was named. Ohad Naharin has been its in house choreographer since 1990. Israel's Batsheva Dance Company will present the latest work by Ohad Naharin, whose choreography blends beauty, anger, serenity and sarcasm to reflect life in his homeland. His newest work, ``Three,'' is made up of three sections: Bellus (Beauty), Humus (Earth) and Secus, which translates as both ``this'' and ``not this.'' The company, which was founded with the personal assistance of Martha Graham, is acclaimed for pushing the boundaries of dance with intense energy and a culturally diverse dance language. Batsheva Dance Company will be at UCLA's Royce Hall Nov. 4 and 5. Information: (310) 825-2101 or visit www.UCLALive.org. Sankai Juku This ensemble of second-generation Butoh Butoh (舞踏 butō) dancers from Japan, is renowned for harnessing physical agility and athleticism with intensely emotional movement. The company returns to UCLA's Royce Hall on Nov. 17 and 18 with ``Kagemi: Beyond the Metaphors of Mirrors,'' a new work that features seven male dancers who float through an on-stage dream world. Sankai Juku will be at UCLA's Royce Hall Nov. 17 and 18. Information: (310) 825-2101 or www.UCLALive.org. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: (color) The Buenos Aires-based Estampas Portenas makes its U.S. debut at Pepperdine's Smothers Theatre on Thursday with Tango Fire, featuring five tango couples and a quartet of musicians. Also at College of the Canyons in Santa Clarita on Saturday and Wilshire Theatre in L.A. on Oct. 8. |
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