DANCE/UPCOMING: DANCE SHOWS: TWO REVIEWS AND A PREVIEW

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DANCE SHOWS: TWO REVIEWS AND A PREVIEW

I love all things dance! If you do, as well, and live in or near Los Angeles, you should check-out my previews when I do them, so that you don’t miss any dance events in town. Most of them are just one or two nights, so you should also check often on the schedules of all three theatres I mention below.

I also try my best to tweet advance notice of the ones I’ll be attending myself, and if you don’t want to miss those, please follow me on twitter, @MajorCelebrity.

Here are brief reviews of the two latest dance shows I’ve seen, (so, if you’re not in LA, you can see if they’re coming to your own cities,) plus a preview of one more I think will be really good. (And am planning to attend, myself!)

 

RUSSIAN NATIONAL BALLET REVIEW

 

UnknownThere are not many things that beat an evening of classical ballet. I’m glad that so many Angelenos feel the same way because the Valley Performing Arts Center was packed last week-end to see two performances by the Russian National Ballet. (And who can do ballet better than Russians?!)

In case you weren’t aware, ballet is the basis of all dance. I was so grateful to see it performed in its purest form, classical.

The program my friend, Maria, and I saw on Saturday night was ten pieces from that many ballets. What an opportunity to sample so many classics in one evening!

It was all beautiful, but the too-short-for-me Dying Swan, danced by Olga Gudkova, gave me chills. She was the absolute perfect ballerina for it. I can’t stop thinking about those few minutes of stunning-ness.

One funny thing is that another lovely dancer, Aleaksandra Krukova, danced two numbers where the choreography had her mainly on her right toes the entire time! What a work-out for that leg! Mine was hurting in empathy.

We really appreciated that the printed program had in-depth blurbs about each number. Reading it before each act was most helpful.

A few words about the Valley Performing Arts Center: I had never been there before, but I now love this place! I don’t think there was a bad seat in the house! (And none better than the ones we were in!) The building itself is beautiful, and Maria and I felt special just entering it. I felt like I was in a movie. (It would be an excellent location for a film, by the way.) I’m pretty sure all the uber-young personnel must be students at the college there, and not one of them could have been any nicer. We were really impressed with the whole situation.

Before the show began, a host announced several upcoming events, such as the Los Angeles Ballet, the Martha Graham Dance Company (which I saw often when I was little,) and a screening of the Disney classic Fantasia, with live orchestra! I hope to make it to all of them! I can’t wait to explore more of this wonderful cultural space that we in LA are lucky to have.

www.valleyperformingartscenter.org

 

DANCE BRAZIL REVIEW

 

E983776F-D1CF-4722-A241-7216277BD784What a fun dance company! I went in expecting a bunch of wild people, dressed in naked, colorful costumes, and lots of vibrating booties all over the place. That would have been fine, too, but what I got was a sophisticated-yet-hip dance show combining contemporary, afro-jazz, and hip-hop, basically. But the inclusion of many Capoeira moves in the vibrant choreography is what made me know I was, indeed, watching Brazilian dance.

Dance Brazil is a company out of New York, paying tribute to all of their Brazilian heritage. There are only two females in the company, so you know that I was happy feasting my eyes on so many muscled males all night!

They were here in town, at The Wallis in Beverly Hills, for three performances only, but they made them count. In addition to the trio of shows, the company conducted classes for the locals on that Saturday, which is such a bonus of having them here!

I don’t want to review the show more than this, because you already missed them, but, if they’re coming to your town, I highly recommend seeing this company. It’s an easy, fun, painless evening, (except for when you realize that your body looks nothing like theirs do!)

I love having a beautiful theatre like The Wallis so close to me, and hope to take advantage of that proximity as often as possible. They have an ever-changing schedule of short-stay offerings, so we have the opportunity to get a whole lot of culture in a short period of time, which is just the way I like it!

www.thewallis.org

 

CELEBRATE DANCE PREVIEW

 

Celebrate-Dance-Event-Image-This is the one that Los Angeles audiences still have time to see! It’s not until March 7, but if you work fast, they’re offering a two-for-one special right now! (The promo is at the bottom of this page.)

It’s an evening of nine dance companies, brought together by Executive Producer Jamie Nichols, in Glendale’s historic Alex Theatre. It’s this show’s tenth anniversary, so I imagine each company will be bringing forth its absolute best performance. I highly anticipate that it will be a really special evening. (I’ll be there, so how could it not be?!) (Oh, no worries—I’ll be in the audience, not on the stage.)

For the celebratory occasion, they’ll be bringing back nine “outstanding audience favorites” that originally premiered in previous Celebrate Dance shows, in case you’re already a fan.

I can’t wait to become one on March 7, and hope to see you all there, as well.

And, as promised, here’s where to go for the above-mentioned two-fer, as long as you order by the end of this month. (There’s more information on there, as well.): www.alextheatre.org/event/jamie-nichols-presents-celebrate-dance-2015

Celebrate Dance one-performance only on March 7, 2015
Alex Theatre 216 North Brand Blvd. Glendale, CA

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