dance

Celebrating Kwanzaa in the City: Highlighting Some Major Activities

This marks the 53rd annual celebration of the self-determined, culturally-grounded and family and community focused holiday, Kwanzaa. Celebrated by millions of people throughout the world African community, Kwanzaa is a seven-day (December 26-January 1) pan-African and African American holiday created in 1966 by Dr. Maulana Karenga, professor and chair of the Department of Africana Studies, Cal State University, Long Beach and executive director of the African American Cultural Center (Us).

Alvin Ailey Celebrates 60 Years of Dance

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre (AAADT) celebrates its 60th anniversary with a tour through the U.S., including its biennial return to the Music Center’s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in downtown Los Angeles, Wednesday, April 3 – April 7.  According to the AAADT website, the company is recognized by Congress as an American “Cultural Ambassador to the World,” and has performed for over 23 million people in 48 states and in 71 countries on 6 continents, celebrating the African-American cultural experience within the American modern dance tradition. Carman de Lavallade and Alvin Ailey were friends and danced under the tutelage of modern

REDCAT presents… Poor People’s TV Room

Feb. 8-11 REDCAT presents the Los Angeles premiere of the stunning dance and multimedia work Poor People’s TV Room by Bessie Award–winning choreographer Okwui Okpokwasili, February 8 to 11. Known for her intensely powerful performances, Okwui Okpokwasili (featured at REDCAT in Ralph Lemon’s How Can You Stay in the House All Day and Not Go Anywhere?) considers the collective amnesia around the Nigerian women’s resistance movements of the past century. Tickets and info at REDCAT.org (https://www.redcat.org/event/okwui-okpokwasili) or call (213) 237-2800. Presented at REDCAT in association with CAP UCLA and Show Box LA / we live in space as part of

Step Afrika! Presents… “The Migration: Reflections on Jacob Lawrence”

Feb. 9 Step Afrika! the first professional dance company in the world dedicated to the tradition of stepping, brings its latest piece, “The Migration: Reflections on Jacob Lawrence”, to The Soraya for its company debut on February 9 at 8:00pm. Based in Washington, D.C, Step Afrika! is rooted in the African tradition of Gumboot and brings it into the 21st century with an American blend of percussive movement and electrifying rhythms. Tickets for Step Afrika!, priced from $33-$78, are now available at ValleyPerformingArtsCenter.org or by calling (818) 677-3000. The Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for the Performing Arts (The Soraya)