FALL 2012 LAGUNA DANCE FESTIVAL
Featured Companies are Alonzo King Lines Ballet and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago
LAGUNA DANCE FESTIVAL TO PRESENTALONZO KING LINES BALLET AND
HUBBARD STREET DANCE CHICAGO
AT LAGUNA PLAYHOUSE STAGE SEPT. 8-9
OC’s Backhausdance performs on Friday, Sept. 7,
First Thursdays Art Walk on Sept. 6 will offer free performance at LAM
LAGUNA BEACH, Calif., August 10, 2012 – Laguna Dance Festival is preparing to host two nationally noted professional companies and a local favorite for three performances at Laguna Playhouse. Alonzo King LINES Ballet and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago will share a stunning program on Saturday, Sept. 8 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Sept. 9 at 2 p.m. Orange County based contemporary dance company, Backhausdance, will perform on Friday, Sept. 7 at 7:30 p.m. In addition to the three theatre performances, the festival includes a free performance sampler during Laguna's First Thursdays Art Walk on Sept. 6, a master class on Sept. 9, two pre-performance discussions with artistic directors, and for two weeks in late August, unique workshop opportunities with LINES Ballet and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago for advanced dancers at UC Irvine’s Claire Trevor School of the Arts.
Audience members are invited to a post-performance artist reception on Saturday, Sept. 8. One hour prior to the Friday and Sunday performances, the companies’ artistic directors will give pre-show talks. Audiences will see Hubbard Street dancers perform “Three to Max,” a contemporary piece in the Gaga dance technique developed by sought-after Israeli choreographer Ohad Naharin. An excerpt of this piece, performed to Glenn Gould’s Goldberg Variations, can be seen at http://bit.ly/tKEWSa. Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, under the artistic direction of Glenn Edgerton, celebrates 34 years as one of the most original forces in contemporary dance. www.hubbardstreetdance.com
On the same program, LINES Ballet will perform “Dust and Light,” an emotionally intimate work created by the company’s visionary director, Alonzo King. Dancers move among golden squares of light, with duos and trios performing to Poulenc’s “Agnus Dei” from the Mass in G Major and excerpts from Corelli’s Concerto Grossi. King has guided the celebrated San Francisco-based contemporary ballet company since its inception in 1982. www.linesballet.org. An excerpt from “Dust and Light” can be viewed at http://bit.ly/Owg054.
Dancers from Orange County-based Backhausdance will perform repertory pieces on Friday night. Artistic director Jennifer Backhaus founded her company ten years ago and has carved out a unique niche at the forefront of Southern California contemporary dance. www.backhausdance.org
General admission seats on Saturday and Sunday are 0; tickets for students with ID are 5. Tickets on Friday, Sept. 7 are 0 general, 5 students. The Saturday night reception is 5 per person. Tickets are on sale now and may be purchased by calling (949) 497-2787, online at www.lagunadancefestival.org or at the Laguna Playhouse during box office hours at 606 Laguna Canyon Road, Laguna Beach. For more information, call the Laguna Dance Festival office at 949-715-5578.
On Sept. 6 during Laguna’s monthly First Thursdays Art Walk, Laguna Dance Festival will offer a free dance sampler, choreographed by three artists. Choreographer Jennifer Lott’s mesmerizing duet From Personal Mythology: An American Odyssey will be performed to Bob Dylan's “Gates of Eden” by DM Stith. Choreographer Jessie Ryan adds humor and theatricality with her rendition of These Arms of Mine, set to the Otis Redding pop standard. The third piece will be Saleemah E. Knight’s duet Above and Below, experimenting with the space created above, below, around, and between human bodies. All three pieces will be performed at the Laguna Art Museum at 6:30 p.m.
Hubbard Street Dance Chicago artistic director Glenn Edgerton will teach a master class on Sunday, Sept. 9 from 10 a.m. to noon in the Laguna Beach High School dance studio, 625 Park Avenue, Laguna Beach. Cost is 5 per person for the class, 0 to audit the class. Class will include a ballet warm-up, company repertoire and a Q&A with Mr. Edgerton. Group rates are available, with special combination rates for a master class plus a performance ticket.
In addition, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and Alonzo King LINES Ballet will be in summer residence at UC Irvine’s Claire Trevor School of the Arts Dance Department. Dancers and teachers from the two companies will offer weeklong intensive dance workshops Aug. 20-31. For information: www.arts.UCI.edu/hubbard-lines.
During their UCI residency, artistic director Alonzo King will create a new piece to be danced by Hubbard Street and LINES performers. The new collaborative work is being commissioned in part by the Claire Trevor School of the Arts, with support from the Laguna Dance Festival. It will have its premiere next February in Berkeley, Calif. Southern California audiences will see it in June 2013 as part of the tenth anniversary of Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center.
The Laguna Dance Festival (formerly CaDance) is regarded as one of Orange County’s major annual cultural events and continues to be an important showcase for new and established dance companies and artists. Smithsonian Magazine named Laguna Beach one of the "The 20 Best Small Towns in America" in its May 2012 issue, singling out the Laguna Dance Festival as a reason for the selection.
FALL 2012 LAGUNA DANCE FESTIVAL
Complete Schedule of Events
as of August 10
• August 20-24 Hubbard Street Dance Chicago workshop at UC Irvine Claire Trevor School of the Arts Dance Dept.
• August 27-31 Alonzo King LINES Ballet workshop at UC Irvine Claire Trevor School of the Arts Dance Dept.
• Thursday, Sept. 6 at 6:30 p.m. – During the monthly First Thursdays Art Walk, Laguna Dance Festival offers a sampler of innovative dance, choreographed by three artists, at the Laguna Art Museum.
• Friday, Sept. 7 at 7:30 p.m. – Performance by Backhausdance – repertory work choreographed by company founder Jenny Backhaus. Pre-performance talk with artistic directors at 6:30 p.m., Laguna Playhouse
• Saturday, Sept. 8 at 7:30 p.m. LINES Ballet and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago evening performance, Laguna Playhouse. All are invited to a post-performance fundraising reception at Laguna Playhouse. Tickets: 5.
• Sunday, Sept. 9 at 2 p.m. – LINES Ballet and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago matinee performance, Laguna Playhouse. Pre-performance talk by artistic directors at 1 p.m.
• Sunday, Sept. 9, 10 a.m. to noon – Master class taught by Hubbard Street Dance Chicago artistic director Glenn Edgerton, Laguna Beach High School Dance Studio, 625 Park Avenue, Laguna Beach. Class: 5. Class audit: 0. Master class and performance ticket packages available at a discount.
All performances will be held at Laguna Playhouse, 606 Laguna Canyon Road, Laguna Beach. Box office phone number: 949-497-2787. Tickets for Sept. 8-9 are 0 each general, 5 with valid student ID on; Sept. 7 performance tickets are 0 general, 5 students. Tickets can be purchased online, by phone (949-497-2787) or at the Laguna Playhouse box office. Check the website for tickets and performance details: www.lagunadancefestival.org or call 949-715-5578.
