New Season of Dance Residencies to Feature the Return of Paul Taylor Dance Company and Complexions Contemporary Ballet, Plus The Music Center Debuts of MOMIX and Dutch National Ballet
LOS ANGELES (October 18, 2022)— The Music Center announced today the 20th season of Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center with residencies featuring four world-renowned dance companies beginning in April 2023. The Paul Taylor Dance Company and Complexions Contemporary Ballet will return to Los Angeles’ premier performing arts destination to once again delight Angelenos, while MOMIX and Dutch National Ballet will make their Music Center debuts at The Music Center’s Ahmanson Theatre and Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, respectively. Season subscriptions are available for purchase now by visiting musiccenter.org or by calling (213) 972-0711. Single tickets will be available for purchase starting on December 14, 2022. The Music Center will enhance the dance performances with special experiences for both ticket buyers and the public including panels, master classes, a poetry slam, a dance film festival and more.
“We are thrilled to present four of today’s most visionary dance companies whose powerful works dare to explore and uplift some of the most resonant experiences of the human experience,” said Rachel S. Moore, president and CEO of The Music Center. “From the anguish of war to the joy of finding love, and from the empowerment of personal triumph over adversity to the delight of magical storytelling, our unparalleled 20th season of Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center will challenge, inspire and excite audiences of all ages and backgrounds; they will be awestruck at how dance can push boundaries, both physically and flawlessly, on and off stage with sheer grace and raw emotion.”
One of the most famous and dynamic dance ensembles in the world, the Paul Taylor Dance Company will kick off Dance at The Music Center’s 20th season from April 28–30, 2023, with a dance residency that will include performances in The Music Center’s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion along with other experiences designed to dimensionalize what will be on stage. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Michael Novak, the company will present two thought-provoking works, Company B and The Green Table, both of which address the impact of war, along with the world premiere of a work by Lauren Lovette, former principal dancer with New York City Ballet and now Paul Taylor Dance Company’s resident choreographer. Through the hit songs of the Andrews Sisters, Company B juxtaposes the energy and enthusiasm America exhibited in the early 1940s with the human toll of a young nation drawn into the Second World War. The Green Table, considered one of the most influential dance works of the 20th Century, contains military themes and political messaging that will resonate deeply with audiences who have experienced the travesties of warfare and loss. Among other aspects of the Paul Taylor Dance Company residency, The Music Center will partner with Zocalo Public Square to host a panel discussion featuring noteworthy artists exploring the intersections of art and war. The panel discussion, to be held outdoors on Jerry Moss Plaza at The Music Center, is free and open to the public. It will also be streamed live online. Additionally, to engage and inspire students and educators with dance and movement, The Music Center will present a special matinee performance for middle school and high school students on Friday, April 28.
The series of residencies continues in May with The Music Center debut of MOMIX, a company of dancer-illusionists, from May 19–21, 2023, at The Music Center’s Ahmanson Theatre. Thrilling fans in over 22 countries with stunning multimedia works of exceptional inventiveness and beauty, MOMIX will take audiences on a fantastical journey down the rabbit hole with Alice, an adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s book Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, conceived by Artistic Director Moses Pendleton and Associate Director Cynthia Quinn. The MOMIX residency will include an opportunity for the public to submit an image and write an accompanying description of a place in Los Angeles where they find wonderment. Their submissions will be shared with the public on the LED screens on Jerry Moss Plaza. The Music Center will also invite middle school and high school students to watch a scheduled matinee performance of Alice on Friday, May 19.
Complexions Contemporary Ballet returns to The Music Center for its fourth time from June 16–18, 2023. Led by dance icons Dwight Rhoden and Desmond Richardson, the New York-based company will awaken audiences with a duo of works that reinvent dance and contemporary ballet: WOKE, a bold and dynamic one-act ballet featuring the full company, and LOVE ROCKS, set to the rock ‘n soul music of GRAMMY® Award-winning musician Lenny Kravitz. During the Complexions residency, The Music Center will collaborate with Rhoden and Richardson along with spoken word artist Terrell Lewis to co-host a poetry slam and dance event on Jerry Moss Plaza.
Making its Music Center debut, Dutch National Ballet concludes the 20th Dance at The Music Center season from July 14–16, 2023, with the U.S. premiere of Frida, an homage to Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. Choreographer Annabelle Lopez Ochoa with composer Peter Salem weave Kahlo’s complex and colorful life into a rich work that exalts the iconic artist as one of the most intriguing artists of the 20th century. Ochoa delves deep into the loneliness that haunted Kahlo all her life, her relationship with husband Diego Rivera, her bisexuality and the way she crafted her own image. As part of the Dutch National Ballet residency, The Music Center will launch its second dance film festival in collaboration with Dance Camera West, inviting Southern California dance filmmakers to submit films that reflect themes of self-portraiture and autobiographical dance inspired by Ochoa’s Frida.
“The Music Center is proud to be the leader in bringing electrifying performances, talks, classes, digital experiences and more from around the world to Los Angeles. This season, four dance companies will take you on a mesmerizing journey,” said Josephine Ramirez, executive vice president, TMC Arts. “We invite the community to engage with the companies in multiple ways through our variety of specially-curated events, from school performances and educator workshops to thought-provoking panels, pre-performance discussions, artmaking experiences and more. No matter your familiarity with the companies or the pieces, everyone can take part in these residencies!”
In addition to the Dance at The Music Center series, The Music Center will collaborate in 2023 with longtime residency partner Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater to bring Ailey Arts In Education & Community Programs to multiple middle schools in Los Angeles County for a weeklong arts learning experience. The program will begin with a professional development workshop for educators, followed by classroom workshops for students that will examine the work and historical impact of Alvin Ailey, a writing project on students’ self-reflection and a discussion on the choreography of Ailey masterpiece Revelations. In addition, The Music Center will work with the Ailey company to offer an AileyDance for Active Aging workshop to older adults at a local senior facility.
For tickets and information about the 20th season of Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center, visit musiccenter.org or call (213) 972-0711. The Music Center’s Ticket Buyer Assurance Program protects all advance ticket purchases for dance presentations through 2023. Ticketed patrons will receive, at their request, a full refund or a credit for a future performance if Los Angeles County or the State of California elects to restrict or prohibit large gathering events at venues, resulting in the cancellation by The Music Center of dance performances due to COVID-19-related conditions. If an event is postponed or rescheduled, ticketed patrons will be moved automatically to the new performance date; however, patrons may request a refund or credit for the future. All changes must be handled prior to the purchaser’s scheduled performance date.
20th Season of Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at the Music Center*
Paul Taylor Dance Company
Company B
Opus number: 96
Music: Songs sung by the Andrews Sisters
Costumes: Santo Loquasto
Lighting: Jennifer Tipton
Date first performed: June 20, 1991
Lovette World Premiere
Costume Design: Cynthia Rowley
Lighting Design: Jennifer Tipton
The Green Table
Book and choreography: Kurt Jooss
Music: F.A. Cohen
Costumes: Hein Heckroth
Masks and lighting design: Hermann Markard
Staging and supervision: Jeanette Vondersaar
Co-staging and repetiteur: Claudio Schellino
Lighting directed by: Berry Claassen
The Music Center’s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion
Friday, April 28, 2023, at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, April 29, 2023, at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, April 30, 2023, at 2:00 p.m.
Last company appearance at The Music Center: 2021
In a seminal piece of Americana, Paul Taylor’s Company B juxtaposes the energy and enthusiasm of the country in the early 1940s with the human toll of a young nation drawn into the Second World War. Performed to the hit songs of the Andrews Sisters, the dance focuses on poignant dualities: young lovers lindy, jitterbug and polka in a near manic grasp for happiness while, in the background, shadowy figures bid farewell to their loved ones and march to war, with many never to return. Newsweek’s Laura Shapiro writes: “Evokes the exuberant rhythms of the ’40s as well as the grim and persistent shadow of war. But even more vividly, it honors Taylor’s magnificent dancers. Some of the most glorious dancing to be seen anywhere.”
The second work will be a world premiere by Resident Choreographer Lauren Lovette, former principal dancer with New York City Ballet, to the music of Michael Daugherty’s scintillating percussion concerto Dreamachine.
Closing the program is Kurt Jooss’ The Green Table, one of the most iconic and celebrated anti-war dances of all time. Created between world wars, The Green Table, subtitled A Dance of Death in Eight Scenes, takes audiences through the stages of war, beginning with political negotiations, moving to the battlefront and, ultimately, focusing on the horrific aftermath with death ever-present and steering the fate of mankind. With timeless designs by Hein Heckroth and Hermann Mankard and music by Fritz Cohen, The Green Table’s narrative is just as relevant, and the drama just as searing, as when it premiered 90 years ago.
MOMIX
Alice
Conceived and directed by: Moses Pendleton
Associate Director: Cynthia Quinn
Production Manager & Lighting Supervisor: Woodrow F. Dick III
Lighting design: Michael Korsch
Music collage: Moses Pendleton
Music editing: Andrew Hanson
Video design: Woodrow F. Dick III
Costume design: Phoebe Katzin
The Music Center’s Ahmanson Theatre
Friday, May 19, 2023, at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 20, 2023, at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, May 21, 2023, at 2:00 p.m.
Company debut performance at The Music Center
Seamlessly blending illusion, acrobatics, magic, and whimsy, MOMIX sends audiences flying down the rabbit hole in Moses Pendleton’s newest creation, ALICE, inspired by Lewis Carroll’s classic Alice in Wonderland. In this mind-bending adventure, Alice encounters time-honored characters including the undulating Caterpillar, a lobster quadrille, frenzied White Rabbits, a mad Queen of Hearts, and a variety of other surprises. Filled with visual splendor and startling creative movement, Alice reveals that nothing in MOMIX’s world is as it seems! The Wall Street Journal writes: “MOMIX’s Alice fills the stage with a marvelously dizzying flow of physical activities and illusions amid expansive, artful projections.” Broadway World adds: “The company members of MOMIX are called dancer-illusionists for a good reason; what they pulled off in this show seemed superhuman... This is a trip that merits many return visits.”
Complexions Contemporary Ballet
Mixed Repertoire
Founding Co-Artistic Directors: Desmond Richardson & Dwight Rhoden
WOKE
Choreography: Dwight Rhoden
Music: Various artists
Lighting design: Michael Korsch
Costume design: Christine Darch
Sound design: Corey Folta
LOVE ROCKS
Choreography: Dwight Rhoden
Music: Lenny Kravitz
Lighting design: Michael Korsch
Costume design: Christine Darch
Sound design: Corey Folta
The Music Center’s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion
Friday, June 16, 2023, at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, June 17, 2023, at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, June 18, 2023, at 2:00 p.m.
Last company appearance at The Music Center: 2018
WOKE is a physical reaction to the daily news. Set to music by recording artists Kendrick Lamar, Logic, Drake, Diplo and others, WOKE is a bold and dynamic one-act ballet featuring the full company that examines our humanity in conjunction with the enlightened awareness of today’s generation.
Closing the evening is LOVE ROCKS, set to the music of GRAMMY® Award-winning singer-songwriter Lenny Kravitz whose lush melodies and retro musical style lay a foundation for passionate storytelling through edgy, athletic and theatrical movement. Rock meets Ballet in LOVE ROCKS!
Led by dance icons Dwight Rhoden and Desmond Richardson, Complexions Contemporary Ballet has awakened audiences to a new, exciting genre with their singular approach of reinventing dance and contemporary ballet. With stunning gifted dancers and powerful choreography, Complexions has been hailed by the Philadelphia Inquirer as a “matchless American dance company.” The Guardian adds: "Companies like Complexions are game-changing: they’re forging a path for what ballet can be instead of what it historically has been.”
Dutch National Ballet
Frida
Concept, libretto and choreography: Annabelle Lopez Ochoa
Dramaturgy and libretto: Nancy Meckler
Music: Peter Salem
Set and costume design: Dieuweke van Reij
Lighting design: Michael Mazzola
Assistant to the Choreographer: Luis Torres
Live orchestra conducted by Matthew Rowe
The Music Center’s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion
Friday, July 14, 2023, at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, July 15, 2023, at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, July 16, 2023, at 2:00 p.m.
Debut performance at The Music Center
As the largest dance company of the Netherlands, Dutch National Ballet develops and has produced and presented ballet over the past 60 years at the highest international level, aiming to reach a wider public and to bring today’s audiences into contact with the beauty and passion of the dance art form. With a unique and diverse repertoire of nearly 80 dancers from all over the world and a tradition of innovation, the company plays a leading role in Dutch cultural life and beyond.
Frida by choreographer Annabelle Lopez Ochoa with composer Peter Salem was inspired by the life story of Mexican painter Frida Kahlo. One of the most intriguing artists of the 20th Century, Kahlo refused to bow to misfortune, zealously fought taboos and championed women's rights and painted self-portraits that became famous the world over. In creating this full-length choreography, Ochoa’s aim was to flesh out the “expressive surrealism that dance—by analogy to Kahlo’s paintings—can embody,” delving even deeper into the loneliness that haunted Kahlo all her life, her relationship with husband Diego Rivera, her bisexuality and the way she crafted her own image.
*Programs and artists subject to change. Photos available here.
While The Music Center strongly encourages the use of masks on its campus, it no longer requires the use of masks or proof of vaccination/booster for access to its theatres. The Music Center remains committed to the highest standards of safety, sanitation and security to minimize risk for guests, artists and employees. Visit musiccenter.org/safety for information about The Music Center’s continued safety and security measures.
In accordance with Centers for Disease Control and Los Angeles County Department of Public Health directives, The Music Center worked behind-the-scenes during the pandemic to prepare for the return of live performances in its venues, both indoors and outdoors, by implementing new measures and procedures. The Music Center became the first performing arts organization in the nation to earn the UL Verified Healthy Buildings Mark for Indoor Air and Water Quality. The Music Center underwent an extensive assessment process to earn the verification, demonstrating that each of its four venues, Grand Park’s administrative office and The Music Center Annex, has excellent quality for indoor air and water. Additionally, The Music Center has enhanced all cleaning procedures, installed hand sanitizer more dispensers in all public spaces and created a contact-free experience in its public restrooms as well as instituted electronic ticketing and a digital program book, among other measures.
Situated on the ancestral and sacred land of the Tongva and many other indigenous groups who call these grounds home, The Music Center acknowledges and honors with gratitude the land itself and the First People who have been its steward throughout the generations.
About Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center
Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center, a TMC Arts program, is one of the leading presenters of dance on the West Coast. The celebrated series offers significant works by prestigious ballet and contemporary dance artists from around the world. Now entering its 20th year, Dance at The Music Center is a powerful force, supporting new works and artists-in-residence projects by today’s most influential companies and choreographers. Performances take place throughout The Music Center, including the historic Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, the distinctive Ahmanson Theatre and the iconic Walt Disney Concert Hall, on the Jerry Moss Plaza and in locations around the Los Angeles area. The 20th season of Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center is generously supported by Glorya Kaufman Foundation, Center Dance Arts, Dorothy B. Chandler Program Fund and Elisabeth Katte Harris.
About Center Dance Arts
Center Dance Arts is a dynamic community of patrons with a passion for dance. Center Dance Arts members bring dance to life in Los Angeles by promoting The Music Center’s world-class dance performances, extensive educational outreach and free and low-cost community experiences so all may experience the transformative power of dance. For more information, visit musiccenter.org/cda.
About The Music Center
The Music Center convenes artists, communities and ideas with the goal of deepening the cultural lives of every resident in Los Angeles County. The $70 million non-profit performing arts organization has two divisions: TMC Arts and TMC Ops. TMC Arts, The Music Center’s programming engine, provides year-round programming inside The Music Center’s four theatres, on Jerry Moss Plaza, outside at Grand Park—a 12-acre adjacent green space—in schools and other locations all over Los Angeles County and on a digital platform called The Music Center Offstage. TMC Arts presents world-class dance with Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center, free and low-cost public concerts and events, as well as live and digital K–12 arts education programs, workshops, performances, interactive experiences and special events. TMC Ops manages the theatres, the Plaza and Grand Park, which comprise $2 billion in county assets, on behalf of the County of Los Angeles. The Music Center is also home to four renowned resident companies—Center Theatre Group, Los Angeles Master Chorale, LA Opera and LA Phil. For more information, visit musiccenter.org. Follow The Music Center on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @MusicCenterLA.
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