Jessica Koslow

Gorilla Crew / Photo courtesy of Korean Cultural Center LA

I was just about the only white person in the audience at “2012 Sounds of Friendship” at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre on Oct. 9. The night’s lineup offered a glimpse at the “hallyu” (Korean Wave), or the surge and spread in popularity of Korean pop culture, with performances by musicians, singers and dancers representing both traditional and modern art forms. The show was free, but interested parties had to pick up tickets at the Korean Cultural Center. Hence, the majority of Korean faces in the audience.

Los Angeles is home to the largest population of Korean Americans and Korean residents in the United States. Diplomacy is best achieved through song and dance. This year, in particular, marks the 130^th anniversary of friendship between the Republic of Korea and the United States, and the South Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement took effect in March 2012. “Sounds of Friendship,” the program announces, celebrates the long-standing relationship between the two countries. …

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Photo by: Spencer Davis

It is not common knowledge that Akram Khan was snubbed by NBC this summer during the American telecast of the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in London. NBC replaced Khan’s five-minute dance sequence to the hymn “Abide With Me,” sung by Emile Sandé, with Ryan Seacrest interviewing swimmer Michael Phelps. Danny Boyle had it right though, in tapping Khan to present his work for the nearly 27 million U.S. television viewers. On Oct. 5, as part of Center for the Art of Performance (CAP) at UCLA’s dance series, Los Angeles was privy to witness Khan’s work up-close. The British Bangladeshi artistic director of Akram Khan Company debuted the West Coast premiere of “Vertical Road” (2010) at Royce Hall, with a repeat performance on Saturday evening.

Not as close, however, as audience members would have been at a show during UCLA’s previous seasons. Before the performance, CAP Executive and Artistic Director Kristy Edmunds explained how a few rows of seats in the front of the house had been removed in order to present each artist’s work as they had intended. In other words, people were just too close before.

“Vertical Road,” at 70 minutes sans intermission, picks up in intensity and never lets go. …

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Photo by: Fiona Cullen

Indonesian choreographer Ery Mefri does not speak English. His company Nan Jombang is in New York City the week before coming to Los Angeles, busily performing at Fall for Dance and at Asia Society. Both circumstances slim my chances of an interview. Fortunately, company manager Suzanne La is happy to answer my questions — and provide me with several of Mefri’s own reflections via email —  about his West Coast premiere of “Rantau Berbisik (Whisperings of Exile)” at REDCAT this Wednesday through Sunday (with the exception of Friday).

Mefri is a part of West Sumatra’s Minangkabau ethnic minority. He is very deliberate in exploring issues facing his society, like the ambivalence toward migration, or merantau, the traditional departure of young men from villages to establish themselves economically elsewhere. The guys often land in major Indonesian cities where Minangkabau cafes are popular. Around 80 percent of the men who leave Minangkabau villages never return. Mefri is an oddball. He was born in Solok and chose to settle in nearby Padang. But the nostalgia, longing, resentment, and loss this outmigration sparks remain on Mefri’s mind, and inspired this work.

“When people don’t come back, it hurts development and our ability to progress in West Sumatra,” Mefri says. …

Full article at Culture Spot LA

After filing out of Walt Disney Concert Hall this past Sunday after the second and final performance of Benjamin Millepied’s “L.A. Dance Project,” I couldn’t help but think that I had witnessed the real L.A. Dance Project the previous evening at the Fifth Annual J.U.i.C.E.Hip-Hop Dance Festival at the Ford Amphitheatre.

Saturday evening’s fest was an exciting showcase of street dance from local companies. Powered by grants and community support, producer Emiko Sugiyama has pulled together a night of hip-hop dance for the past three years to benefit the nonprofit weekly hip-hop arts program called J.U.i.C.E., Justice by Uniting in Creative Energy. The collective meets every Saturday afternoon at the MacArthur Park Recreation Center and every Thursday evening at Chuco’s Justice Center in Inglewood and provides instruction in the four elements of hip-hop: MCing, DJing, B-boying and graffiti writing.

While Millepied’s Project boasted beautiful dancers and playfully intricate choreography, there was nothing particularly L.A. about the performance, except for the costumes designed by Kate and Laura Mulleavy of L.A.’s Rodarte. …

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Photo by Peter Griffith

Amy “Catfox” Campion’s arms are sinewy — evidence of her hard work. A longtime b-girl and capoeirista, she is petite, strong and confident. The founder of Antics Performance is standing in front of the 13 street dancers in her crew. Her expression is earnest as she emphasizes the importance of the dancers connecting to their characters. This is something new for everybody. It’s the first time Campion is producing a long-form theatrical piece with a narrative.

“You are assassins,” Campion reminds the two men crouching on the floor. Another dancer portrays a monster, another a tyrant. It’s the second Thursday of September, and inside Campion’s loft on the northwest corner of MacArthur Park, Antics is rehearsing for its premiere of Illuminated Manuscript, which will bring breaking, popping and krumping to Los Angeles Theatre Center (LATC), September 28-30.

The dancers have been running through scenes all afternoon. They break to eat and then head out to the Downtown LA Art Walk to freestyle in the lobby of LATC and hand out flyers for their upcoming show. It’s all part of creating and promoting a new work, which Campion hopes will live on after its debut.

Campion has been involved in street dance and in the Brazilian martial art form Capoeira since her years when she was studying for a BA in dance from the University of Washington. …

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