L.A.
48 HOURS
Exuberant dancers will seem to fly above the stage in the Split:
Dance In and Out of L.A. performance beginning at 8 tonight at The
Alex Theatre in Glendale.
This installment of the quarterly dance series showcases Jean
Isaacs' critically acclaimed San Diego Dance Theater and two local
companies, Tongue of Los Angeles and Brockus Project Dance Company of
Long Beach. Also on the program is Los Angeles-based choreographer
Lisa K. Lock.
"Tongue in particular defies gravity. They fly above the stage
with huge, soaring leaps and come back down into the ground," said
Deborah Brockus, artistic director of Brockus Project.
"It's almost like basic training -- dance style," she said. "My
boyfriend likes it because it's very athletic. It appeals to the
sports side of American culture."
All three companies have their own style of modern dance, but
Brockus said their techniques have a similar base. The connection is
through the teaching philosophy of two schools.
Brockus first met Isaacs when she was a student at UC Irvine, and
she was influential in introducing Brockus to the style of modern
dance that Brockus' company does today.
Brockus, Tongue artistic director Stephanie Gilliland and Lock
teach or have taught at the Idyllwild Arts Academy.
Lock's dance works are short studies with a humorous look at
humans. Each piece is created with its own prop. One piece, done at a
ballet bar, pokes fun at dancers. Another segment is performed under
huge netting fabric and the dancer becomes a bird.
"She basically metamorphoses into different animals and different
humans," Brockus said. "The audience is riveted watching this
transformation on stage."
Issacs' piece "A Geography of Risk," compares the moving geography
of the West with the constantly changing relationships between
people.
Brockus' company will bring "Phoenix" to the stage, a work which
was loosely inspired by the events of Sept. 11. It shows people
facing difficulties and working together in the aftermath to achieve
a cathartic release, she said.
Her company will also present "Finding Balance on Quaking Land,"
which deals with living and finding a sense of balance in Los
Angeles.
"It will show how we need to think differently than people living
in other cities to be successful," she said.
This show is family friendly, she said, and it will be two hours,
including intermission.
The series is co-sponsored by the Brockus Project Dance Company
and The Alex Theatre. The next installments are May 10 and Aug. 30.
