photographed by CHRISTINA CAMPODONICO
Where does dance happen in Los Angeles? Who dances? And how is dance made? These are some of the questions that DanceMapLA seeks to answer by mapping, surveying and gathering news about dance in Los Angeles. The USC Annenberg-based initiative officially premiered at UCLA’s Center for the Art of Performance (CAP) on Friday, inviting dancers, choreographers and dance leaders from across Los Angeles to take and share DanceMapLA’s online census of the dance community.
A launch party, co-hosted by CAP, went into full swing on the terrace, following the west coast premiere of three Kyle Abraham works – “When the Wolves Came in,” “The Gettin'” and “Hallowed.” KCRW’s Garth Trinidad spun beats throughout the evening, while performers, theatre-goers and dance fans alike enthusiastically grooved to the music. Some even got in front of the camera to show off their moves, which were projected onto Royce Hall’s brick façade and will be featured in a DanceMapLA video.
Ampersand was there to document the beginning of this new dance movement.
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Choreographer Kate Hutter, co-founder of L.A. Contemporary Dance Company, jumps right in as the first dancer for DanceMapLA's video shoot.Photo by CHRISTINA CAMPODONICO -
d. Sabela Grimes moves to the beat at the DanceMapLA launch party.Photo by CHRISTINA CAMPODONICO
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Dancer Kate Andrews of L.A. Contemporary Dance lets her hair down during the DanceMapLA Launch.Photo by CHRISTINA CAMPODONICO
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Christian Fajardo, a dance student at Cal-State Long Beach, sails around the DanceMapLA video shoot.
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Emiko Sugiyama takes to the floor.Photo by CHRISTINA CAMPODONICO
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Jessica Dunn makes a dramatic arch.Photo by CHRISTINA CAMPODONICO
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Aryan Sadat shows us some martial arts moves.Photo by CHRISTINA CAMPODONICO
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Deborah Brockus of Brockus Dance swirls her scarf.Photo by CHRISTINA CAMPODONICO
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Mark Brown, who trained at Cal-State Long Beach's Dance Department, stretches to the sky.Photo by CHRISTINA CAMPODONICO
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Dancer Jonas Jacob has no problem balancing on one hand.Photo by CHRISTINA CAMPODONICO
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This dancer spins on his sneaker with grace and verve.Photo by CHRISTINA CAMPODONICO
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Eva Angeloff, Company Manager of L.A. Contemporary Dance, sways to the music.Photo by CHRISTINA CAMPODONICO
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Eve Rubenstein and Timna Naim boogie down.Photo by CHRISTINA CAMPODONICO
& Extra
DanceMapLA is an experimental journalism project created by dance scholar and critic Sasha Anawalt to bring visibility to Los Angeles’ diverse and wide-ranging dance community. The online initiative maps, surveys and collects data about dance in Los Angeles through an online census, as well as gathers news about dance from around the world.
[Featured image by CHRISTINA CAMPODONICO // Emiko Sugiyama takes to the floor at the DanceMapLA launch party]