This year Laguna Dance Festival will celebrate its 15th anniversary at Irvine Barclay Theatre. It will take place on the weekend of September 27 to September 29, and for the occasion, festival founder and artistic director Jodie Gates has invited three prestigious dance companies to showcase their work for local patrons of the arts. The three include New York’s Parsons Dance, Montreal’s RUBBERBAND and Salt Lake City’s Ballet West. The festival also features educational opportunities for dancers and free Art Walk performances. In advance of the event, Irvine Weekly spoke with Gates about the festival’s history and what attendees can expect to see from the various visiting troupes.

Prior to founding the Laguna Dance Festival — as well as becoming the vice dean and director of the USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance — Gates toured the world as a principal dancer with such prestigious dance companies as The Joffrey Ballet, Frankfurt Ballet, Pennsylvania Ballet and Complexions Contemporary Ballet. While touring, she enjoyed experiencing the varieties of culture and geographical beauty of the countries and cities she visited. This became one of her inspirations for founding her festival in Southern California. “I traveled, globally, dancing in various festivals from Melbourne, Australia to Spoleto, Italy to Jacob’s Pillow, Massachusetts to Edinburgh Festival, in Scotland,” she said, “Not only did it highlight world class dance, but also the destinations. And Laguna Beach and Irvine, in Orange County, are such prime destinations; it’s an opportunity for our community and visitors to see world-class dance.”

First Soloist Katlyn Addison of Ballet West. (Beau Pearson)

Showcasing a constantly changing collection of dance troupes also ensures that both the festival’s participants and attendees experience a fresh variety of styles every year. For this year’s festival line-up, the three companies represent a respectable and diverse program. “Friday evening [kicks off with] Parsons Dance Company, of which the founder is David Parsons; he’s also the leading choreographer, and it’s his brainchild. This company is incredibly athletic. It’s a contemporary dance company that is rooted in modern dance but is also accessible in a way that makes it thrilling to watch for the audience members.” 

“The second company that we’re highlighting is Ballet West,” Gates continued, “Ballet West are bringing a part of the company because the company itself is quite large, so they’re bringing a part of the company to perform two different works. They primarily are a classical ballet company, so they’re bringing a contemporary ballet piece as well as a work that showcases the rigor of a ballet dancer. It’s an excerpt from Rubies, which has choreography by George Balanchine, who is one of the world’s iconic dance choreographers — he passed a few decades ago, but his work continues on.”

RUBBERBAND (Bill Hebert)

Gates went on to discuss the final dance company that will be featured at the festival. “RUBBERBAND is rooted in contemporary dance, social dances and hip-hop, and they are performing on Sunday. And, again, they bring a completely different, intelligent and vivid way of working that is rooted in social dance and its own aesthetic.” Gates continued, “Victor Quijada is the director and choreographer for this company, and, again, it’s a completely different aesthetic than the other two.” She then explained how the presentations will be scheduled throughout the duration of the three day festival. She said, “Each night is different. Saturday night I bring all three companies together, but Friday is only Parsons … and Sunday’s matinee is only RUBBERBAND. So again, you won’t see the full showcase unless you come to the Sunday as well as the Saturday [performances].”

As there are plenty of dance companies to choose from, Gates spends plenty of time considering which ones she will feature for each year’s festival. “The curation is something that I work on throughout the year. One [consideration] is I look at what might introduce a new way of moving to our audience members. Additionally, each curation is different. This [year’s] festival highlights three different aesthetics in dance.” She elaborated, “Last year, I highlighted stars of dance, so I brought in students and some of the top star dancers in the nation. I spend all year thinking about how to vary it, and how to introduce new companies to the community.”

David Parsons teaching class. (Courtesy of Parsons Dance)

When a variety of world-class dancers comes to town, there is also a learning opportunity for artists in the local community. Gates pointed out, “Primarily, a festival brings together the dance community. And, also for our students there, some of the best trained students in the nation are trained in Southern California. So bringing a variety of choreographers and directors and dancers, and showcasing their work is an opportunity for our students to take masterclasses and to hear them speak.” As for the specifics of the educational opportunities, on Saturday, Parsons Dance Company will hold a dance workshop at Laguna Beach High School, at 10 a.m. On Sunday, RUBBERBAND founder Victor Quijada will hold a master class at Irvine Barclay Theatre, also at 10 a.m. Additionally, Laguna Dance Festival will announce the recipients of five scholarships awards on Saturday evening. Finally, each day of the festival will feature an educational pre-show talk. Beyond the scope of the festival, Gates emphasizes, “We are committed to education throughout the year.”

For scheduling and ticket information about the Laguna Dance Festival, please visit: lagunadancefestival.org/

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