Kristin's List: A Guide to Cultivated Los Angeles

Set in Santiago, Chile, during the Pinochet regime, the film “Tony Manero” follows the desperate and violent life of a “Saturday Night Fever” obsessed middle aged low-life. As he sits in matinees watching the 1977 disco epic, Manero attempts to learn John Travolta’s every move in hopes of winning a TV talent show. While he is not absorbing U.S. pop culture, Manero is unabashed about killing anyone who gets in his way. “Tony Manero” is a study in the co-existence of Hollywood glamour exported to a country riddled with state sponsored violence backed by the CIA.

WHEN: Friday, July 17 - Thursday, July 23
ADMISSION: $10
WHERE: Laemmle’s Music Hall 3
ADDRESS: 9036 Wilshire Boulevard, Beverly Hills, CA 90211
WEBSITE: www.laemmle.com

No experience is necessary to get your groove on with Ryan Heffington at his wet and wild dance class, Sweaty Sundays. Known as a “dance class for everyone,” Heffington will get you fit with his signature blend of jazz, pop, sex and camp moves. The low-pretense pumped-up sweat fest is also a great time to break out the sparkly leotard you have been longing to wear. Sassy-free workout gear is also welcome.

WHEN: 12noon & 1:30pm
ADMISSION: $10 cash, $5 if you take the 2nd class also
WHERE: Foresight Studios
ADDRESS: 3501 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90026
PHONE: (323) 664-7900
WEBSITE: www.myspace.com/sweatysundays

Graffiti artists, DJs and B-boys unite for the “Hard in Da Paint!” workshop and celebration of hip hop culture at Self Help Graphics & Art. Featuring silk screening demos, live aerosol art, dance battles, MC battles and poetry readings, this insane synthesis of emerging local talent is not to be missed. Dedicated to serving the artistic voices of the Chicano/ Mexicano community, Self Help Graphics & Art is once again keeping it real by kicking off the “Hard in Da Paint” series with so many exciting young voices.

WHEN: 2:00pm-9:00pm
ADMISSION: $5 door
WHERE: Self Help Graphics & Art
ADDRESS: 3802 Cesar E. Chavez Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90063
WEBSITE: www.selfhelpgraphics.com

For the past three years, the ongoing performance series, Anatomy Riot, has been a place for LA’s experimental dance community to present new and in-progress works. With a do-it-yourself aesthetic and welcoming, casual atmosphere, Anatomy Riot encourages local artists to explore pieces that may otherwise not have a venue. Curated by Meg Wolfe, Anatomy Riot #26, will feature new dance and video works by LA artists Melina Bielefelt, Won-sun Choi, Sarah Leddy, Hannah Schwadron, Anna B. Scott and Rosie Trump.
-Juliet Small Ernst

WHEN: 8pm
ADMISSION: $10 suggested donation
WHERE: The Open Space
ADDRESS: 209 S Garey St, 2nd Fl, Los Angeles, CA 90012
WEBSITE: www.myspace.com/anatomyriot

Featuring the work of two vanguard husband-and-wife dance companies — Catch Me Bird and Baker & Tarpaga Dance Project — “Sans Detour” pairs aerial dance theater with West African inspired modern dance. The one-night event, also known as “No Turning Back,” is highlighted by the world premiere of Catch Me Bird’s aerial piece, “Silk.” The Ford Amphitheatre’s 60-foot stage towers will be used by dancers to descend to the stage as they unfurl themselves in long swaths of silk.

The Baker & Tarpaga Dance Project, LA’s premiere African Contemporary Dance Theater company, will tell the story of an assassinated West African journalist. The piece will be accompanied by live West African drumming and afro-blues acoustic guitarist Ibrahim Boro.

WHEN: 8:30pm
ADMISSION: $25
TICKETS: www.fordtheatres.org
WHERE: The Ford Theatre
ADDRESS: 2580 Cahuenga Blvd East, Hollywood, CA 90068
FORD THEATRE: www.fordtheatres.org
CATCH ME BIRD: www.catchmebird.com
BAKER & TARPAGA DANCE PROJECT: www.btdanceproject.com

Dancing to the sounds of M.I.A., The Knife and The Violent Femmes, choreographer Ryan Heffington keeps “you wet and fit” at his electric Sweaty Sundays dance class. With steps based in “jazz, pop, sex and camp,” all skill levels, from novice to professional, are invited to let loose at this low-stress pumped-up sweat fest.


WHEN: 12noon
ADMISSION: $10 cash
WHERE: Foresight Studios
ADDRESS: 3501 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90026
PHONE: (323) 664-7900
WEBSITE: www.myspace.com/sweatysundays

The wild underground performance artist Ian MacKinnon presents a live sci-fi dance show (wigs, costumes and entourage included) on eighteen-thirty’s rooftop. With film images projected in the background, MacKinnon plays out the tale of a monster created by scientists to save the world from mutant flesh eaters. To top off the night there will be a screening of “Sins of the Fleshapoids” (1965), the story of an enslaved robot that breaks free and takes up the hedonistic ways of humans.

WHEN: 8:30pm doors/9pm show
ADMISSION: $5
TICKETS: Door
WHERE: eighteen-thirty
ADDRESS: 1830 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90026
WEBSITE: rooftopscreenings.blogspot.com

With its exhilarating brand of racy cabaret, punk-rock aesthetics and psychedelic tomfoolery, Cirque Berzerk brings its thirty-member troupe to downtown LA’s sprawling Cornfield plot. Under one tent, contortionists, aerial acrobats, stilt walkers, fire breathers and many more will tell the timeless story of Orpheus at their limited four night run of “Beneath.”

Arrive early to enjoy pre-show picnicking as well as a Belgian beer from Cirque Berzerk’s Wine & Beer Garden. Situated on a 32-acre park, the Cornfield provides ample space for general carousing and merriment before the sensational show begins.

WHEN: 8:30pm July 24-27
ADMISSION: $35-$65
TICKETS: www.cirqueberzerk.com
WHERE: Los Angeles State Historic Park (the Cornfield)
ADDRESS: 1245 N Spring St, Los Angeles, CA 90012
WEBSITE: www.cirqueberzerk.com

With performers in all shapes and sizes, the Dandelion Dancetheater creates “a vibrant ecosystem of naked bodies” to explore ideas of impermanence, unexpected intimacy and the longing for wholeness. In their current production of “Testiculish,” the interdisciplinary male troupe aspires to deconstruct popular notions of the male body image.

WHEN: 8:30pm July 17-26, Thurs-Fri-Sat
ADMISSION: $15/$20
TICKETS: www.highwaysperformance.org
WHERE: Highways Performance Space
ADDRESS: 1651 18th St, Santa Monica, CA 90404
PHONE: (310) 315-1459
WEBSITE: www.dandeliondancetheater.org

As part of a travelling series on water in cities around the world, eight adventurous TaskForce dancers will perform at the LA River. Inspired by our areas complex relationship to this natural resource, the dance piece will be in conjunction with a bus tour of the LA River led by River guide Jenny Price and poet Suzanne Lummis.


WHEN: 9:30am
ADMISSION: $50 General/$45 FoLAR Members
RESERVATIONS: Call FoLAR at (323) 223-0585 or email akatano@folar.org
WHERE: Tour begins at the LA River & Gardens
MAP TO LA RIVER & GARDENS: www.lamountains.com/maps/riverCenter.pdf
TASKFORCE WEBSITE: www.koplowitzprojects.com/taskforce/

Inspired by the stylized aesthetics of film noir, the new dance/performance piece “Eleven Missing Days” explores the experience of mystery and the meaning of disappearance versus absence. Choreographed by Meg Wolfe the piece also intends to dissect the creative process itself and how we perpetually reexamine ourselves when new ‘evidence’ appears.


WHEN: July 3-13, check for showtimes
ADMISSION: $18
TICKETS: Call (323) 466-7781 or visit www.unknowntheater.com
WHERE: Unknown Theater
ADDRESS: 1110 Seward St, Los Angeles, CA 90038
PHONE: (323) 466-7781
WEBSITE: www.unknowntheater.com

Lucent Dossier at The Edison, the LA-based performing arts group, combines vaudeville glamour, haute couture fashion and circus madness. As part of The Edison’s Wednesday night cabaret series, Lucent Dossier will present an “intimate night of underground bliss” in their production “Incandescence: The Dark Side of Light.”

The Edison is reinventing the spirit of cabaret, reminiscent of Paris and Berlin in the 20s. On Wednesday nights the club is transformed into an exploration of the past offering a peek into the decadent, sensuous underbelly of historic LA.

WHEN: 9pm
ADMISSION: $15 advance, $20 door
TICKETS: www.edisondowntown.com
WHERE: The Edison
ADDRESS: 108 W 2nd St #101, Los Angeles, CA 90012
PHONE: (213) 613-0000
LUCENT DOSSIER WEBSITE: www.lucentdossier.com
EDISON WEBSITE: www.edisondowntown.com

From Mexico to Argentina to Uruguay, cinematographers and choreographers from all over Latin America are redefining dance made for the screen. The Dance Camera West Festival highlights this phenomenon with “Videodanza,” a series of provocative and playful shorts to be screened outdoors at the Braude Center Plaza.

Attendees of this free event are encouraged to bring their own seating.

WHEN: 8pm
ADMISSION: Free
WHERE: Martin Braude Center Plaza
ADDRESS: 6262 Van Nuys Blvd, Van Nuys, CA 91401
WEBSITE: www.dancecamerawest.org

Focusing on five of Russia’s preeminent ballerinas, director Bertrand Normand’s new documentary “Ballerina” presents an intimate look at the discipline and sophistication needed to make it to the world stage. Giving ravishing performances, the featured Mariinsky Theater ballerinas, formerly known as the Kirov Ballet of St. Petersburg, give a genuine glimpse at the rigors behind their pretty presentation. 2007, 77min.

WHEN: 7:30pm
ADMISSION: $10 General/$8 Seniors & Students/$7 Members
TICKETS: Call (323) 466-3456 or visit www.fandango.com
WHERE: Aero Theatre
ADDRESS: 1328 Montana Ave, Santa Monica, CA 90403
PHONE: (323) 466-3456
WEBSITE: www.americancinematheque.com

String Theory, the LA collective of dancers and musicians will kick off the Craft and Folk Art Museum’s Summer Season with an original, site-specific outdoor concert. The innovative and multi-media group will marry music, movement and sculptural long-string instruments to create a visual soundtrack.

WHEN: 7pm-9pm
ADMISSION: Free
RSVP: (323) 937-4230 x50 or rsvp@cafam.org
WHERE: Craft and Folk Art Museum
ADDRESS: 5814 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90036
CAFAM WEBSITE: www.cafam.org
STRING THEORY WEBSITE: www.stringtheoryproductions.com