Coronavirus pushes L.A. dance companies toward the inevitable: Going virtual
For 35 years, choreographer Heidi Duckler (M.A. '88) has navigated the unique challenges of creating work in nontraditional L.A. spaces including churches, underpasses and laundromats. Over its 40-year history, Lula Washington Dance Theatre, lead by Lula Washington (B.A. '76, M.A. '84) persevered through the 1992 L.A. riots, the loss of its West Adams studio in the 1994 Northridge earthquake, and the general ups and downs that are a constant for arts organizations in L.A. With studios and companies shuttered, Duckler and others have transitioned to new modalities.
"For 35 years, choreographer Heidi Duckler has navigated the unique challenges of creating work in nontraditional L.A. spaces including churches, underpasses and laundromats.
Ballet Folklórico de Los Ángeles founder and director Kareli Montoya, 30, checks the screen and her instructors Cynthia Contreras, 18, and Erick Vaca, 27, look on. They are teaching dance classes via Zoom during the coronavirus crisis. After the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Duckler was in Zoom meetings discussing ways to keep staff, company artists and the community engaged. She thought about the possibilities for her postponed work, “Illuminating the Chandelier,” based on the inner dialogue of a woman in isolation.
Although the work originally was set to open at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in April, Duckler realized the video conferencing platform itself could be a stage.
So she began the intense process of translating the work to Zoom, working for weeks to gain a deeper understanding of the technology.
The shortened Zoom production that premiered last week mixed prerecorded dance sequences featuring bedroom backdrops, layered with live music and enhanced with costume, set and video design. The performance, Heidi Duckler Dance’s first virtual show, was free but did give viewers the opportunity to contribute.
The performance was a success: An estimated 400 people tuned in, not only from Southern California but also the East Coast and as far away as Brazil.
Going virtual has become the crucial new strategy for L.A. dance companies as they fight for survival in the face of a calendar of canceled rehearsals and shows, lost income from studio space rentals and rejected applications to the federal small-business loan program.
Although Gov. Gavin Newsom recently announced a four-stage plan to slowly reopen parts of the California economy, dance companies and other arts organizations do not yet have clarity on when they can resume regular activities.
In the meantime, dance companies — from ballet to contemporary to hip-hop — are figuring out new ways to sustain themselves through community fundraising and digital projects including online classes, dance films and performances. Offering programming online is a way for the companies to make money, continue building an audience or expand on a social mission."— Makeda Easter, May 11, 2020
This post is an excerpt. Read the full article on the Los Angeles Times website.
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