Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center Continues Its 20th Dance Season with Complexions’ Bold Works WOKE and LOVE ROCKS Featuring Music by Kendrick Lamar, Logic, Drake, Lenny Kravitz and More
Dance Residency Includes Free Public Poetry Jam on Jerry Moss Plaza at The Music Center Featuring Spoken Word Artist Terrell Lewis, Poet Sean Hill, WriteGirl, Get Lit, UniverSOUL Hip Hop and More
LOS ANGELES (May 16, 2023) — Complexions Contemporary Ballet returns to The Music Center, L.A.’s only performing arts center, with performances from June 16–18, 2023, as part of the 20th dance season of Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center. The New York-based company, hailed as a “matchless American dance company” by the Philadelphia Inquirer, is led by dance icons Dwight Rhoden and Desmond Richardson, who have brought a new, exciting genre to the dance world with their singular approach of reinventing dance and contemporary ballet. As lauded by The Guardian, “…companies like Complexions are game-changing: they’re forging a path for what ballet can be instead of what it historically has been.”
Complexions will present a duo of bold works guaranteed to awaken audiences: WOKE, a dynamic one-act ballet featuring the full company, examines humanity in conjunction with the enlightened awareness of today’s generation. A physical reaction to the daily news, WOKE is set to music by recording artists Kendrick Lamar, Logic, Drake and others. Closing the evening is LOVE ROCKS, set to the Rock ‘n Soul music of GRAMMY® Award-winning singer-songwriter Lenny Kravitz whose lush melodies and retro musical style lay a foundation for passionate storytelling through edgy, athletic and theatrical movement. Rock meets ballet in LOVE ROCKS!
“When Complexions Contemporary Ballet last performed at The Music Center five years ago, the company wowed us with a sensational tribute to the late great icon David Bowie complete with the singer’s most beloved hits and glam rock-inspired costumes. Complexions will triumph again in June with a pair of masterpieces that will stir emotions across generations,” said Rachel S. Moore, president and CEO of The Music Center. “Punctuating its intense performances with music by some of today’s most influential recording artists, Complexions will take us on a whirlwind journey, beginning with a look into the world’s complexities and finishing with the universal language of love. Complexions’ powerful dancers return to The Music Center with a roar—a tour de force not to be missed.”
Inspired by Complexions’ performances, The Music Center will produce and present The Music Center’s Love Amplified Poetry Jam, which will be free and open to the public on Wednesday, June 14, 2023, from 7:00–8:30 p.m. in collaboration with Complexions Co-Founder and Artistic Director Dwight Rhoden, Terrell “The Artist” Lewis and Tiffany Bong of UniverSOUL Hip Hop. The experience begins with an outdoor screening of the short film Black is Beautiful on Jerry Moss Plaza at The Music Center followed by a poetry jam that weaves spoken word, dance and music and invites the public to participate. The event will feature Lewis; poet Sean Hill; youth organizations WriteGirl and Get Lit; dancers representing UniverSOUL Hip Hop; and live music by Everything Raw.
In addition, patrons for the June 18, 2023, dance performance will be invited to attend a pre-show discussion, beginning at 1 p.m., with the company’s Co-Founders and Artistic Directors Dwight Rhoden and Desmond Richardson at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion’s Stern Grand Hall.
To engage and inspire students and educators through dance and movement, The Music Center will offer a master class for high school dancers on Saturday, June 17. Local youth involved with WriteGirl and Get Lit will have the opportunity to participate in a Creative Writing master class led by Terrel “The Artist” Lewis.
Tickets to Complexions Contemporary Ballet’s performances are available for purchase now by visiting musiccenter.org/complexions or calling (213) 972-0711. The Music Center’s Ticket Buyer Assurance Program protects all advance ticket purchases for dance presentations through 2023. Ticketed patrons will receive, at their request, a full refund or a credit for a future performance if Los Angeles County or the State of California elects to restrict or prohibit large gathering events at venues, resulting in the cancellation by The Music Center of dance performances due to COVID-19-related conditions. If an event is postponed or rescheduled, ticketed patrons will be moved automatically to the new performance date; however, patrons may request a refund or credit for the future. All changes must be handled prior to the purchaser’s scheduled performance date.
The Music Center remains committed to the highest standards of safety, sanitation and security to minimize risk for guests, artists and employees. Visit musiccenter.org/safety for information about The Music Center’s continued safety and security measures.
CALENDAR LISTING FOR DANCE PERFORMANCES
Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center: Complexions Contemporary Ballet
Friday, June 16, 2023, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, June 17, 2023, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, June 18, 2023, 2:00 p.m.
The Music Center’s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion
135 North Grand Avenue, Los Angeles 90012
WOKE
Choreography: Dwight Rhoden
Music: Various artists
Lighting design: Michael Korsch
Costume design: Christine Darch
Sound design: Corey Folta
LOVE ROCKS
Choreography: Dwight Rhoden
Music: Lenny Kravitz
Lighting design: Michael Korsch
Costume design: Christine Darch
Sound design: Corey Folta
CALENDAR LISTING FOR THE MUSIC CENTER’S LOVE AMPLIFIED POETRY JAM
WHAT:
The Music Center invites the public to a free outdoor spoken word and dance event—The Music Center’s Love Amplified Poetry Jam—produced in collaboration with Complexions Contemporary Ballet’s Co-Founder and Artistic Director Dwight Rhoden, Terrell “The Artist” Lewis and Tiffany Bong of UniverSOUL Hip Hop. Beginning with a screening of the short film Black is Beautiful, the event features Lewis, poet Sean Hill, youth organizations WriteGirl and Get Lit, UniverSOUL Hip Hop and live music by Everything Raw.
WHO:
Free and open to the public
WHEN:
Wednesday, June 14, 2023
7:00–8:30 p.m.
WHERE:
Jerry Moss Plaza at The Music Center
135 North Grand Avenue
Los Angeles 90012
MORE INFO:
musiccenter.org/loveamplified
About Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center
Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center, a TMC Arts program, is one of the leading presenters of dance on the West Coast. The celebrated series offers significant works by prestigious ballet and contemporary dance artists from around the world. Now entering its 20th year, Dance at The Music Center is a powerful force, supporting new works and artists-in-residence projects by today’s most influential companies and choreographers. Performances are complemented by special experiences for both ticket buyers and the public with opportunities to learn more about the choreography and the themes explored, including panels, master classes, dance film festivals, interactive experiences and more. The 20th season of Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center is generously supported by Glorya Kaufman Foundation, Center Dance Arts, Dorothy B. Chandler Program Fund and Elisabeth Katte Harris.
About Center Dance Arts
Center Dance Arts is a dynamic community of patrons with a passion for dance. Center Dance Arts members bring dance to life in Los Angeles by promoting The Music Center’s world-class dance performances, extensive educational outreach and free and low-cost community experiences so all may experience the transformative power of dance. For more information, visit musiccenter.org/cda.
About The Music Center
The Music Center convenes artists, communities and ideas with the goal of deepening the cultural lives of every resident in Los Angeles County. The $70 million non-profit performing arts organization has two divisions: TMC Arts and TMC Ops. TMC Arts, The Music Center’s programming engine, provides year-round programming inside The Music Center’s four theatres, on Jerry Moss Plaza, outside at Gloria Molina Grand Park—a 12-acre adjacent green space—in schools and other locations all over Los Angeles County and on a digital platform called The Music Center Offstage. TMC Arts presents world-class dance with Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center, free and low-cost public concerts and events, as well as live and digital K–12 arts education programs, workshops, performances, interactive experiences and special events. TMC Ops manages the theatres, the Plaza and Gloria Molina Grand Park, which comprise $2 billion in county assets, on behalf of the County of Los Angeles. The Music Center is also home to four renowned resident companies—Center Theatre Group, Los Angeles Master Chorale, LA Opera and LA Phil. For more information, visit musiccenter.org. Follow The Music Center on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @MusicCenterLA.
About Complexions Contemporary Ballet
Complexions was founded in 1994 by Master Choreographer Dwight Rhoden and the legendary dancer Desmond Richardson with a singular approach to reinventing dance through a groundbreaking mix of methods, styles and cultures. Today, Complexions represents one of the world's most recognized and respected performing arts brands. Having presented an entirely new and exciting vision of human movement on five continents, more than 20 countries, to over 20 million television viewers and more than 500,000 people in live audiences, Complexions is poised to continue its mission of bringing unity to the world one dance at a time. The company’s foremost innovation is that dance should remove boundaries, not reinforce them. Whether it be the limiting traditions of a single style, period, venue, or culture, Complexions transcends them all, creating an open, continually evolving form of dance that reflects the movement of our world—and all its constituent cultures—as an interrelated whole. Together, Rhoden and Richardson have created in Complexions an institution that embodies its historical moment, a sanctuary where those passionate about dance can celebrate its past while simultaneously building its future. In the 29 years since its inception, the company has borne witness to a world that is becoming more fluid, more changeable, and more culturally interconnected than ever before—in other words, a world that is becoming more and more like Complexions itself.
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