Laguna Dance Festival is SoCal’s dance showcase

LAGUNA BEACH, Calif – Dance a little. Dance some more. Dance a whole lot. There was a lot of dancing going on at the Laguna Dance Festival. The Laguna Dance Festival celebrated its 19th year with some international talent.

The festival took place from Feb. 23 until Feb. 25. The dance festival offered three nights of enjoyment with performances from New Zealand and Los Angeles at the Laguna Playhouse in Laguna Beach.

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Performers also gave a complimentary backstage performance event on Thursday, Feb. 22. Jodie Gates, the founder and artistic director of the Laguna Dance Festival in 2005, is also the founder of the annual event. Coincidentally, Gates started the dance festival the same year she began to live in Laguna Beach.

Originating from Northern California, Gates has had an established career in the dance field for over thirty-five years. She has contributed to the dance profession in a variety of ways, including as a director, educator, coach, producer, and principal dancer, according to the lagunadancefestival.com website.

Friday’s evening performance featured two different pieces from Black Grace, a company from New Zealand and founded by Neil Ieremia. leremia’s choreography fuses contemporary dance with traditional Samoan movements.

Black Grace’s first feature was Handgame, which is a rhythmic dance using a Samoan slap dance, fa’ataupati. This first act had the audience captivated by the way the dancers utilized their hands. The dancers also covered the song ‘Royal’ by Lorde. Once the act was over the audience clapped with excitement.

The second piece of choreography in the first act was Kiona and the Little Bird Suite. This particular dance used percussion influenced by traditional Samoan Sasa. The dancers also incorporated live singing, drumming, and chanting. In the second act they performed Paradise Rumour, a very thought-provoking choreography that captivated the audience.

“I just absolutely love this company. I first saw the company in 2015. And my breath was taken away. It’s very rare that we have an opportunity to see Black Grace because they don’t tour the US every year,” said Gates about the performances of Black Grace. “I think that they’re an extraordinary company. The artists have such conviction. They’re athletic there, the music is so dynamic as well.”

Black Grace only had three tour dates in the United States. Their first performance was in Portland, Oregon. Their second tour dates were at the Laguna Dance Festival. Black Grace finish out their American tour in Chicago before heading back home to New Zealand.

Following the performance both the dancers and Ieremia were thanked by the crowd doing a standing ovation from the crowd. Saturday’s event featured the Los Angeles Ballet, the leading ballet company in Los Angeles. The ensemble is known for staging classical, contemporary, romantic, and neoclassical ballets.

Black Grace was also the featured group on Saturday with choreography of their Handgame and Kiona and the Little Bird Suite.

Gates choreographed in collaboration with the dancers with live music. Sunday performances included the Los Angeles Ballet and Syncopated Ladies, the first tap dance featured at the Laguna Dance Festival. The 2024 Laguna Dance Festival young artist scholarship recipients were introduced. This year they had four recipients.

“It takes a little mini village to build something of this size, a festival,” said Gates about the preparations of the festival. “There’s many moving parts as you can imagine everything from making sure the dancers are fed to driven around to proper housing.”

“And we all love what we do and we love having this product here in Laguna Beach. Really what you’re seeing is world-class dance in Laguna Beach. Not many people have the opportunity to see this company,” Gates added.