Transit Space combines skateboarding and dance

(Photo by Randall Bass)

When I first heard about L.A.-based and world-renowned Diavolo Dance Theater's resident project at the Music Center, I knew I had to learn more. Skateboarding and dance - how does that work? Similar to MOCA's summer exhibit, Art in The Streets, Transit Space takes an American subculture sometimes frowned upon, and injects it into the world of - for lack of a better word - highbrow art.

A retrospective of Los Angeles arts and artists (Pacific Standard Time: Art In L.A. 1945-1980)

One of the largest collaborative art projects in Southern California officially kicked off last weekend. Pacific Standard Time: Art In Los Angeles 1945-1980 is a long overdue project that celebrates Los Angeles' contribution to and impact on the arts and popular culture. Over 60 museums and cultural venues are joining forces across Southern California (from Berkeley to San Diego) to share with the world the significant works, artforms and artists that this era in L.A. has produced.

Upcoming Zydeco and Cajun Dancing in LA

Well for those who missed the Long Beach Crawfish Festival and the other Zydeco/Cajun and Mardi Gras festivals in Long Beach and elsewhere, there is a chance to join hundreds of others to dance to Zydeco and Cajun music at the Music Center Plaza on Friday night August 26 from 6:30 pm to 10 pm. This free event is back by popular acclaim and for those who haven't participated before, put this on your calendar. This is one of many free Music Center events during the summer on the plaza. Even if you have never done this form of dancing, don't worry, there will be free lessons to help you learn and overcome any anxiety. Purpose is to have fun and be part of this gathering.

And if you are looking for a low cost family event revolving around cajun/zydeco music, then you are in luck, as the LA County Arts Commission has such an event at the Ford Amphitheatre the next day after the Music Center on the morning of August 27. Children under 12 are free and adults are $5. The kids will get to dance and have fun listening an interacting with Lisa Hadley and the Zydekats

If you are already a fan of this music genre and are looking for a regular fix, then LouisianaDanceLA.com offers up live Zydeco/Cajun music every month in Long Beach on the second Sunday. The $10 cost of admission covers the cost of the band which sometimes are musicians on the road from Louisiana, and on those times, the cost is $15. Before the night begins at 4:30 pm, there are free dance lessons. This past Sunday, there were 30 people that showed up early to get the free dance lessons from Karen Redding who is also part of the Music Center Plaza event. Here are performance pictures that I took from this past Sunday's event featuring David Sousa & The Zydeco Mudbugs. Watch the ExperienceLA events calendar for these upcoming sessions for September, October, November , December and beyond.

If you have been to the various Lousiana-related events in the Los Angeles over the years, and are a big fan of zydeco and cajun music, then maybe it is time to visit Louisiana and get beyond New Orleans and their Jazz Festival. One of the great festivals for Zydeco/Cajun music and regional food is the annual free Festival des Acadiens et Creoles in Lafayette, Louisiana from October 14 -16, 2011. Here is a link to pictures I took from several years ago at this major regional music and food festival in Louisiana.

Now if you want to know where to go in the Los Angeles area for authentic Lousiana cooking without waiting for the festival circuit, well that will be a future ExperienceLA blog post. I do have my favorites for Oyster Po'Boy sandwiches, but for now here is one from Traxx Restaurant at Union Station.

Experience L.A.'s Valley Performing Arts Center

I live in the valley. To many of my friends, it may as well be another universe. "How can you live in the valley?" "What's there to do in the valley?" "How do you entertain yourself?"

Well - to start - I have a house in the valley with lots of convenient services nearby like a grocery store. I guess that's how I can live here. I do all kinds of things in the valley, such as go for walks, take my dog to the park, and talk to my neighbors. As for entertainment, there's plenty: visiting the NoHo Arts District, going to the venerable jazz club Charlie O's, Universal Studios Hollywood, and shopping along Ventura Blvd. And now, I can chalk to this a state-of-the-art, beautiful 1,700 seat performing arts center!

A new year, another year for celebrating the arts

Los Angeles Arts Month officially kicked off today at the Music Center Plaza in Downtown. Mayor Villaraigosa, L.A. County Supervisor Molina, and leading members from the arts community welcomed an audience who took advantage of the sunny afternoon to enjoy free entertainment and be reminded of how great the arts and cultural opportunities are in Los Angeles.

Dance Downtown Zydeco and ExperienceLA's Final Dance Video Challenge: 60s Dances

We've been rather fortunate this summer in LA. The weather (so far) has been relatively comfortable, and the evenings nearly downright perfect. So what better way to enjoy the last Friday of July 2010 than dancing under the stars at the Active Arts at the Music Center's Dance Downtown series, where the featured dance style is Zydeco? I know it's where I'll be. Zydeco was also the subject of our latest video contest for July.

And now, our final video contest is "60s Dances." Read on to find out more about this contest and how you can enter to win. (Photo courtesy of Music Center, credit Alex Pitt)

Still time to enter for tickets to Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at the Music Center

There's still a week left to get your video entries submitted to us for our Zydeco dance video challenge (also mentioned on Culture Spot L.A. and About.com's L.A. Travel section). One winner will be randomly selected and announced at the upcoming Dance Downtown Zydeco night, Friday, July 30 at 6:30PM. (Photo courtesy of Music Center, taken by Alex Pitt)

Dance Video Challenge #2: Zydeco

Thanks to everyone who made it out to Friday night's Dance Downtown Bhangra & Bollywood event at the Music Center. If you missed the chance to enter our Dance Downtown Video Challenge for this style, you're in luck! We've got two more opportunities for you to win tickets to an upcoming dance performance at the Music Center, donated by Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at the Music Center.

The next dance style in our video challenge is "Zydeco." Zydeco is the upbeat, fun, Creole two-step dance originating from Southwest Louisiana.

Check out our video and instructions (after the jump), then come join us for a free night of dance lessons and good times. (Photo courtesy of Music Center, credit Alex Pitt)

Dance Video Challenge: Bhangra & Bollywood

Wanna win tickets to see an upcoming performance of Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at the Music Center? Read on to see how you can enter our fun and easy video challenge based on the Music Center's Active Arts® Dance Downtown Series. (Photo courtesy of Music Center, credit: Howard Pasamanick)

Let's give a Los Angeles "Lakers Girl Cheer" for Monty Python's Spamalot

That's right, after a four-year run in New York on Broadway, three-year tour and over a year in Vegas, the 2005 Tony Award winner for best musical Monty Python's Spamalot and their "Laker girls" have finally found a summer home in the Los Angeles Ahmanson Theatre. But unlike the Vegas show, the Ahmanson is hosting the full length Broadway production with all the songs, laughs, and killer bunnies that only Monty Python can bring you.

Monty Python's Spamalot is a parody of the cult classic film Monty Python and the Holy Grail that makes fun of Holy Grail as much as it does musicals themselves. Spamalot focuses on King Arthur, Pasty and the Knights of the Round Table's quest for the Holy Grail. As well as their encounters with The Lady of the Lake, who sings about not being in the show enough, the Laker Girls (who sadly do not sport gold and purple), and The Knights who say Ni that demand King Arthur and his group to give him their shrubbery as well as put on a Broadway show. But the Knights warn that "you won't succeed on Broadway if you don't have any Jews" which launches the musical into a whole set of other parodies.

Spamalot really is just a laugh out loud comedy enhanced by silly musical numbers and men doing the Can Can, meant to attract all audiences from musical lovers and Monty Paython fanatics to anyone looking for a good laugh. And no one knows this better than King Arthur himself, John O'Hurly, who is returning to the role after just concluding his run in Los Vegas. O'Hurly is best known for his role as J. Peterman in "Seinfeld" as well as being the winner of the first season of "Dancing with the Stars" - oh and, of course, as King Neptune on "Sponge Bob Square Pants." Other title characters include Merle Dandridge as The Lady of the Lake, James Beaman as Sir Robin and Jeff Dumas as Patsy. The fact is that Spamalot is "Not Dead Yet" and this is sure to be a knock out production. So come find your grail at the Los Angeles Ahmanson Theatre! The production runs from July 7th to September 6th. Come soon otherwise you might never have a stuffed cow launched at you.

Anyway, the most important thing to do right now is "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life," which is why spoiling yourself with a dinner and show is good thing every once in a while. So do just that! With all the great restaurants downtown, many of which provide shuttles to the Music Center, there is no reason not to. Even better, avoid the hassle of parking and take the Metro to your downtown destinations! Just use the ExperienceLA Metro Trip Planner.

Oh, and just as a head's up, having seen the play in New York on Broadway and loved it enough to memorize all the songs (if you can't tell from all the lyrical references) I warn against sitting in the front row because if it is anything like the theater I saw it at, The Shubert Theatre (which I adore and has hosted two of my favorite shows and is right next to the best cheesecake place in New York Jrs), you might just get wet...but who knows? The LA Production might just have some new surprises in store!

-Aly

Artwork provided by the Ahmanson Theatre website.

Music Center Spotlight Awards

The Music Center of Los Angeles County invites Southern California high school performers, artists and photographers to apply for the 21st Annual Music Center Spotlight Awards. The program is one of the nation's most acclaimed performing and visual arts education programs for teens, offering training in the arts and awarding over $100,000 in scholarships annually to finalists, semi-finalists and participants who received honorable mentions. Students can apply online at musiccenter.org. There are no fees to participate.

Visual Arts - Photography & Two-Dimensional Art
Deadline: December 1, 2008
Applications Now Available

Flash Mobs and Downtown Drums

"But few things were more curious than what was staged on Friday evening, at the south end of Union Square near East 14th Street. More than a thousand people, most of them young, gathered for a dance party without audible music, known as a silent rave.

It was striking for what could not be heard."
-New York Times, "For 1,000 Solo Dancers, a Soundtrack of Silence"

There's been a phenomenon of flash mobs--public collaborations of silly and harmless, but staged, activities that first started in 2003. Last Friday, 1000 people gathered at NY's Union Square to collectively dance in silence to their own iPod playlists. Back in January, over 200 "Improv Everywhere Agents" simply froze in place at the same time for a duration of five minutes at Grand Central Station.

Can LA do something like this too? Please??

There's just something about these flash mobs... CNN once called the participants "jokers [who] gather en masse at a moment's notice, perform an inane activity and then disperse quickly". But I think there's something deeper than just a propensity for silliness and a beauty in the way a large number of people can come together seemingly out of nowhere, regardless of backgrounds, circumstances, and everyone's independent and oftentimes, me-centric, schedules. For those precious moments, there's an unspoken understanding that time is theirs to share.

But in the meantime, LA does offer great community building events, like the Music Center's "Drum Downtown". Start your Saturday mornings by the beat of your own drum in Drum Downtown's outdoor group drumming experience on the Music Center Plaza. A fun, entry-level experience for all ages creating improvised rhythms and making music in the moment. The first of five Drum Downtown events will be held on Saturday, May 10th from 10:00am to 11:30am.

"Community"... that's the key word in all of this, flash mobs or not.

-Sarah Koo, ExperienceLA Marketing Assistant