ARTS RADAR: YOUR DANCE GUIDE FOR THE WEEKS AHEAD
GIANT JELLYFISH & NEW LIFE Inspired by travel guidebooks, Jean Isaacs’ San Diego Dance Theater reprises Geography of Risk featuring text by Garrison Keillor. Also featured is the world premiere of the full length Requiem for an Ocean, with original music by San Diego Dance Theatre composer Steve Baker – inspired by John Luther Adams’ “Become Ocean” and Claude Debussy’s “La Mer.” Set designs are life-sized jellyfish made from crocheted metals and fibers, by multi-media artist Arline Fisch. The production includes A Soldier’s Lullaby, created by Katie Stevenson-Nollet especially for company dancer Blythe Barton, embraces pregnancy, marriage and love. Geography of Risk and Other Dances. Saville Theater, San Diego City College, 1313 Park Blvd. 1/15/16 @ 8:00 pm. 1/16/16 @ 7:00 pm. 1/17/16 @ 2:30 pm.
INTERACTIVE SERIES Malashock Dance presents The Engagement Ring: Event #3 – The People’s Opera House, an interactive and multi-media performance created by Aurora Lagattuta and Tony Allard. The audience journeys through a series of rooms named after Italian opera motifs. The idea is to generate symbiotic collaborations between dancers, the audience, and audio visual technology. Jan. 16 @ 8 pm. Abbe Wolfsheimer Studio at Dance Place. 2650 Truxton.
IRISH JIG PHENOM TURNS 20. Riverdance stops in San Diego as part of its 20th Anniversary World Tour. Michael Flatley’s fast footwork brand of traditional Irish music and dance has evolved without him, adding Flamenco, tap, and Russian folk dancing. Civic Theatre Jan. 19, 20, 21, at 7 pm.
AUDIENCE SHARES THE SPACE To kick-off the company’s 28th season, Malashock Dance begins with audience friendly Malashock Signatures, an intimate and thrilling program of dance that highlights two “signature” works and two world premieres by John Malashock, artistic director. Jan. 22-24 and again Jan. 28-31. Abbe Wolfsheimer Studio at Malashock Dance, Dance Place. www.malashockdance.org.
DANCE on FILM. The Artist Odyssey (TAO) premieres the short film Peter G. Kalivas, Body as Phenomenon featuring the San Diego choreographer and PGK Dance director. The event includes a dance duet by PGK dancers, Q & A with producer Barbarella Fokos and director David Fokos. Jan. 26. Meet & Greet 5:30 pm. Duet 6:30 pm. Film 6:45 pm. Run time 15 mins. Admission is free, RSVP 57 Degrees (Fifty Seven Degrees) 1735 Hancock St.
GLOBAL DANCE Inspired by Japanese ritual poetry readings, Kota Yamazaki’s OQ (ōkyu is the phonetic reading of the Japanese word for “palace”). Hug-Hug Dance Co. features dancers from diverse cultural and dance backgrounds including Western contemporary, butoh, hip-hop, and Jamaican dance. Jan 29 @ 8 pm. Mandeville at UC San Diego. Presented by ArtPower.
ROAD TRIP Orange County’s Backhausdance hits the Irvine Barclay Theatre with the premiere of drift. The work by Jennifer Backhaus explores the concepts of journey, risk, and re-imagining self. Set to a score by electronic band Fol Chen. Also on the program is the critically-acclaimed The Elasticity of the Almost. Jan. 30 at 8 pm.
BALLET GETS JAZZY A mixed repertoire by San Diego Ballet features inspired pieces set to the live music of San Diego Jazz icon, Gilbert Castellanos. Choreographer Javier Velasco also presents a stirring tribute set to the music of American Jazz Great, Dave Brubeck. An Evening of Jazz and Dance is sponsored in part by Dorothea Laub. Feb. 5, 6, & 7. Lyceum Theatre in Horton Plaza. Ticket info.
Kris Eitland covers dance and theater for Sandiegostory.com and freelances for other publications, including the Union Tribune and Dance Teacher Magazine. She grew up performing many dance styles and continued intensive modern dance and choreography at the Univ. of Minnesota, Duluth, and San Diego State Univ. She also holds a journalism degree from SDSU. Her career includes stints in commercial and public radio news production.
Eitland has won numerous Excellence in Journalism awards for criticism and reporting from the San Diego Press Club. She has served on the Press Club board since 2011 and is a past president. She is a co-founder of Sandiegostory.com. She has a passion for the arts, throwing parties with dancing and singing, and cruising the Pacific in her family’s vintage trawler. She trains dogs, skis, and loves seasonal trips to her home state of Minnesota.