Blue13 Dance Company to Perform at The Wallis This Month

Blue13 Dance Company, the celebrated LA-based dance ensemble living at the intersection of diaspora and disruption, returns to the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts with five culturally daring Bollywood-inspired works by Artistic Director and prolific choreographer Achinta S. McDaniel, on Friday, May 12, 7:30 pm, and Saturday, May 13, 2023, 7:30 pm, in The Wallis' Bram Goldsmith Theater. The program includes a preview of Sounds Like a Whoop, Looks Like a Flash, a work in progress exploring invisible disability and addiction; the company premiere of 1947, which addresses the effects of the India-Pakistan partition; excerpts from Shaadi Medley featuring Bollywood and Bhangra dance; and Restless autumn, restless spring, which examines what it means for artists to share experiences and create work together and features an opportunity for audience participate in multiple formats, including taking the stage. Blue13 also presents Dear Mr. Khan, a piece challenging gender norms and impossible ideals set forth for Asian American women. It is the first part of McDaniel's triptych, Terpsichore in Ghungroos, which premiered at The Wallis in February 2020.

"I am overjoyed and grateful to return to The Wallis with Blue13," says McDaniel. "We are so lucky to have such an incredible group of dancers performing. A deeply collaborative process between us has created the works in the program, which exemplifies American dance and the Indian diaspora. It is illustrative of our multiplicity as South Asian Americans, from Bollywood and Bhangra expressions of radical joy in Shaadi, to 1947, a piece about the aftermath of the India-Pakistan partition. The audience also has a chance to join in the art-making during our newer repertory piece, Restless autumn, restless spring."

Blue13 Dance Company employs a powerful spectrum of joy and resistance through rhythm, Bollywood, and emotional expression. The company's work rejects monolithic representations of both Indianness and contemporaneity, and reveals complexities intrinsic to South Asian and intersectional identities via provocative and boundary-exploring new works.

McDaniel, at the forefront of L.A.'s Bollywood dance and cultural scene for nearly two decades and a go-to choreographer for the film and television industry, has been integral in shaping Hollywood's depiction of Bollywood dance.

Dance @ The Wallis is sponsored, in part, by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Tickets, $29 to $79, are on sale now. The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts is located at 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd, Beverly Hills. To purchase tickets and for more information, please call 310-746-4000 or visit TheWallis.org/Blue13.

The health and safety of patrons, staff, and artists inside and outside the venue are a top priority for The Wallis. Masks are optional, and proof of full COVID vaccination is no longer required; however, guests are welcome to wear masks in our spaces.

The Wallis' health and safety protocols are also subject to change at the venue's sole discretion or in accordance with LA County and City of Beverly Hills regulations. Current Health & Safety Protocols and updates may also be accessed at TheWallis.org/Safety. Policies are subject to change.

About Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts:

Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts is a dynamic cultural hub and community resource where local, national and International Artists share their artistry with ever-expanding audiences. The campus, located in the heart of Beverly Hills, CA, is committed to robust and distinctive presentations and education programs curated with both creativity and social impact in mind. Distinguished by its eclectic programming that mirrors the diverse landscape of Los Angeles and its location in the entertainment capital of the world, The Wallis has produced and presented more than 350 theater, dance, music, film, cabaret, conversation, and family entertainment programs since its doors opened in October 2013. Hailed as "au courant" (LaLa Magazine), The Wallis was lauded by Culture Vulture, which proclaims, "If you love expecting the unexpected in the performing arts, you have to love The Wallis." Its programming has been nominated for 79 Ovation Awards and nine L.A. Drama Critic's Circle Awards. The campus itself, a breathtaking 70,000-square-foot facility, celebrating the classic and the modern, has garnered six architectural awards. Designed by acclaimed architect Zoltan E. Pali (SPF:architects), the restored building features the original 1933 Beverly Hills Post Office (on the National Register of Historic Places), which serves as the theater's dramatic yet welcoming lobby, and includes the contemporary 500-seat, state-of-the-art Bram Goldsmith Theater; the 150-seat Lovelace Studio Theater; an inviting open-air plaza for family, community and other performances; and GRoW @ The Wallis: A Space for Arts Education, where learning opportunities for all ages and backgrounds abound. Together, these elements embrace the city's history and its future, creating a performing arts destination for L.A.-area visitors and residents alike. The Wallis is led by Michael Nemeroff Chairman of The Wallis' Board of Directors, and Robert van Leer, Executive Director and CEO.

For more information about The Wallis, please visit: TheWallis.org.

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Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts Presents

Blue13 Dance Company

PROGRAM:

ACHINTA S. MCDANIEL Restless autumn, restless spring

ACHINTA S. MCDANIEL , BLUE13 DANCERS, Jon Paul excerpts from Shaadi Medley

ACHINTA S. MCDANIEL Dear Mr. Khan

ACHINTA S. MCDANIEL Sounds Like a Whoop, Looks Like a Flash (a work in progress; Preview)

ACHINTA S. MCDANIEL 1947

Dates:

Friday, May 12, 2023, 7:30 pm (artist talk-back immediately follows the performance)

Saturday, May 13, 2023, 7:30 pm

RUN TIME:

Running time is one hour and 40 minutes, including a 15-minute intermission.

Location:

Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts

Bram Goldsmith Theater

9390 N. Santa Monica Boulevard

Beverly Hills, CA 90210

TICKET PRICES AND INFORMATION:

$29 to $79 (prices subject to change)

TheWallis.org/Blue13

310.746.4000

Box Office - Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts Ticket Services

9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd, Beverly Hills, CA, 90210