The 7th Annual MixMatch Dance Festival returns to Santa Monica with five shows today through Sunday. The festival kicks off with its first show tonight at 7:30 pm at the Miles Memorial Playhouse at 1130 Lincoln Boulevard.
Presented by Hart Pulse Dance Company, the festival is bringing more than 70 dancers in hip hop, ballet, tap, modern, tribal, contemporary, jazz, belly and more.
Participating choreographers will gather from Southern California and across the United States for the shows.
Each performance holds a different line-up for less than the price of a movie ticket ($15), allowing anyone the opportunity to see one of Los Angeles most diverse and valued dance festivals.
Seven years ago, dancers Amanda Hart and Sandra Rasor thought to bring a few different choreographers together for an intimate evening of mixed dance at the Electric Lodge in Venice.
From opening night on, they realized that providing such diversity to curious audience members was a must and should be continued on an annual basis.
Today, Hart Pulse Dance Company (directed by Hart) produces and presents festival at the end of every summer.
A few things have changed including a move to The Miles Playhouse, which will allow for more audience parking, a slightly larger venue, more dressing room space for dancers, and a more complex bill of works.
The performance line-up originally started as one show, performed three evenings with roughly 10 companies/artists. This year it has grown drastically to what is now five completely different shows with more than 70 works and 50 companies/artists presenting works in more than eight styles of dance.
Hart said the festival’s goal remains constant: provide locals with a diverse platform of dance for the price of a movie ticket.
“By presenting such an impressive spread for the affordable, relatable price of a movie ticket, HPDC hopes to change the stigma that art/dance is only easily accessible to those of a certain income bracket,” Hart said. “Everyone who wants to see dance can and should. All audiences are guaranteed to leave the theater loving something they saw. And we haven’t been wrong yet!”
For tickets or more information, visit hartpulsedance.com.
Thursday 7:30 pm:
Kinetic Dance Company
Anthony Languren
Molly Mattei
Lisa D. Long
Gina Southern
LoaDanceTheater
Hart Pulse Dance Company
Katie Jane Hagen
Merge Dance Theatre
Noelle Andressen
Pony Box Dance Theatre
Maha and Company
Nevada Repertory Dance Theater
Friday 7:30 pm:
LA Unbound
The Recipe Men
Alaina Sims
Hart Pulse Dance Company
Anne C. Moore
Katie Jane Hagen
RED Dance
Merge Dance Theatre
OdDancity
Reflections Dance
Dorcas Roman Dance Theatre
Watson Dance
Nebula Dance Lab
Anandha Ray’s Quimera Project
Troupe Zaghareet
Saturday 2 pm:
Dance Goggles
ArtBark International
Hart Pulse Dance Company
Reject Dance Theater
OPUS MIXTUS Dance
Compass Dance Company
Amaterasu Dance Company
Kistina Pressler
The Union Project Dance Company
INKED Dance
LA Unbound
Lucrecia Navarro & Kristie Lauren
Megill & Company
Saturday 7:30 pm:
Ken A. Morris
Nicole L. Olson
Anandha Ray’s Quimera Project
Hart Pulse Dance Company
ArtBark International
Ballet Collective/LA
Rubans Rouges Dance Company
Anthony Languren
Reflections Dance
Ashley L. Jones
Watson Dance
GoboBoots Productions
Axxiom Dance Collective
Hidden Entropy Movement Project
Sunday 2 pm:
Reject Dance Theatre
Fuse Modern Dance Co.
Brittany Dugi-Turner
Hart Pulse Dance Company
OdDancity
Rubans Rouges Dance Company
Nancy Evans Dance Theatre
Elenna C. Derkach
Maha and Company
Lexi Stilianos
Chihiro Kodama
Nicole L. Olson
Leverage Dance
Megill & Company
