Mixing of dance styles, skill levels creates unique weekend experience
3 min read
Over a decade ago, a group of California Institute of the Arts graduates asked, why have one dance show when you can have them all?
Now coming back for its 15th edition, the MixMatch Dance Festival does just that, bringing dozens of dance companies in a litany of forms for an unforgettably unique weekend. This year’s event takes place Friday and Saturday at 7pm at the Highways Performance Space, with a follow-up matinee showing Sunday at 2pm.
Beginning with the CalArts group, the show now rests on the shoulders of Hart Pulse Dance Company Director Amanda Hart, who wanted to do a “hodgepodgey” festival that goes beyond contemporary modern style.
“(I thought) what if we bring in other styles?,” Hart said. “You can do tap dance, you can do ballet, you can do Flamingo, you can do Bollywood, whatever you want, and that way everyone who comes to see it kind of gets a little bit of everything, and everyone wins.”
Reopening last year out of the COVID-19 pandemic “without skipping a beat,” this year’s showcase is a true mashup of styles and performer locations, bringing in just as many out-of-state acts as local groups. Hart added that she sought diversity in both style and level of skill, and will be featuring each group equally, with a seven-minute cap on performances to not “override” one piece with another, also saying she’s “aware of attention spans” and wants to keep the show entertaining.
One of this year’s special performances comes from beyond United States shores, as the Sign Language piece “Celebration” will be done Friday by Pas d’ASL, with guest dancers flying in from Israel.
“To do the sign language with them in an Israeli sign language, this isn’t going to be the piece that has the crazy technical advancements that you’d see on TV, but it’s going to be a meaningful piece that I think everyone’s going to love,” Hart said.
Hart added that aside from Spanish, Flamingo, Jazz and Ballet representation; there was a “huge influx” of Indian and Bollywood groups for this year’s festival, spotlighting the global nature of dance.
“I was really happy to see a bunch of the cultural submissions … because I do like to spice it up with cultural stuff, especially because Los Angeles is so diverse, I love representing the different cultures in the festival,” Hart said.
Despite moving to the Dallas area for her husband’s occupation, Hart stressed that she “really wanted to keep it SoCal” for the annual festival, particularly coming out of the pandemic. With the original performance spot, the Miles Playhouse, currently closed, Hart was able to bring Highways Performance Space into the fold, highlighting the “casual vibe” and affordability of the weekend.
“In Downtown LA, you can spend $200 to go see the Joffrey [Ballet] … but a lot of people can’t afford that,” Hart noted. “On a production level, [this] allows more people to get access to really cool stuff and really cool art.”
For a full list of performers and to purchase tickets to this weekend’s showcases, visit hartpulsedance.com
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