URBAN ACROBATICS. Three members of the Collage Dance Theatre troupe rehearse a dance routine before their collaboration with the Khmer Arts Academy Cambodian performers on March 19 and 20. The scaffolding is erected at the corner of Anaheim Street and Walnut Avenue as part of the Arts Council’s A LOT series. (Gazette photo by Thomas Wasper)Friday, March 12, 2010
By Darcy Leigh Richardson
Editor
Grunion Gazette (Long Beach, California, USA)
Many may look at a vacant lot and equate it with blank, empty space filled with negative connotations.
Starting March 19, residents should be prepared to alter their perspective about these lots.
The Arts Council for Long Beach plans to transform empty, blighted, urban lots into beautiful, thought provoking, awe-inspiring spaces of creative art.
Deemed the “A LOT Series,” the first installment will feature a free original performance from Collage Dance Theatre and Long Beach’s Khmer Arts Academy at 6 p.m. Friday, March 19, and Saturday, March 20, in the lot at the corner of East Anaheim Street and Walnut Avenue (across the street from the Mark Twain Library, 1401 E. Anaheim St.).
Craig Watson, executive director of the Arts Council, said the series is possible because of a $75,500 two-year grant from the Los Angeles County Arts Commission.
The grant was specifically marked for arts organizations creating public art and performance in empty lots, Watson added.
“The idea is to take art out of the galleries, museums and theaters, and to make it more accessible to the community,” Watson said.
“We’ve done (installations) in empty storefronts before, but we’ve been wanting to do something outside for a while, especially in underused neighborhoods. We’re partnering with the RDA (Long Beach Redevelopment Agency), and since 45% of the city falls into the RDA area, we have a lot to work with.”
The lot is in the center of Cambodia Town, and the dance performance, called “Expulsion,” will chronicle the story of how a family escapes the Khmer Rouge Communist regime in Cambodia.
Serey Tet, managing director of the Khmer Arts Academy, said the organization was founded in 2002 to offer young Cambodian-Americans and Cambodian immigrants the opportunity to learn traditional dance.
“The Khmer form of dance is 1,000 years old and functions as a medium connecting heaven to earth,” Tet said.
“The dancers’ movements are slow and the story’s lyrics are translated using hand gestures. The gestures express beliefs and the cycle of life.”
The Khmer Academy’s collaboration with the Collage dancers will be very different for the Cambodian performers, Tet said.
Choreographed by Sothavy Khut, the dancers will wear more modern costumes and perform to contemporary music while incorporating the traditional Cambodian dance movements and gestures.
“We think the story of Khmer Rouge is very important because most Cambodians that are here (in Long Beach) are survivors of the Killing Fields,” Tet said. “There are good and bad memories, but sometimes parents won’t talk to their children about it. We don’t want our children to forget any of it and to understand what it was about.”
Heidi Duckler, artistic director of Collage Dance Theatre, said performing in outdoor spaces isn’t a new concept for the dancers. In fact, it’s where they are most comfortable.
A two- and three-story scaffolding has been built on the lot that dancers will use during the performance.
“The lot is a wide open space with a white picket fence around it,” Duckler said.
“The lot is covered in gravel, so it has a very urban feel. The Cambodian dancers, four females, will begin the evening with their story and then our four male dancers will tell the story of Adam and Eve and Cain and Abel. Both are about exiled, but for different reasons.”
When the performance ends, a panel of arts leaders will discuss public art, and how place and history is expressed in the performance.
“The concept is about the potential that empty space has for all of us,” Duckler said.
“There are different ways that the arts can focus on current and relevant issues that speak to historical times.”
Cardboard seating will be provided, but attendees are welcome to bring chairs, blankets and picnic dinners.
For more information, visit www.artslb.org.
Starting March 19, residents should be prepared to alter their perspective about these lots.
The Arts Council for Long Beach plans to transform empty, blighted, urban lots into beautiful, thought provoking, awe-inspiring spaces of creative art.
Deemed the “A LOT Series,” the first installment will feature a free original performance from Collage Dance Theatre and Long Beach’s Khmer Arts Academy at 6 p.m. Friday, March 19, and Saturday, March 20, in the lot at the corner of East Anaheim Street and Walnut Avenue (across the street from the Mark Twain Library, 1401 E. Anaheim St.).
Craig Watson, executive director of the Arts Council, said the series is possible because of a $75,500 two-year grant from the Los Angeles County Arts Commission.
The grant was specifically marked for arts organizations creating public art and performance in empty lots, Watson added.
“The idea is to take art out of the galleries, museums and theaters, and to make it more accessible to the community,” Watson said.
“We’ve done (installations) in empty storefronts before, but we’ve been wanting to do something outside for a while, especially in underused neighborhoods. We’re partnering with the RDA (Long Beach Redevelopment Agency), and since 45% of the city falls into the RDA area, we have a lot to work with.”
The lot is in the center of Cambodia Town, and the dance performance, called “Expulsion,” will chronicle the story of how a family escapes the Khmer Rouge Communist regime in Cambodia.
Serey Tet, managing director of the Khmer Arts Academy, said the organization was founded in 2002 to offer young Cambodian-Americans and Cambodian immigrants the opportunity to learn traditional dance.
“The Khmer form of dance is 1,000 years old and functions as a medium connecting heaven to earth,” Tet said.
“The dancers’ movements are slow and the story’s lyrics are translated using hand gestures. The gestures express beliefs and the cycle of life.”
The Khmer Academy’s collaboration with the Collage dancers will be very different for the Cambodian performers, Tet said.
Choreographed by Sothavy Khut, the dancers will wear more modern costumes and perform to contemporary music while incorporating the traditional Cambodian dance movements and gestures.
“We think the story of Khmer Rouge is very important because most Cambodians that are here (in Long Beach) are survivors of the Killing Fields,” Tet said. “There are good and bad memories, but sometimes parents won’t talk to their children about it. We don’t want our children to forget any of it and to understand what it was about.”
Heidi Duckler, artistic director of Collage Dance Theatre, said performing in outdoor spaces isn’t a new concept for the dancers. In fact, it’s where they are most comfortable.
A two- and three-story scaffolding has been built on the lot that dancers will use during the performance.
“The lot is a wide open space with a white picket fence around it,” Duckler said.
“The lot is covered in gravel, so it has a very urban feel. The Cambodian dancers, four females, will begin the evening with their story and then our four male dancers will tell the story of Adam and Eve and Cain and Abel. Both are about exiled, but for different reasons.”
When the performance ends, a panel of arts leaders will discuss public art, and how place and history is expressed in the performance.
“The concept is about the potential that empty space has for all of us,” Duckler said.
“There are different ways that the arts can focus on current and relevant issues that speak to historical times.”
Cardboard seating will be provided, but attendees are welcome to bring chairs, blankets and picnic dinners.
For more information, visit www.artslb.org.
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