Bollywood/Hip Hop Dance Company Blue13 Showcases Premieres at The Wallis

Blue13 Dance Company, noted for rhythmic and charged performances that blend hip-hop, ballet, modern and traditional Indian dance, showcases its exuberant genre-bending artistry on Friday, February 21 and Saturday, February 22, 2020, at 7:30 pm, in the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts’ Bram Goldsmith Theater. The program includes the world premiere of Terpsichore In Ghungroos, which tackles issues of equality and feminism while celebrating joy and connection, and the West Coast premiere of F**k Fusion, both by Artistic Director and prolific choreographer Achinta S. McDaniel. These works, along with McDaniels’ Diya aur Toofan, highlight the L.A.-based company’s compelling, energetic and theatrical contemporary style that uses dance as a vehicle for storytelling while turning the cultural stereotype of Indian dance on its head. Describing McDaniels’ dynamic Bollywood dance style, LA Weekly states, “If (it) could be explained in an emoji sequence, it would be the red dancer girl, 80 exclamation points, and then the toothy, what-the-eff-is-going-on smiley face.”

“Achinta McDaniel has been at the forefront of L.A.’s Bollywood dance and cultural scene for more than 15 years,” says The Wallis’ Artistic Director Paul Crewes. “In addition to leading Blue13, Achinta is a go-to choreographer for film and television who has been integral in shaping Hollywood’s depiction of Bollywood dance.”

Blue13 is a fiery confluence of new and old, quintessentially American in its diversity and rebellion. For more than 15 years, Blue13 has presented a highly energetic and theatrical modern dance style that is inspired by the classical and cultural art forms of the Indian subcontinent. The ensemble has performed its wildly spirited contemporary Indian and Bollywood-inspired dance on stages around the world, from Paris and Morocco to New York, North Carolina, Canada and beyond.  

The Wallis’ 2019/2020 dance programming features Los Angeles-based companies exclusively, marking the first time a major Southern California performing arts venue has presented a 100% “Locally Sourced” dance line-up during a single season. 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.

About the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts: 

The 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 275 dance, theater, opera, classical music, cinema and family 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 57 Ovation Awards and seven 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 Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts is led by Chairman of the Board Michael Nemeroff, Executive Director & Chief Executive Officer Rachel Fine and Artistic Director Paul Crewes.

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

For downloadable photos, please visit: TheWallis.org/Press.

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