Auditions were open to the public and we all got a view of what was going in on dance in the greater Los Angeles area. After a pre-screening with paper work and video, the rotating selection panel chose approximately 30 performers or groups from often over 100 applicants that would apply each year. Our audition process took several weekends. Denis, Alvin Ailey, Lola Montez, Rudy Perez and a tap medley in the style of early California performers by Lynn Dally with the Jazz Tap Ensemble Musicians. Works by California choreographers were beautifully revived/recreated including: Eugene Loring, Carmelita Maracci, Lester Horton, Gloria Newman, Ruth St. One of our most unique performances was called California Masters. The Festival invited Tina Croll and James Cunningham to present a west coast production of their nationally acclaimed From the Horse’s Mouth. Adrian Ravarour, our videographer, recorded all the performers.ĭance Kaleidoscope twice sponsored Dance West, the west coast platform for the Recontres Choreographiques Internationales de Seine-Saint Denis, one of the world’s most prestigious competitions for modern choreography. Linda Chiavaroli was especially effective at public relations. Gary Bates was an invaluable assistant from 1997-2000. Many people and institutions were accessible and generous with their resources and wished us well, We were fortunate to have Don Bondi do the original lighting, later Eileen Cooley. It helped that l had taught in Los Angeles for many years and was very familiar with the arts and educational community. They were experienced, resourceful and dedicated. The Board of Directors I were: Lee Werbel, Gail Matsui, Jordan Peimer and Chris Kennedy. In the meantime, the festival brought a richness to the students attending both institutions. I was able to retain my office at CSULA and the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts. When the new Luckman Fine Arts Complex at CSULA was completed, we moved the performance to the larger space to accommodate growing audiences. The festival grew from our first venue at California State University Playhouse to other locations including John Anson Ford Theatre (the setting for the former Dance Kaleidoscope performances), the Japan American Theatre, and Loyola Marymount University-Strubb Hall and Grand Performances. Technical support, publicity, souvenir programs and honorariums were provided. We presented nearly three hundred companies/groups/soloists over thirteen summers in a variety of venues. In the 13 years that followed we greatly expanded the audition process and the scope of presentation. We became good friends and I visited her many times over the years until her death in 2008. She was very encouraging and instructive. She and her husband had moved to an idyllic setting in the Wapiti Valley, Wyoming. I first contacted Betty 1988 in regard to her thoughts on resuming Dance Kaleidoscope. Several years after Betty’s retirement in 1984 the organization decided to disband. Foster and the LA County Music and Performing Arts Commission, Dance Kaleidoscope was born. After a dance showcase fundraiser and with help from J. LAADA accomplished many things for the arts community and was widely emulated around the country. In 1974, she was responsible for much of the development of the Los Angeles Ballet Company and for inviting, Balanchine’ s choice, John Clifford to direct the company. Note: Betty was a classically trained singer whose daughter was a ballet dancer. The members, choreographers, dancers, artistic directors and managers were led by Director, Betty Empey. The Los Angeles Area Dance Alliance (LAAIIA) a non-profit service organization was founded in 1976. For many companies, the performances translated into a more permanent support throughout the year and a enhanced basis for funding retaining their dancers and choreographic explorations. Perez was lamenting that the valuable Kaleidoscope venue was needed again and “where was it”? It had been a venue for established and emerging artists that allowed them visibility and covered all production costs. It was an article in the LA Times about the state of dance in1988 and a comment from post modern choreographer Rudy Perez that first made me focus on the importance of the then defunct Dance Kaleidoscope Festival.
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