Rachel Moore News

For the first time in the history of the Prix Benois De La Danse International Ballet Competition there will be two representatives from South Africa at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow: South African International Ballet Competition (SAIBC) Founder Dirk Badenhorst takes his place as the first ever South African jury member, and Soweto-born dancer Andile Ndlovu (pictured), now USA based, will perform in the prestigious event gala on 22 May as one of this year's 27 nominees for the Benois de la Danse award as Best Male Dancer for his role as 'Mercutio' in Washington Ballet's Romeo and Juliet.

 Hot fun in the summertime begins in June as The Music Center today announced Grand Park's 2019 summer season of free outdoor activities and events offered throughout the 12-acre "park for everyone."

From artistic heritage to modern expression, the 17th season of Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center (Dance at The Music Center) will exhibit the mystery and magic of some of the dance world's greatest artistic and diverse voices through movement, emotion and interpretation.

Grand Park celebrates Los Angeles creative voices at the week-long Grand Park's Our L.A. Voices: A Pop-up Arts+Culture Fest, a free performing and visual arts exhibition and marketplace.  Featuring more than 100 L.A.-based artists and creatives, the event culminates in a weekend-long (April 27-28, 2019), family-friendly festival that will feature dance, music, film, theatre performances and visual artwork, as well the Jardin del Arte, a public marketplace with more than 50 artists who sell their work on-site. Free lunchtime workshops will be held the week leading up to the festival, April 22-26, 2019, and will focus on creative practice, as well as practical skills related to making art in Los Angeles. While open to all, the workshops require pre-registration.

Joni Mitchell - one of the world's most-remarkable artists - turned 75 November 7, 2019. To celebrate this milestone, The Music Center, Los Angeles' premiere performing arts center, assembled an incredible group of singers and musicians at The Music Center's Dorothy Chandler Pavilion to perform Mitchell's songs at a pair of sold-out shows that garnered rave reviews by those in attendance. THE MUSIC CENTER PRESENTS JONI 75: A BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION, a DVD compilation of 21 of those standout performances, will be available on March 29, 2019, from Rhino for $19.98.

The Music Center named 110 of Southern California's most talented high school students as semifinalists inThe Music Center's 31st annual Spotlight (Spotlight) program, a free nationally-acclaimed scholarship and arts training program for teens.  Spotlight has transformed the lives of more than 47,000 students across Southern California since its launch in 1988.

For three days in March 2019, nearly 18,000 elementary school children from nearly 200 schools in Los Angeles County will arrive at The Music Center's Dorothy Chandler Pavilion to see a special performance and to dance during the 49th annual Blue Ribbon Children's Festival.

The Music Center welcomes one of America's most popular dance companies, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, back to Los Angeles with the dance company's 60th anniversary celebration tour at The Music Center's Dorothy Chandler Pavilion from April 3 - 7, 2019. Led by Artistic Director Robert Battle, Ailey's remarkable dancers including Danica Paulos of Huntington Beach and Rehearsal Director and Guest Artist Matthew Rushing of Los Angeles, who has been with the Company for more than 25 years will perform four different programs of diverse repertory featuring West Coast premieres, new productions and returning classics. Part of the 2018/2019 season of Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center, which is curated by The Music Center's artistic division The Music Center Arts (TMC Arts), the engagement includes four special programs: Trailblazers, featuring the West Coast premiere of Lazarus by Rennie Harris the company's first two-act ballet; Bold Visions, featuring West Coast premiere of Wayne McGregor's Kairos and the Los Angeles premiere of The Call by Ronald K. Brown, alongside Jawole Willa Jo Zollar's Shelter; a Timeless Ailey program with rarely seen gems by one of America's greatest cultural leaders; and a Musical Inspirations program featuring the Los Angeles premiere of Ailey star Jamar Roberts' Members Don't Get Weary, a new production of Robert Battle's Juba, and his tour-de-force duet Ella.

Honoring musical icon Joni Mitchell's legacy and 75th birthday, Decca Records will release The Music Center Presents Joni 75: A Birthday Celebrationon March 8, 2019. On Joni's 75th birthday last November, a star-studded roster of musicians gathered together to pay tribute to the legendary singer-songwriter. The evening was recorded and is now subsequently being released. It features performances by Brandi Carlile; Glen Hansard; Emmylou Harris; Norah Jones; Chaka Khan; Diana Krall; Kris Kristofferson; Los Lobos with La Marisoul, Cesar Castro & Xochi Flores; Graham Nash; James Taylor; Seal; Rufus Wainwright; and more. The full track list is below.

Actors Bridge Ensemble's acclaimed production of Sarah DeLappe's The Wolves and Cumberland County Playhouse's rendition of Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street were named as the top shows of the year during Midwinter's First Night, the annual tribute to theater in Tennessee, held at Nashville's The Larry Keeton Theatre last Sunday night, January 13. Photographer Rae Lynn Whetzel-Stickney captured many of the night's biggest moments with her camera, which are shared on BroadwayWorld Nashville today.

Honoring one of the world's most revered artists, Joni Mitchell, on her 75th birthday, The Music Center Presents Joni 75: A Birthday Celebration brings an incredible array of singers and musicians to cinemas across the US and Canada for a one-night-only celebration on February 7, 2019 in collaboration with global event cinema distributor Trafalgar Releasing and The Music Center, Los Angeles' premiere performing arts center.

Los Angeles will once again ring in the new year in spectacular fashion and with great hope for 2019 as Angelenos join together with friends and family at the sixth annual Grand Park + The Music Center's N.Y.E.L.A., from Monday, December 31, 2018, at 8:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. on New Year's Day.  

Grand Park announced an unprecedented experience -- Grand Park's Winter Glow -- that showcases the West Coast's unique holiday spirit and winter season. The new month-long, immersive nighttime light attraction will feature installations by local artists and celebrate light as a giver of warmth, a source of beauty, a draw for people to come together during the winter months, and a key element of many holiday season traditions across cultures. The event plays off of the Los Angeles tradition of visiting neighborhoods to see holiday decor, in this case making it accessible and easy to find. Winter Glow will transform Grand Park into a whimsical beacon that draws Angelenos downtown to interact with art and each other. The only free exhibit of its kind in the area is open to the public from December 1 - 25, 2018, offering park goers the opportunity to gather, enjoy the holiday season and celebrate the wonder of art as it illuminates Downtown L.A.

Honoring one of the world's most revered artists, The Music Center celebrated Joni Mitchell on November 6 and 7, 2018, with two all-star concerts - JONI 75: A Birthday Celebration Live at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion - and an exclusive gala, co-hosted with Vanity Fair and its editor Radhika Jones, which feted her 75th birthday and raised funds for The Music Center's artistic programming, specifically free and low cost programming for underserved communities. The concerts featured performances by Brandi Carlile; Glen Hansard; Emmylou Harris; Norah Jones; Chaka Khan; Diana Krall; Kris Kristofferson; Los Lobos with La Marisoul, Cesar Castro & Xochi Flores; Graham Nash; Seal; James Taylor; and Rufus Wainwright. The artists lit up the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion stage performing Mitchell's songs, which spanned all stages of her career. Co-musical directors Brain Blade and Jon Cowherd provided the evenings' musical arrangements.  

Grand Ave Arts: All Access, the fourth annual, one-day, free community event, returns today, November 3, 2018, from 11:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. with a diverse program of family-friendly activities, interactive workshops and tours that highlight and offer access to the world-class arts and cultural organizations on Grand Avenue between Temple and 6th Streets.

In collaboration with Goldstar, Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center (Dance at The Music Center), will offer a sweet deal for the holidays with a much-reduced one-price-fits-all opportunity to see for a special performance of George Balanchine's The Nutcracker by Miami City Ballet on Thursday, November 29, 2018 at 7:30 p.m. at The Music Center's Dorothy Chandler Pavilion

Grand Ave Arts: All Access, the fourth annual, one-day, free community event, returns on Saturday, November 3, 2018, from 11:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. with a diverse program of family-friendly activities, interactive workshops and tours that highlight and offer access to the world-class arts and cultural organizations on Grand Avenue between Temple and 6th Streets.

The Music Center, a cultural anchor and Los Angeles County's leading performing arts destination, announced plans to expand its programming by launching an artistic division, The Music Center Arts, which will complement the organization's operations division, known as The Music Center Ops.  The Music Center Arts' debut validates the organization's commitment to deliver excellence and impact in dance, public programming and arts education, and ensure that its programming is relevant and accessible to both current and emerging audiences throughout Los Angeles County.  The Music Center named non-profit arts sector trailblazer Josephine Ramirez as executive vice president to lead The Music Center Arts.  Ramirez will report to The Music Center's President & CEO Rachel Moore and join The Music Center's executive team.

The Music Center today announced the return of Diavolo | Architecture in Motion (Diavolo) to The Music Center's Ahmanson Theatre and the West Coast premiere of Voyage (October 12-14, 2018).  Known for incorporating oversized structures into its performances to create the company's signature "architecture in motion" style, Diavolo uses dance to explore the relationship between the human body and its architectural environment

The Music Center has added James Taylor, Brandi Carlile and Scarlet Rivera to the previously announced powerful line-up of singers and musicians who will honor Joni Mitchell on her 75th birthday as part of JONI 75: A Birthday Celebration Live at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion* on November 6 and 7, 2018.  James Taylor and Brandi Carlile will join Glen Hansard, Emmylou Harris, Norah Jones, Chaka Khan, Diana Krall, Kris Kristofferson, Los Lobos, Graham Nash, Seal, and Rufus Wainwright to perform songs from Mitchell's prolific career.  Scarlet Riverawill be a featured guest member of the band.  Co-musical directors providing the musical arrangements for the evenings are drummer Brian Blade, who recorded three studio albums and toured extensively with Mitchell, and, pianist, composer, arranger producer Jon Cowherd.  The Music Center's Artistic Advisor Jorn Weisbrodt is the creator of the two evenings, and Danny Kapilian is the music producer.