Laguna Dance Festival Announces Hot September Nights Gala

LAGUNA BEACH, CA—Slowly but steadily the Laguna Dance Festival is returning to its mission to present world-class dance, increase appreciation for the art form, and provide quality dance education. After a year off, its annual gala is back for 2021. Hot September Nights is set for September 26, 6 p.m. at [seven degrees] in Laguna Canyon.

Instead of the usual sit-down dinner/silent auction fundraiser as in years past, expect tapas, sangria and dancing throughout the evening. Flamenco artist Irene Rodríguez, Entity Contemporary Dance, Complexions dancers Larissa Gerszke and Brandon Gray, and Laguna Dance Festival's youth dancers, will all be performing. Most of the festivities will occur outdoors, among other safety precautions, to ensure Hot September Nights will be a success.

Laguna Dance Festival is back on the calendar with performances at First Thursdays Art Walk. September 2, the venue will be Laguna Art Museum. The following month on October 7, the stage becomes Dawson Cole Fine Art on Glenneyre Street. Details will be announced soon.

This past June, Laguna Dance Festival held a one-week, full-time dance workshop with 9 instructors for 35 students. The intensive was made possible in part with a grant from the Festival of Arts Foundation.

"The FoA Foundation grant of $5,000 was used to pay for teacher honoraria for our Summer Intensive," says executive director Joy Dittberner.

"[We were] fortunate to obtain Maria Kowroski, principal dancer for NY City Ballet for the week. She is retiring this year. Other teachers included [LDF founder & artistic director] Jodie Gates, Fiona Lummis, Jermaine Spivey, Spenser Theberge, Justin Pham, Krystal Matsuyama-Tsai and Robert Tsai, PT."

The professional dancers, choreographers, and a dance physical therapist taught ballet, contemporary, and repertory, and gave lectures. The students performed in a Saturday afternoon recital to complete the workshop. "LDF awarded six scholarships to deserving students with financial hardship," added Dittberner.

Usually, Laguna Dance Festival holds workshops and classes at Laguna Beach High School. However it's just one large room. To break out into three separate cohorts for social distancing, the festival needed another venue.

OC Music & Dance offered their spaces for the week, and a new partnership began. It was such a successful collaboration between the two nonprofits that discussions are underway to hold a winter intensive in December 2021.

Stay tuned!