Master Dance Classes With Complexions Contemporary Ballet

LAGUNA BEACH, CA—Professional dancers with New York's Complexions Contemporary Ballet are coming to Laguna Beach next weekend. Laguna Dance Festival is bringing Larissa Gerszke and Brandon Gray to Laguna Beach High School's dance studio to teach master classes for intermediate and advanced levels, ages 12 and up, on Saturday, September 25. The cost is $25.

Here is the schedule:

• 10 to 11:30 a.m., Contemporary ballet class with Larissa

• 11:45 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Complexions contemporary repertory with Brandon

The teaching artists will perform duets to music by Lee Rocker during Hot September Nights on September 26. Laguna Dance Festival's all-outdoor fundraiser at [seven degrees] in Laguna Canyon will feature tapas and sangria, with performances throughout the evening by Complexions, Entity Contemporary Dance and Flamenco artist Irene Rodríguez. COVID-19 vaccinations are mandatory for guests and performers.

Larissa Gerszke began her formal training at Canterbury Arts High School in Ottawa, Ontario. Her studies continued in summer programs with Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Canada’s Ballet Jorgen, Complexions Contemporary Ballet and Alonzo Kings LINES Ballet. Gerszke graduated from the Ailey/Fordham BFA Program in 2016. She has danced to the choreography of Matthew Rushing, Taryn Russell, Alvin Ailey, Bob Fosse and Carmen Rozestraten. She joined Complexions full-time in 2019.

Brandon Gray has danced with Complexions since 2017. His training began at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, D.C., when he was 13. His studies continued with Charles Augins, Katherine Smith, Melvin Deale, Treanna Alexander and Nikki Sutton-Mackey. Gray danced in Darnese Wilkerson’s first Summer Dance Experience in 2012 at the Atlas Theater. Sample credits include productions of Black Nativity, Ailey School’s Roof Breaking Ceremony, the Hudson Yard’s New York unveiling choreographed by Matthew Rushing, and Alvin Ailey’s Memoria at the Kennedy Center and New York City Center with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.

Reserve your spot in the master class; for groups of 10 or more, call (949) 715-5578.