About

Launched on June 1, 2012, this website documents and reflects on the art dance scene in Southern California.   Focusing on the history of live professional dance, our first focus centers on the period 1960-1990 (roughly).  Once that is established, we will expand to earlier and current periods. Because you have been a part of that history and/or you know someone who has been, we would welcome your contributions to realize this project.

This website project is designed to give interested people access to a large Directory with brief biographies and an active blog space that includes both textual and visual materials.  We are imagining that choreographers and dancers, designers, composers & musicians, photographers, writers, educators, administrators, presenting organizations and other dance advocates will continue to contribute materials that would illuminate the diverse, complex history of dance in Southern California.

The website also provides links to other relevant websites, and supplies current contact information for artists, companies, organizations and institutions.  The website also includes an interactive forum for website visitors to comment, ask questions, discuss the contents of the site, and to suggest sources for adding new materials.

What we see possible is an online resource that acknowledges the people who were participants and their contributions to the development of dance in our region.  In our view, that history is filled with passionate, talented, articulate people who have been creating and presenting the art of dance for more than a century.

Clearly, this is only a beginning, but we are excited that it will soon become an important starting point for future dance research.  We can only imagine that this website evolve into a place where artists, historians, educators, and other dance enthusiasts can discover an important dance culture that deserves to be known.

 

Steering Committee

Fred Strickler, Chair  •  Michael Alexander  •   Gary Bates   •   Don Bondi
•  Ronnie Brosterman   •  Karen Goodman   •  Don Hewitt
•  Lorin Johnson • Stella Matsuda •  Gema Sandoval
•  Emma Lewis Thomas   •   Lula Washington