Two physically very close entities actually facing each other on 1st Street, Disney Concert Hall & Redcat on one side, and Ahmanson & Mark Taper, seem to have strategies of having one of the venues be more "conservative, establishment" and the other to be more "experimental & avant-garde". Redcat in the same site as the Disney Concert Hall is the smaller more intimate venue that houses musical & theatrical forms from around the world, while Disney Concert Hall houses the L.A. Philharmonic that is run by board of directors which hints of a more Western traditonalist approach although I did have the chance to sit near Frank Gehry, the primary architect of the hall, to listen to a Classical Japanese Gagaku Concert.
Redcat (Roy & Edna Disney/CalArts Theatre) is a far smaller space than the Disney Concert Hall, but I like the way the seats were located at a steeper pitch so that even a person sporting a Madge Simpson Beehive hairdo would not be able to block the view of the stage of the person sitting in back. Calarts is the entity directly running Redcat. CalArts is in Valencia/Santa Clarita, and is an art institute which educates in undergraduate & graduate programs in the fields of Art, Critical Studies, Dance, Film/Video, Music, & Theatre.
Many of the performances at Redcat are by the students of CarArts demonstrating the leading edge & avant-garde but other programs are from other parts of the country if not the world. A few years back, there was a beautiful Gamelan Kebyar, Balinese percussion concert with associated elegant, ethereal dancers. Bali is unique in the island archipelago nation of Indonesia in that it is the only island left that still retains East Indian traditions such as the Hindu religion, dance, customs, & rites surrounded by a sea of Islam. The Balinese take art a notch or two above most other cultures by incorporating art into their everyday lives on a scale we as Americans can barely imagine.
Anton, Neko, Kuri: November 21-24, 2013
This time around a Japanese Contemporary dance/theatrical group, Fai Fai, as part of the Sharon Lund Dance Series. The "story" centers around a Nora Neko (stray cat) that has leukemia. The neighborhood is somewhere in a quiet, forgotten part of Tokyo full of mostly kindly but eccentric folk like in any other community throughout the world. The neighbors, who are usually too busy or alienated to interact, find the opportunity to connect with each other because they are either fond of the cat or are afraid of them.
The actions & vocalizations are part pathos, comical, surreal, mime, modern geometric style dance, playing with words, expressions of emotion with body language, etc. At least, to me, it shows how disconnected we are living in modern, metropolitan megalopolis where we are so bombarded by all the rigors of big city life and have reached sensory overload that we can find connection with each other only through the catalyst of the concern for the friendly, dying cat.
In many ways Anton, Neko, Kuri is merely a slice of life. It depicts everyday occurrences in any city around the world, but this theatre piece is interesting because of its universality as well as the physical performance of the actors themselves. I found Neji to have a very unusual body dance technique in being able to articulate his joints into such improbable angles especially with his legs & feet. I found out later that he was well versed in Buto- (post WII avant-garde dance usually wearing white make-up & slow deliberate, difficult movements). Ko-ji was quite entertaining doing his "Pasta, Pasta" scene, and later it was revealed that he had worked in a restaurant for a number of years.
Anton, Neko, Kuri was good entertainment for only $20. This is a deal compared to getting "canned" entertainment at the Arclight in Hollywood for $14 and leaving unsatisfied since many Hollywood movies now can be so vacuous.
PS There is a cool, full service bar at Redcat where you can hang out before & after performances. Great way to discuss what was experienced or catching up on news from friends who attended. The Leffe Ale from Belgium was particularly good with hints of orange peel, sweet spices such as cinnamon, allspice in a golden brew filled with flecks of white yeast to give a slightly meaty texture. read more