Once again, the Roy and Edna Disney CalArts Theater (REDCAT) is showcasing a performing artist new to LA audiences. In its two-night series of shows created by choreographer/dancer Mariana Valencia, “Jacklean (in rehearsal)” will be presented on REDCAT’s downtown stage both Thursday and Friday, April 24-25, at 8:30 p.m.
The mover improvises in tandem with musician and LA-native Jazmin “Jazzy” Romero to create a work that proposes that what usually goes on behind closed doors in preparation for an audience’s view can be a performance itself. These two artists share a Central American heritage. Promotional materials note that this collaboration also references their shared immigrant experience, race, sexual identities and being the first generation of their families to be in the United States.
The movement vocabulary emanates from everyday gestures, social dance, freestyle and postmodern traditions. Its accompaniment includes a “polyvocal repertoire of cumbia, punk, jazz and electronic music in a dynamic interplay.” From those sources and styles, the piece explores the interaction between the individual, the collective and inherited intergenerational perspectives that often surprise its audiences.
Valencia has been awarded several highly respected grants, residencies and awards. These include the CalArts-related Herb Alpert Award, a Bessie (New York Dance and Performance Award) and funding from Creative Capital and the Foundation for Contemporary Arts. The artist also earned a Jerome Foundation Travel and Study grant.
—Benn Widdey, Culture Spot LA
LOCATION:
631 W. Second St., LA 90012
TICKETS:
$14-$27
INFO:
https://www.redcat.org/events/2025/mariana-valencia
https://www.marianavalencia.work
Photo by Chris Cameron