Grand Performances

California Plaza

Up to 6,000 people fill the California Plaza

By Penny Orloff

Coming up on its 25th anniversary next year, Grand Performances is Southern California’s largest presenter of free performing arts.

Drawing up to 6,000 people at a time from all over Los Angeles County, the series at California Plaza in Downtown has hosted a variety of legendary, world-class performers and Southern California-based artists in music, theatre, dance, puppetry, and collaborative performance art.

The free performances are a magnet for “the most diverse audience in the country,” says Artistic Director Michael Alexander. “The downtown space is still neutral, it doesn’t ‘belong’ to any one community; therefore, it belongs to everybody in L.A. It’s really extraordinary to feel the sense of community here, among two or three thousand people across all the demographics of L.A, sharing the same experience at the same place at the same time.”

In 1990, following a 22-year career as a performer, manager, and curator of programs, Michael Alexander became the Artistic Director for the free public concert series. From the organization’s very beginning, he has set the tone for Grand Performances’ approach to programming, with an eye on serving the entire community and developing supportive relationships with the local arts community.

As a performing arts presenter he is particularly proud of the international presentations that he has brought to his audiences, including the United State premiere performance of the Beijing Modern Dance Company, numerous other modern dance companies from China, Mexico, and South America, world-renowned musicians such as the Kronos Quartet and Hugh Masakela, in addition to world class actors, dancers, musicians, and puppeteers from Los Angeles.

“There have been so many extraordinary concerts through the years,” says Alexander, “that it’s a challenge to select highlights. Afro-pop is among our biggest draws from year to year. Ladysmith Black Mambazo was huge six or seven years ago. I must say that we’ve had some world-class artists appear in the Plaza before they became huge stars of world music. We presented Baaba Maal and the Daka Hip Hop Orchestra before they sold out Disney Hall.”

Some of the events coming to California Plaza in August are Dengue Fever, whose music is well known through films and TV shows such as “Must Love Dogs” and “Weeds.” The band will serve up a unique hybrid of 60’s-era Cambodian pop and psychedelic rock, sung in English and Cambodian, on August 13th at 8pm.

At 8pm on August 14th, the renowned Haitian group Tabou Combo takes the stage, with infectious, ingenious rhythms that have rocked audiences from Japan to Miami for over 30 years. Reminding Angelenos of the ongoing crisis in Haiti, these ambassadors of Haitian culture sing and play a hot mix of dance-til-you-drop music in English, Spanish, French, and their native kreyol.

The South Korean B-Boy champs, Last For One, make their Grand Performances debut with break-dancing, hip-hop beats, turntables, traditional instruments, and music from Korea to create a mash-up that will have the house jammin’ all night long on August 20th at 8pm.

Both Columbia and Mexico celebrate bicentennials of independence from Spain this year. In honor of these milestones, Grand Performances presents the return engagement of Tijuana fan favorite, Nortec Collective, on August 21st at 7pm. Electronica, turntable beats, and the fusion of techno sounds with traditional norteño music remain the core of the group’s head-bobbing music. Also on the bill is the classic, accordion-driven Colombian street and bar room music of Mr. Vallenato, whose music conjures vivid images of coastal fishing villages, salt-of-the-earth folk, and revelry.

The concerts are at 350 S. Grand Avenue in Downtown. All shows are FREE, with open seating. Patrons are permitted to bring their own folding seats. California Plaza is fully wheelchair accessible, with special seating areas on the lower plaza designated by signage or blue tape. Phonic Ear System, for audio reinforcement for the hearing-impaired, is available on request with 48 hours notice. Parking for the concerts is located at 350 S. Olive St. – just under California Plaza – and costs $7.50 after 5pm. A printable map is available on the Grand Performances Web site.

For more information and a complete 2010 summer calendar of Grand Performances concerts, go to www.grandperformances.org.

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