The Lineage Arts Blog

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DANCE FESTIVAL PROVIDES A BODY OF KNOWLEDGE You may know that Lineage Performing Arts Center and its dance company connect us with our community by bringing experiences to life through collaborative events and classes. But do you know that Lineage also launched the Pasadena Dance Festival? Caterina Mercante, Associate Director of Lineage Dance, is the coordinator. For a dozen years, the festival has connected dancers and observers with each other and with a dancer’s instrument: the body. Dance therapists, body percussionists, Frit, Frat, and other pros expand artistic horizons and address physical, mental, and emotional health. Here, at the 2019 festival, Kuni Hosaka helps Lineage Dance company’s Artistic Director Hilary Thomas with a sore shoulder. Kuni came to help, from his lab in Orange County, “Movement Lab Physical Therapy.” Hilary came from the stage for a short break before teaching two classes of Lineage repertoire. I came to learn physical therapy exercises and health tips from Annette Karim, dance therapy professor at Azusa Pacific University, plus classical Indian dance from Shivani Thakkar, and more. Many thanks to Lineage, everyone involved, and the supportive San Gabriel Valley community.

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What is your story? Our story?

Lineage Performing Arts Center audiences recently experienced storytelling of different types, toward different goals, but ultimately the storytelling was about community and the ways we build it and sometimes break it down.

What happens when a leader doesn’t welcome an entire group of people? What happens when a parent doesn’t accept her child’s gender orientation? What if that child grows up to talk about his experience, with humor? What if a homeless man must pay his father’s health care, while a homeless woman finds hope on Skid Row? What ties bind, break, and rebuild us as individuals, family members, and cultural groups?

Such questions came to my mind after watching a series of “Stories that Move Us” at Lineage’s intimate theater in Old Pasadena. One of the more straightforward shows in the series, “Stories of Refugees,” features Street Symphony musicians plus composers Artur Avanesov and John Guth, Lineage dancers led by choreographer Hilary Thomas, and storytellers including refugees and performer Erica Gimpel. These stories can make a person stop and realize the privileges and responsibilities that we may have as Americans. 

I was first struck by the program note, which quoted Cyrus Vance during the Cambodian refugee and Boat People crisis, in July 1979, when Vance was U.S. Secretary of State:

“We are a nation of refugees. Most of us can trace our presence here to the turmoil or oppression of another time and another place. Our nation has been immeasurably enriched by this continuing process. We will not turn our backs on our traditions. We must meet the commitments we have made to other nations and to those who are suffering. In doing so, we will also be renewing our commitments to our ideals.” 

The refugees’ stories took my breath away, such as when Tsoler Antoonian described the gunfire that surrounded her before she made the decision to leave everyone she loved behind, in Syria. She described her own breathlessness; she could barely tell her parents about the sudden crossfire and how the soldiers had cleared a pathway for her to escape and return to her parents’ home. Her parents understood that it was time to send their child somewhere safe. 

Now, Tsoler says, “I’m here, safe, and they’re in the war. I got married, and they couldn’t be here.” She is trying to bring her family here along with others who were not as fortunate as she is. 

We learned from Occidental Professor Sophal Ear about his mother’s heroic quest to move her family (including Sophal and siblings) from Cambodia to Vietnam to France to the United States. The family’s journey as refugees began in 1975 and ended in 1985. He still has the PanAm ticket that landed him in this land of opportunity, where he, his siblings, and his widowed mother went right to work in designer-clothing sweat shops and lived in a shack in Oakland, California. 

Sophal is grateful for his mother’s artful, relentless, and successful efforts to save the family, and he follows the saying, “To whom much is given, much is expected”; he teaches at Occidental College and serves on international development teams, councils, foundations, and Refugees International in order to save people, like his mother saved him. 

These and other stories segued into the peaceful sounds of Street Symphony and the sweeping lifts of dancers, allowing today’s stress to subside, letting us breathe easily again, filling us with hope that others will enjoy futures like ours. The whole storytelling process seemed to allow the refugee storytellers to breathe more easily, as well, and to renew their hope for brighter futures for people who are not so privileged. 

However, they reminded us that hope is not the only thing that is needed for change. “Tell others our stories,” consider our cause, they asked. The program notes listed Refugeesinternational.org, RefugeeRights.org (the International Refugee Assistance Project), and Rescue.org (the International Rescue Committee) as sites to check out to begin to help the “65 million people displaced by war, conflict, and persecution,” and it notes that tens of millions more are displaced by climate events.

The seed for “Stories of Refugees” was planted when Hilary Thomas’s high-school student Shant Armenian chose to focus his Community Impact Project on Syrian Armenian refugees. Hilary is artistic director of Lineage when she’s not teaching high school. Watch out, because, what catches Hilary’s attention often becomes a dance. 

Can stories, sounds, and sights move us to action, as they move Hilary, and as they moved Jimmy Carter when he came face-to-face with Cambodian refugees in front of the White House in 1979? As Sophal Ear told us in his story, one day in 1979, with Joan Baez singing and refugees telling their stories in front of the White House gates, Carter changed his stance toward the Cambodian Boat People, walked up to the gate, and told the storytellers: 

“I cannot let your people die.” 

What stances are being held and reconsidered today? What story will we write?

—H.P. Bhaskaran

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Photo credit: Ivonne Maria, www.ivonnemariaphotography.com 

 As part of a new series of “Stories that Move Us,” one evening of “Stories of Parenthood” wove verbal storytelling with dance, music, and photographs including the one above. Such stories moved audiences to laughter, to tears, and to see community in a new light at Lineage Performing Arts Center. Where does community start? How does it develop? 

After seeing “Stories of Identity: Gender and Sexuality,” my daughter was struck by how important parents are to a child’s worldview and well-being. After seeing “Stories of Parenthood,” I was struck by how community is built at Lineage, as Lineage builds a repertory and collaborates, in this case with Street Symphony, to tell stories that touch people. So the stories in the series interweave together in our minds as the dancers weave true tales with original live music and songs—richly textured songs in “Stories of Identity,” for example. Where else can you find such a rich, expressive community? 

Thanks go to the City of Pasadena sponsors and others, some mentioned in the “Stories of Skid Row” blog below.

—H.P. Bhaskaran, May 2017

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Connections made @ Lineage

Lineage Performing Arts Center was a great place to enjoy Mother’s Day, with my daughter accompanying me for the second show in Lineage and Street Symphony’s collaborative series of “Stories that Move Us,” this one entitled “Stories of Parenthood.” 

The stories began with a thorough exploration of fatherhood. Too bad Dad (from our family) was serving as chauffeur elsewhere, but he should get a chance to see this wide-ranging show another year. Storytellers shared their insecurities about being fathers, as well as their joys. Some had tried, as sons, to understand and improve the mold they had inherited, to laugh even as familial perspectives clashed and as mirrors were broken, literally. They sought to create a generation of good sentiments, not bad, with impressive success. Female dancers captured the fathers’ sentiments with strong yet graceful motions. Later in the evening, these dancers joined additional storytellers to share the challenges and celebrate the joys of motherhood.

The series also includes “Stories of Skid Row” (see blog below), “Stories of Identity: Gender and Sexuality,” and “Stories of Refugees” (see blog above).

“Stories of Parenthood” captures family moments through live performance and photos taken by Ivonne Maria, www.ivonnemariaphotography.com.

I hope you will get a chance to see the whole series of “Stories that Move Us” and other staples of the Lineage repertory. Susan has. I met her after the show, when she told me that she loves coming here. Standing next to her was Frank, who said that he particularly loves Lineage’s long-running show about depression, called "Ceiling in the Floor," which I blogged about last year. 

Regarding “Ceiling in the Floor,” Frank said, “The emotional impact was right up there with Alvin Ailey's 'Revelation.’ I had weak knees.” I also find Lineage pieces on a level with Ailey’s, as mentioned in my first blog. From the “Ceiling” show, I learned about the therapeutic power of the arts ... and the sometimes unforgiving power of alcohol and drugs. After the Parenthood show, I learned that Frank has used dance in order to deal with cancer. He blogs about this at dancingwithmrc.blogspot.com. And so, the community of artists and storytellers grows. 

Speaking of community, which all Lineage stories seem to do, at the Parenthood show on Mother’s Day, I met Sonia, who is the mother of Lineage’s artistic director Hilary Thomas. What did Sonia take away from the experience? "It was so beautiful. I'll never get used to Hilary’s choreography or anything about her. She’s so unusual."  

To learn more about “Stories that Move Us” and Lineage Performing Arts Center, including its City of Pasadena sponsors, please see the blogs below and https://www.lineagepac.org/. And we will see you at Lineage. Feel free to comment. 

—H.P. Bhaskaran, May 2017

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Stories of Skid Row

Street Symphony players set the tone for a novel look at homelessness.

While living on Skid Row, Pamela Walls had a realization: “Homeless people are like flowers and need to be watered with encouragement.” Her encouragement came from supportive programs including the Urban Voices Project, led by Leeav Sofer.

In Spring, 2017, this group was invited by Lineage Performing Arts Center and Street Symphony to participate in a joint venture called “Stories of Skid Row.” Lineage dancers, led by Hilary Thomas, interpreted the original stories of homeless and formerly homeless men and women, accompanied by musicians who brought the compositions of David Stern, John Guth, and Reena Esmail to life.

This moving exploration of homelessness took audience members, including Avi, by surprise. “Whatever struggles you have in life,” Avi realized, “you don’t have them” after hearing these stories. “It makes you appreciate what you have.”

Another audience member named Erica was happy to see “so many smiles.” She said, “I feed off other people’s emotions. This was so inspiring.”

Pamela and fellow performers echoed the sentiment. By performing with Lineage, Pamela said, “we not only sing, we have dance too. It’s such a privilege to bring this artistic picture to an audience, and it helps us open up more about our lives. It helps therapeutically,” and it lessens the stigma of homelessness. On Skid Row, she explained, “people get master’s degrees and find their dream jobs. Like Monarch butterflies emerging from cocoons, Skid Row has many butterflies that fly up and away, reclaiming goals.” With supportive programs on Skid Row, Pamela wrote a thesis entitled “A Dream Deferred Dreams Bigger,” and she reclaimed her dream of being an actress.

A fellow Urban Voices performer named Simone Neal said that the support she gets “helps me to continue on in my music. It keeps me going. I love these guys.”

The Urban Voices Project began as a partnership of the John Wesley Community Health Institute and the Colburn School of Music. Lineage Performing Arts Center and Street Symphony hosted an entire series of “Stories that Move Us,” made possible in part by the City of Pasadena Arts & Culture Commission and the City of Pasadena Cultural Affairs Division. 

In addition to featuring “Stories of Skid Row” and “Stories of Parenthood,” this series concludes with “Stories of Refugees” on Saturday, May 20, and “Stories of Identity: Gender and Sexuality” on Sunday, May 21, 2017. Tickets are sold at https://www.lineagepac.org/.

—H.P. Bhaskaran, May 2017

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Catch “The Brain in Motion” this weekend, May 21 and 22

Synapse in the brain (Credit: UCLA/Public Domain) 

Lineage dancers and actors are inspiring neuronal and communal connections with their updated performance of “The Brain in Motion.” To catch the action at Pasadena’s Lineage Performing Arts Center on Saturday and Sunday, May 21 and 22, or to catch future shows, see https://www.lineagepac.org/.  

What connections are being made this weekend by choreographer and artistic director Hilary Thomas and her Lineage Dance Company? What reactions come from composer John Guth’s original score and Peter Alan Hoffman’s animation? What makes people laugh at David Hemphill’s script (updated from a 2007 script by Anjali Millan and Margee Magee)? How will actors Chet Dixon (right brain) and Max Venison (left brain) ever reconcile their differences? 

Audience members’ answers vary, just as each brain, and each side of the brain, vary. However, here’s what a few of last week’s brains thought about this dancing journey through our hemispheres and lobes:

“The first time I saw the show, I appreciated it as a whole. Tonight, I picked up more of the subtle details. I like the pacing of the narration with the high-energy dances, the serious moments that tug at the heart, the laughter during the bit about sleep, and the way the dancers finish the piece with a high-intensity routine. The cool facts in the narration got me thinking. I like the concept of exploring the brain in a dance show; I wouldn’t have thought of that.”

“I like the strength, grace, and passion of the Lineage dancers, and I found the section about dancing with Parkinson’s disease very moving.”

The 2007 version of "The Brain in Motion” inspired Lineage’s creation of its Dance for Joy program. Thanks to this program and Lineage supporters, Lineage offers free dance classes for those struggling with Parkinson’s disease, Stroke Recovery, Alzheimers, Autism, and Down Syndrome. 

Hilary Thomas and her colleagues realized that “people not only needed to appreciate watching dance, but to do dance themselves as a force of healing.” 

Last weekend, Lineage board member Christopher Jacobs spoke about the Dance for Joy program and about the just-performed duet that grew from it. In the duet, Dance for Joy student Amy speaks about her condition while she performs gracefully with her teacher Ericalynn of Lineage Dance Company. Here’s what Christopher says:

“This is the thing I really like about Lineage. As a board member, I’ve observed the (Dance for Joy) classes and seen how family members and friends join in. This is not just art for art’s sake. It’s about making people’s lives better. There’s a communal kind of approach. Without this, there’s a danger that people with Parkinson’s and other conditions will curl up and withdraw, but I see a real community growing. There are some life lessons there.”

And here’s more audience feedback: 

“The performances are amazing every time. In every instance, there’s going to be something that’s not the same.” 

“The mix of comedy and seriousness provides a break from being too much of one thing.”

“I like the element of comedy.”

“There’s some heavy stuff, so humor provides a good balance.”

“I had a wonderful time. It’s a dance show, but it’s an education too. It’s a well-crafted script.” (spoken by a biased script writer)

“Through dance, I see ideas expressed in a whole different way.”

— audience members and H.P. Bhaskaran, May 2016

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The Brain & Mindful Meditation

See https://www.lineagepac.org/ to keep track of Lineage Performing Arts Center’s array of offerings, ranging from the conventional to the experimental. Speaking of the latter, see which side of your brain reminds you, in May, to see "The Brain in Motion." This multi-media performance is choreographed by Hilary Thomas to an original composition by John Guth.

In a completely different exploration of the brain, Stacy Kesten recently led mindful meditation sessions and “Mindful Moves” workshops to live music.

One meditation session focused on equanimity, which she explains here:

Equanimity is letting things be as they are, without grasping or aversion.  Some teachers might say that equanimity is all about letting go. But that concept of letting go can be tricky because things are not always ready to “go.”  Then it can feel like there’s something inside of us that we need to get rid of.  I like the phrase "let it be.”

The two things that get in the way of our equanimity are “grasping” and “aversion.”  Both of these things are wrapped in fear and cause us to flinch, tighten, or have a certain amount of anxiety.  If we can notice when we are doing this, and can allow our tightness to soften, we can find a little bit of freedom... aka equanimity.

Grasping is holding on tightly to the things we don’t want to lose or the things we don’t want to change.  Aversion is pushing away or resisting the things we don’t want.

Equanimity is not the same thing as indifference.  People wonder: If we accept everything, won’t we all just sit around and do nothing when there are clearly many things that need to change in the world? 

But equanimity is about finding a way to have emotional peace about what is happening so that we can make changes skillfully.  When we are reacting from a place of fear and frustration, we are not able to use our minds fully and clearly. With equanimity and acceptance, we can move toward change from a place of compassion, balance, and open-heartedness with a thoughtful mind.  

We don’t have to get too caught up in deciding whether something is “good" or “bad."  We can learn to ride the waves of fortune and misfortune with grace.

Stacy Kesten is a T.A. at UCLA, where she is completing her mindfulness facilitator certification.

—posted by H.P. Bhaskaran, February 2016

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Is Curiosity Good or Bad?

I’ve just seen “Curiosity Tales,” a whimsical adventure indeed, but I won’t tell all about its twists and turns, in case you see it yourself. It plays at Lineage Performing Arts Center Saturdays at 3 p.m. on August 8 and 15. Tickets are sold at https://www.lineagepac.org/ and at the show, depending on space.

This family-friendly dance piece brings mythological characters face-to-face, and head-to-knee, with each other. It begs questions such as: 

“What would happen if Alice (of Wonderland) met Pandora (of Greece) and Eve (of Eden)?” 

Choreographer Hilary Thomas considers this question as she and other Lineage dancers fret and frolic to an original musical score.

A teenaged audience member said: 

“Because it’s abstract, it encourages curiosity as you try to figure out what’s happening.”

Another said: 

“It portrays mythological female characters as youthful, imaginative, and daring, rather than weak or sinful.” 

An adult agreed that it has a feminist bent. The latter liked seeing her son enjoy a front-row seat for entertainment that “doesn’t pander to kids.” She noted that, when her son saw a proper British sheep join the cast to preach morality, her son wondered aloud: 

“Is curiosity good or bad?”

Come decide for yourself, if you’re curious.  

—H.P. Bhaskaran, August 2015

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Why Create?

Why create? The answer takes many forms. Lineage’s Hilary Thomas choreographed “Ceiling in the Floor” (pictured above) to understand and mend a friendship broken by mental illness. In the piece, a narrator expresses Hilary’s view that dance is not only what she was born to do, but also her “best medicine.” What are your reasons for participating in the arts, as an observer and/or creator?  

—photo and blog by H.P. Bhaskaran, May 2015

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“Ceiling in the Floor” Turns Feeling into Moving Art

Last night’s performance of "Ceiling in the Floor” gave audience members new perspectives on mental illness and its effect on friendship. 

Created at the Lineage Performing Arts Center more than two years ago, this seminal work depicts “the deeply personal true story of two local Pasadena artists who went from inseparable to non-speaking as the result of a quiet struggle with depression and suicide,” as noted on a Lineage website. The two artists are Hilary Thomas and Brandon Toh. 

Marisa Echeverria served as director of the piece, helping Hilary to meld personal choreography and Brandon’s music together with journal entries. The piece is performed by Lineage Dance Company members to live music. Because this group has produced such a personal piece, Hilary gave audience members a chance to discuss it during a Q&A that followed last night’s showing (and other showings that have occurred during the past two years). 

The performance and Q&A shed light on how Hilary turned her feelings into dance after she lost touch with, and then lost, Brandon. This close friend had called Hilary his “twin” during their tumultuous high school and college years, before the two went separate ways for ten years. When Brandon killed himself three years ago, Hilary was left to turn his music and her dances and words into something that kept their shared memories alive. 

During the Q&A, Hilary indicated that high schools and universities want to host “Ceiling in the Floor” performances on their campuses, which I’m glad to hear. This deeply personal yet collaborative effort is such a strong addition to Lineage’s growing repertoire that I hope and expect to see it, and its creators, in the public realm for many years. Considering that my long-time favorite companies, Pilobolus and the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater, have shared their best pieces for forty-four and fifty-seven years, respectively, I think that’s not too much to ask of Hilary’s up-and-coming dance company.

“Ceiling in the Floor” is made possible through a grant from the Pasadena Arts & Culture Commission and the City of Pasadena Cultural Affairs Division. 

See https://www.lineagepac.org/ to learn about Lineage and its June performances of “Curiosity Tales” and “See the Music Dance.” The latter celebrates Broadway composers.  

—photo and blog by H.P. Bhaskaran, May 2015

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See the Ukuleles Dance

Photo is courtesy of the Ukulele Orchestra of the Western Hemisphere.

“Clearly we’re not doing this for the money.” That’s what Sherry Barnett said about the ukulele group she’s in, which was founded by Billie Lopez and Tootie Maldonado five years ago.

Last Sunday, the group’s twenty “uke” players accompanied Lineage dancers as part of Lineage’s “See the Music Dance” series. The funny thing is, while they played, the musicians wished they could “see” their music dance without the distraction of having to play it.

The dance “added a whole other dimension,” said a musician named Donna, after the show. “I just wanted to put down my uke and watch, but I couldn’t.”

“That was pretty unusual,” a fellow musician named Darrin said. “I wanted to watch them. I was interested to see how they interpret this.”

Lineage’s Hilary Thomas and Ericalynn Priolo danced solos and a duet to the live music, including “Over the Universe”—a mashup of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” and “Across the Universe.”

If those songs don’t sound like traditional ukulele music, it’s because they’re not. This uke group is non-traditional, playing “Stray Cat Strut,” “I’m Sailing Away,” and more. One audience member told me that he was pleasantly surprised by the group’s range and energy.

Another, who’s called “Grandma Blue,” was surprised by the dance. “The dancers had an incredibly strong response to the music,” she said. “Their bodies and the space they move in, with unusual movement, works with the powerful beat of the uke bass. I thought they were fabulous.”

A tween who studies dance and music was entertained by the show’s “odd mix” of professional orchestra elements “combined with mismatched clothes and ukuleles."  

“The dance was very intense because of the form of dance used,” she said, noting that “the origin of the movement” led to “the flinging style that modern dancers seem to embrace.”

A teenager praised the musicians’ non-uniform look. She suggested, for next time, that they add more harmonies and explain the unusual ukulele designs. She liked the musicians’ “amazing age diversity” and their confidence as those “with less-trained voices” held their own alongside more experienced singers. There was “a great community feel.” 

As with Lineage events, the orchestra’s shows are often benefits, rather than paid gigs, although the orchestra recently appeared at a celebrity wedding. The group began meeting at the founders’ “ReForm School” shop five years ago and has invited musicians with a range of experience to join. For example, Darrin started singing when he joined the group four years ago, and he began playing a ukulele just one year before that. Donna discovered the orchestra one year ago, at a similar Lineage performance, just before open auditions allowed her to join.

After the show, I learned that one singer-songwriter in the group was only thirteen. Having enjoyed this teenager’s song about a hummingbird, an audience member named Klay said, “Usually when you hear that an original song is coming up, you cringe a little, but it was beautiful.”

This is the second year that Lineage dancers and the Ukulele Orchestra of the Western Hemisphere have teamed up for the “See the Music Dance” series.

The series is supported, in part, by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Los Angeles County Arts Commission. 

See https://www.lineagepac.org/ for upcoming events like this—and unlike this—including early May performances of “Ceiling in the Floor.” Thanks for reading and being part of the Lineage community. 

—H.P. Bhaskaran, April 2015

P.S. Why do people participate in the arts, if not for the money?

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Welcome to the Lineage Blog

How is it that a stranger’s story can make us laugh, cry, and feel connected to something greater than ourselves? This power of storytelling—such as storytelling through dance—is what turned me into a writer when I was in college. And it’s what has now turned me into a sometimes-blog-writer focused on the Lineage Performing Arts Center (LPAC) in Pasadena.

In the late ’80s, when I watched a performance by University of Colorado students, I was moved to write about the evocative stories the students told through dance. A newspaper published my story, and I became a journalist.

Fast forward to the 2000s when I saw Lineage Dance perform at one of Brand Library’s free concerts in Glendale, California. A duet about two sisters losing their connection because of breast cancer made me immediately call my sister. My sister didn’t have breast cancer, but still I felt the need to reach out to her, from here to Virginia.

Now that I’ve seen more Lineage performances—one of which had an audience member in tears because she was discovering dance so late in life—I’ve decided to do something to spread the word of Lineage’s great non-profit enterprise. And so, this blog begins.  

Who is this for, and why?  

This blog is for us—for people who like to think about performing arts, about community, and about connections between the two. We’ll explore art and life through the lens of the Lineage Performing Arts Center. That’s a big lens, considering LPAC is a non-profit hub for: 

* a dance company and festival; * multi-arts collaborations like a “See the Music Dance” series; * the support of community non-profit organizations; * dance classes in many styles and levels and for people managing illness; * and more, such as rental space.

Who am I?  

I’m a dance-loving observer who is impressed by Lineage’s mission but as unbiased as I can be. As a journalist, I’m trained to dig deep for the whole story behind what meets the eye.

What’s next?  

As I, and maybe you, check out Lineage’s community events at https://www.lineagepac.org/, we can discover many sides of the Lineage arts story together and share it via this blog. I look forward to your questions and comments. 

—H.P. Bhaskaran, April 2015