2UrbanGirls
  • Home
  • Local
    • Compton
    • Education
    • Inglewood
    • Sports
  • Entertainment
  • Crime and Public Safety
  • Opinion
  • About
    • Advertise
    • Mediakit

Subscribe to Updates

Get the latest creative news from FooBar about art, design and business.

What's Hot
June 24, 2022

CA Attorney General Throws Lifeline to Indicted LA Councilman

June 24, 2022

Compton Unified to Place Another School Bond Before Voters in November

June 24, 2022

Former Charter High School Student Sues Over 2018 Off-Campus Shooting

Facebook Twitter Instagram
Trending
  • CA Attorney General Throws Lifeline to Indicted LA Councilman
  • Compton Unified to Place Another School Bond Before Voters in November
  • Former Charter High School Student Sues Over 2018 Off-Campus Shooting
  • Authorities ID Man Killed in 710 Freeway Crash
  • OC Probation Officer Convicted of Stealing On the Job
  • LA County Fire Chief Announces Retirement
  • Authorities Arrest Man in Shooting Death in Hollywood
  • Authorities ID Man Killed By Train
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest RSS
2UrbanGirls
  • Home
  • Local
    1. Compton
    2. Education
    3. Inglewood
    4. Sports
    5. View All

    Compton Unified to Place Another School Bond Before Voters in November

    June 24, 2022

    Mistrial Declared in Wrongful Death Suit Against Suge Knight

    June 22, 2022

    Compton City Council Addresses Illegal Street Takeover Issues Impacting Residents

    June 17, 2022

    Compton Sheriff’s Department Says Fatal Accident Wasn’t Caused by Street Takeover

    June 17, 2022

    Las Vegas Raiders Owner Donates to Uvalde School District to Make Their Campuses Safer

    June 16, 2022

    Inglewood Unified County Administrator Out on Medical Leave

    June 14, 2022

    Former Dean From East Los Angeles College Pleads No Contest in Theft Case

    June 10, 2022

    Initiative to Increase School Arts and Music Funding Qualifies For Ballot

    June 9, 2022

    BNLA Opinion Editorial Re: Inglewood’s Proposed Short-Term Rental Regulations

    June 23, 2022

    Inglewood Releases Partial Police Agreement with Hollywood Park

    June 23, 2022

    Inglewood Assemblymember Tackles Housing in First Legislative Bill

    June 22, 2022

    City of Inglewood: A Democracy Interrupted

    June 19, 2022

    Sandy Koufax Statue Unveiled at Dodger Stadium

    June 18, 2022

    Ole, Ole, Ole FIFA 2026 World Cup headed to Inglewood’s SoFi Stadium

    June 16, 2022

    Los Angeles Chargers to Texas? Not Over Jerry Jones Dead Body!

    June 16, 2022

    Phantom Labs Sues Antonio Brown for Unpaid Bill

    June 8, 2022

    CA Attorney General Throws Lifeline to Indicted LA Councilman

    June 24, 2022

    Former Charter High School Student Sues Over 2018 Off-Campus Shooting

    June 24, 2022

    Study Shows Long Beach as One of Worst Run Cities

    June 23, 2022

    Deputy: Man Charged in Nipsey Hussle Killing Surrendered Without Incident

    June 22, 2022
  • Entertainment
  • Crime and Public Safety
  • Opinion
  • About
    • Advertise
    • Mediakit
2UrbanGirls
You are at:Home»LA street dance culture comes to the Ford Theatre
Photo by George Simian

LA street dance culture comes to the Ford Theatre

0
By 2UrbanGirls on September 15, 2016 Uncategorized
Photo by George Simian
Photo by George Simian

Jackie Lopez remembers when she fell in love with hip-hop.  Growing up in Echo Park, Jackie spent many hours at MacArthur Park listening to this new phenomena.  The “beat” caught her attention, then the lyrics and she has been in love ever since.  Her love of hip-hop expanded to include earning a degree in dance from UCLA and a founding a thriving nonprofit, the Versa-Style Dance Company, that teaches dance to underprivileged youth from around Los Angeles County.  Her companies play, Box of Hope, opens this Saturday at the Ford Theatre as part of their Summer Series.[adsenseyu2]

Jackie was introduced to dance at a young age.  She attended classes and studied under Rennie Harris.  Harris would serve as her mentor, giving her a strong foundation in technique.

Jackie counts hip-hop artists KRS-One and Tupac as favorites for lyrical content and poetic styles.

Jackie found hip-hop bridged the Latino and African-American cultures through storytelling over a rhythmic beat.  The other kids in MacArthur Park were of both cultures and the music brought them together.

Box of Hope incorporates music with political oriented themes.  Marvin Gaye’s “Inner City Blues”, Stevie Wonder’s “As” and the Temptations “Papa Was A Rolling Stone” are included in the performance.

Jackie has enjoyed the amazing opportunities she found through dancing.  Graduating Summa Cum Laude from UCLA in 2004 from the Department of World Arts and Cultures/Dance, with a concentration in dance, Jackie was thrilled to begin her career as a professional dancer.  Jackie has great pride in being the first in her family to graduate from a university.

For the last 18 years, Jackie has been working as a professional dancer, choreographer, teaching artist and cultural educator.  She has worked with students and artists of all ages from Los Angeles, New York, Israel, France and Colombia.  She currently is Adjunct Lecturer in UCLA’s dance department where she teaches hip-hop dance, and she is the director of the UCLA Summer Dance/Performing Arts Intensive for high school students.

Jackie is very excited that she helps bring more diversity to UCLA’s world arts department.  With the limited opportunities available to inner city youth,  Jackie is eager to increase the number of minorities in the.department.

“I am proud to have evolved into not only being a professor at my alma mater but also serving on the admissions committee to increase equity,” said Lopez.

Photo by George Simian
Co-artistic directors Leigh Foaad and Jackie Lopez Photos courtesy of Versa-Style

“I take great pride in seeing applicants from my community applying for UCLA,” said Lopez.

Box of Hope takes its title from a little red box used by Versa-Style co-artistic director Leigh Foaad as a prop for a solo dance piece.  Foaad is also an Adjunct Professor in the UCLA world arts department.

versa-style_6_by-george-simian-300x201

‘Box of Hope’ features principle dancers Allison Gray, Harry Weston, Ernesto Galarza, Jackie Oka, Brandon J. Williams, Anthony Berry and Alex Almaraz, and core dancers Cynthia Hernandez, Joey Velasquez, Sandy Vazquez and Gbari Gilliam. Choreography is by Jackie Lopez and Leigh Foaad; lighting design is by Daniel Tator; and the dramaturg is Kevin Kane.

The Ford is located at 2580 Cahuenga Blvd. East, Hollywood, CA 90068, just off the 101 Hollywood Freeway between Hollywood and Universal Studios in the Cahuenga Pass. The grounds open two hours before show time for picnicking. The Ford offers a number of dining options: a variety of food and beverages is available on site. Patrons are also welcome to bring their own food and drink. The Ford is disabled accessible. Portable wireless listening devices are available upon request.

‘Box of Hope’ takes place on Saturday, Sept. 17 at 8 p.m. Tickets (reserved seating) are $30 for adults and $15 for kids 12 and under. VIP tickets, which include premium seating, a gift bag and a signed poster, are available for $50. For more information and to purchase tickets, go to FordTheatres.org or call 323 461-3673 (for non-visual media 323-GO-1-FORD). To learn about discounts for groups of 10 or more, please visit FordTheatres.org.

Box of Hope

Versa-Style Dance Company will present a multidisciplinary exploration of the social and political climate of today through LA street dance culture, spoken word and live music. By choosing to perform to Motown music, in addition to hip-hop and R&B, this 15-member ensemble made up of dancers from all over LA, will fuse vintage sounds with contemporary hip-hop moves.

Related

Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
2UrbanGirls
  • Website
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram

2UrbanGirls has been cited in Daily Breeze, Daily News, Inglewood Today, Intersections South LA, KCRW, KPCC, Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Wave, LA Weekly, LA Watts Times, Mercury News, New York Times, Orange County Register, Sports Illustrated, The Atlantic, and Washington Post. 2UrbanGirls has a recurring column, South of the 10, on CityWatchLA.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Elections
June 24, 2022

Compton Unified to Place Another School Bond Before Voters in November

June 22, 2022

Inglewood City Clerk Announces Dates for Filing Papers for November Election

June 20, 2022

Tina McKinnor Sworn in as Inglewood Assemblymember

June 16, 2022

Republican Increases Lead in Insurance Commissioner Race

Social Media
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • TikTok
Most Read
National
June 9, 20227

Federal Indictments rock St. Louis City Hall

ST. LOUIS – Two current and one former St. Louis aldermen, including board President Lewis…

June 11, 2022

Man Pleads Guilty in ‘Sweetie Pie’s’ Murder for Hire

June 9, 2022

Authorities Announce Reward For Info on Man Suspected of Killing 14-Year-Old

June 18, 2022

Judge Rules Man is Potentially An Heir to Charles Manson

Entertainment
June 22, 2022

Matlin, Reitman Among Newly Elected Motion Picture Academy Governors

June 20, 2022

Chyna, Rob Kardashian Settle Her Revenge Porn Claim

June 19, 2022

`Jurassic World Dominion’ Makes $58.6M to Lead Box Office Again

June 17, 2022

Los Angeles Philharmonic Association Names Arsenio Hall as Host for 2022 Hollywood Bowl Jazz Festival

Transportation
June 15, 2022

Lawmakers Seek Federal Funds For Transportation Projects Ahead of 2028 Olympics

June 14, 2022

Bicyclist Hit by Vehicle and Killed in Exposition Park Area

June 7, 2022

Pedestrian Killed in Collision with Metro Train in Hawthorne Area

June 3, 2022

Sudden Strike Strands Antelope Valley Commuters

Sports
June 18, 2022

Sandy Koufax Statue Unveiled at Dodger Stadium

June 16, 2022

Ole, Ole, Ole FIFA 2026 World Cup headed to Inglewood’s SoFi Stadium

June 16, 2022

Los Angeles Chargers to Texas? Not Over Jerry Jones Dead Body!

June 8, 2022

Phantom Labs Sues Antonio Brown for Unpaid Bill

Archives
Categories

Subscribe to Updates

Keep up with the latest on 2UrbanGirls.com

Subscribe

* indicates required

About

We're based in Inglewood, CA! We amplify community voices, share information, and investigate systems.

Recent Posts
  • CA Attorney General Throws Lifeline to Indicted LA Councilman
  • Compton Unified to Place Another School Bond Before Voters in November
  • Former Charter High School Student Sues Over 2018 Off-Campus Shooting
  • Authorities ID Man Killed in 710 Freeway Crash
  • OC Probation Officer Convicted of Stealing On the Job
Recent Comments
  • Susan on Compton Unified to Place Another School Bond Before Voters in November
  • Don’t forget who is paying the bill to keep election flyers in your mail box on City of Inglewood: A Democracy Interrupted
  • Silvia Delgado on Compton Man Killed in Two-Vehicle Crash in Long Beach
Copyright © 2011-2022 2UrbanGirls. Powered by I-WOOD.

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

 

Loading Comments...