The Brief

It's 11 p.m. on a Saturday, and a grocery store in North Hills is the place to be. The scene is quintessential Filipino fanfare: a DJ, a station for custom Seafood City jerseys and a whole roasted pig glistening under heat lamps. When Filipinos say community gathering, they really mean it.

It reminds me of the Santo Niño fiestas from my childhood. The religious part is different, but everything else is the same: the food, the music, the feeling of everyone showing up for each other. Here I am, in my 30s, standing in a chain Filipino grocery store I used to visit only to pick up things for my grandma. Sometimes I move through my own community without really seeing it. This night pulled me back to my roots.

A DJ is spinning VST & Company's Awitin Mo at Isayaw Ko, a Filipino classic from the '70s that my lola, my Auntie Baby, and probably your lola all know by heart. Stick around and you'll catch the Black Eyed Peas' Bebot rattling the freezer doors while the whole crowd sings like it's an inside secret the rest of the world hasn't figured out yet.

Between songs, people line up for trays of BBQ skewers, pork lechon and loaded lumpia.

A whole roasted lechon sits on display at Seafood City's Late Night Madness event in North Hills.

(

Brandon Killman

/

LAist

)

Welcome to Late Night Madness, where Seafood City has turned the mundane act of grocery shopping into the most authentic Filipino street food party in town.

And if you're wondering when you can jump into the dance circle yourself, the next Late Night Madness events are scheduled for March 27 and 28 in National City — with more expected to return around May after a short break.

What started as a test event at Seafood City's Daly City location last September has evolved into a cultural phenomenon. But if you've never stepped foot in a Filipino grocery store, here's what you need to know.

Not Filipino? Not a problem

Patricia Francisco, director of digital marketing and events at Seafood City, has noticed something remarkable: "We're seeing a growing number of non-Filipinos coming. A lot of them have never tried these Filipino classic dishes."

Justin Gonzalez, known as Jut, is the event host and marketing consultant for Late Night Madness. He puts it more directly: "Food is bomb. DJs are bomb. It's a really fun time. Everyone's going to be super smiley."

The store extends its hours until midnight. Local Filipino DJs turn the aisles into a dance floor. The backdrop? Cabbage, bananas, jackfruit.

Justin Gonzalez, host and marketing consultant for Seafood City's Late Night Madness events, hypes up the crowd at the North Hills location.

(

Brandon Killman

/

LAist

)

But Late Night Madness is just the latest evolution of what Seafood City has represented since its founding in 1989. The first store opened in San Diego as a space where Filipino immigrants, who were uncomfortable in American stores, could shop for familiar ingredients and products.

"They wanted to buy soy sauce and fish. But being that their English wasn't that good, they were very intimidated to go into regular American supermarkets," Gonzalez explained.

Nearly four decades later, Seafood City continues bridging generations and cultures through food, music, dance and a shared sense of community.

What you'll find

An assortment of Filipino grilled skewers, including pork barbecue, chicken and isaw, rest on banana leaves at Seafood City's Late Night Madness event in North Hills.

(

Brandon Killman

/

LAist

)

Before the DJ takes over, make your way to Grill City, open all the time, no event ticket required. And here's what most people miss: Sizzle City is tucked in there, too, all the way at the front. No big signs, no menus telling you to pile on the rice and pancit. Just order at the counter, and get sisig. It’s a true Filipino street food classic done right. It arrives in a sizzling cast-iron skillet with crispy fried pork belly, tender pieces of pork mask, a sunny-side-up egg cracked right on top. The kind of dish that doesn't need to explain itself.

A cast-iron skillet of sisig, topped with a fried egg, calamansi and a red chili pepper, served at a Filipino restaurant.

(

Brandon Killman

/

LAist

)

The rest of Grill City holds up the same way. Lumpia Shanghai: crispy, tightly rolled with that specific crunch you grew up on. Pork lechon so fluffy, with a salty, brittle skin. Chicken or pork barbecue skewers, charred and glistening in all the right ways. For the adventurous, a whole grilled squid, tentacles and all.

The hot bar ranges from crowd-pleasing lobster balls, fish balls and takoyaki to the more committed choices: pork liver, ear and intestine. The stuff that separates the curious from the people who actually want to eat.

The overload question

On top of the classics, Late Night Madness features exclusive items you won't find during regular hours, including the popular "overload" line. Imagine loaded fries, except the vessel isn't fries. It's lumpia. Or chicharron. Or chicken skin. Topped with cheese sauce and bits of longganisa: a sweet, garlicky Filipino breakfast sausage.

"I didn't even think of eating lumpia with cheese sauce, but it works so well," Francisco says.

Honestly? I felt the same. It was surprisingly satisfying — like nachos at a Dodgers game, only with a Filipino flair.

But somewhere between the cheese sauce and the photo I was taking of it, I found myself thinking about the sisig I'd just had at Grill City. About how it needed nothing. There's a reason Italians don't put cheese on seafood — not because cheese is bad but because the sea already provided an abundance of pure flavor. The right lumpia dipping sauce operates the same way: spiced vinegar, raw garlic, cracked pepper. Every pairing intentional, chosen not to embellish but to draw out what was already there.

L.A. has Lord Maynard Llera of Kuya Lord, the 2024 James Beard Award winner for Best Chef in California, who already proved what Filipino food can be when you let it speak for itself. The overload line is fun. But I hope it's a detour, not a direction. The traditional flavors have always been enough. They don't need the cheese.

Lumpia topped with longanisa and cheese sauce, served at Seafood City's Late Night Madness event in North Hills.

(

Brandon Killman

/

LAist

)

The unexpected traditions

Dance battles break out throughout the night, with winners taking home exclusive merchandise. Perseus Ancheta, 34, a North Hills local attending his first Late Night Madness, jumped into the battle for a Yoshinobu Yamamoto Dodgers shirt giveaway. His wife showed him videos from past events on Instagram, and his expectations were more than met.

"You're out partying with grandmas, probably great-grandmas, too, and just having fun," he says.

A crowd member competes in a dance battle for L.A. Dodgers swag during Late Night Madness at the North Hills location.

(

Brandon Killman

/

LAist

)

Then there are the shots, not alcohol, but something arguably more challenging: suka, a Filipino vinegar sauce. What started as a joke at the Eagle Rock location has evolved into a viral phenomenon.

Matt Clucario, a North Hills local, took the plunge despite having high blood pressure.

"I usually stay away from the sauce," he admits. "But in the moment, I'm like, yeah, forget it, why not?"

The flavor?

"It was more earthy than I thought it would be," he said. "And it stung the back of my throat, and it stayed with me for a while, so I had to get some melon juice."

When asked if it made him feel proud to be Filipino, Clucario doesn't hesitate: "It oddly did. Like a lot of things do. That one is pretty top of the list."

Strangers become family

For Gonzalez, who grew up in Southern California as what he calls an "American Filipino," the events represent something deeper.

"I've struggled with not embracing my Filipino heritage my whole life," he says. "And now I get to be one of the community leaders for American Filipinos.

"The beautiful thing about the Filipino community is that you don't have to learn Tagalog. If you have a taste of the Philippines from this event, then you can understand the depth of what Filipino culture is."

I thought about that as I watched a dance battle break out between the cabbage and piles of jackfruit where generations collided, strangers became family and the produce aisle became a dance floor. The event is free with tickets through the SFC Plus app. Check their Instagram for upcoming dates in the Los Angeles area.

There's a brand-new tax deduction in place this filing season: Taxpayers who bought a new car in 2025 can, in some cases, deduct interest on their auto loan.

The deduction was created by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which also removed taxes on tips and overtime for qualifying workers, and — relevant to new car shoppers — eliminated a tax credit for buying electric vehicles.

Here's what taxpayers should know about the new tax deduction.

The deduction applies to new cars purchased after Dec. 31, 2024

If your car loan was taken out before that date, you won't be able to benefit.

If you purchased a used car, you're also out of luck. (That means the people who are typically hit the hardest by interest on auto loans — used vehicle buyers with poor credit — will not feel any benefit from this provision.)

But if you bought a new car in 2025, read on.

The highest-income households will not qualify 

The deduction phases out for single tax filers with a modified adjusted gross income, or MAGI, of $100,000 or more. The phaseout begins at $200,000 for a married couple filing jointly.

If you make six figures, you may still be able to benefit. MAGI is calculated after certain deductions from your gross income, like tax-deductible retirement contributions. And because the deduction is phased out gradually, if you are close to the cutoff you might still be able to deduct a portion of the interest you paid.

The vehicle must have been assembled in the United States 

To get the deduction, a vehicle must have gone through its final assembly process in the United States, which you can determine using your vehicle identification number.

Mark Gallegos, a tax partner at Porte Brown Wealth Management in Chicago, says he's had to remind clients that buying a vehicle "made in the U.S." is not the same as simply buying an "American" brand. A Ford, Chevy or Jeep might be assembled outside the U.S., he says, while "you may have a Japanese or a Korean or a German manufacturer, and that may be final assembly in the U.S." There's no substitute for checking the VIN.

The vehicle also has to be for personal use, not for a business.

If you and the vehicle both qualify, you can deduct up to $10,000 in interest paid per year

For this tax season, you'll have to look at your paperwork for your auto loan — check your last statement for 2025 — to see how much interest you paid in total. You will not get a separate tax document in the mail from your lender.

Gallegos also reminds clients that a deduction is not the same as a tax credit. A tax credit reduces how much tax you must pay, dollar for dollar, like a refund or a rebate. A deduction reduces how much of your income is taxable, which means your actual savings are smaller than the deduction.

For example, if you paid $1,000 in interest, and can deduct all of it, "That doesn't mean I get $1,000 back in my pocket," Gallegos says. "It's cents on the dollar." Exactly how much you save depends on your tax bracket; if you're in the 22% bracket, for instance, that $1,000 deduction is worth $220.

The deduction is available even if you are taking the standard deduction 

Unlike most tax deductions — including the mortgage interest tax deduction — this one is available for taxpayers who are taking the standard deduction and not otherwise itemizing their deductions.

That's a nice perk, Gallegos says, and expands the number of people who might benefit.

The policy is not likely to be a major boost to domestic manufacturing 

Under the Biden administration, the federal government leaned heavily on tax policy to incentivize domestic manufacturing, particularly of electric vehicles. A hefty tax credit for buyers of American-made EVs motivated companies to build plants in North America.

Now, under the Trump administration, those tax credits are gone — but high tariffs on vehicles and parts from overseas are serving as a different kind of pressure to get companies to shift production to the U.S.

Will this tax deduction add even more pressure? Probably not, says Ivan Drury, head of insights at the automotive data company Edmunds.

Yes, it's specific to U.S.-built cars — but it's just not that big of an incentive, he says. It doesn't apply to leases and provides no benefit at all to buyers who used 0% financing or didn't take out loans. It helps some buyers for sure, he says, but it's more of a nice-to-have than something that is likely to sway buyers' decisions when weighing a car that's built in the U.S. against one that isn't.

As a result, he says, it's not likely to be that motivating to automakers. "This isn't going to cause any automaker to suddenly say, 'Hey, two years from now for the sole purpose of this tax deduction, we'll start building that in the United States," he says.

But it will be a modest financial boost to some buyers, he says. And, he points out, "This isn't bad for anybody." Even if you don't qualify, you're no worse off than you were before.
Copyright 2026 NPR

When Los Angeles officials were considering renaming a major Eastside thoroughfare to honor labor rights icon César Chávez in 1993, one 20-year-old resident said she appreciated what he’d done for Latinos — but she hoped the city would find a memorial somewhere else.

“Brooklyn Avenue is Boyle Heights,” Zorina Castanon told the LA Times at the time. “You just can’t change that.”

The city and L.A. County did go on to rename Brooklyn Avenue, as well as stretches of Macy Street and Sunset Boulevard that ran from downtown Los Angeles through Boyle Heights to East L.A., to César E. Chávez Avenue. Today, businesses along the commercial corridor in Boyle Heights bear Chávez’s name, and murals honor his legacy as an emblematic figure of the Chicano Movement.

But for some locals and advocates, the name never sat right. They pointed to Brooklyn Avenue’s place in their family memories, its association with the area’s Jewish history and Chávez’s complicated legacy. Then came Wednesday’s explosive New York Times investigation, in which farmworker leader Dolores Huerta and other women accused Chávez of sexually assaulting them in the 1960s and '70s. 

Now, the calls to revert to Brooklyn Avenue or “La Brooklyn,” or give the street another name entirely, are growing. Among those calling for a name change are LA County Supervisor Hilda Solis, who said in a statement she will be introducing a motion directing “an exploration of renaming parks, streets, County facilities, real property, monuments, and other County programs that bear the name of César Chávez.” 

L.A. City Councilwoman Ysabel Jurado also issued a statement Wednesday, calling for the “renaming of all public locations and events that bear his name, as we prioritize accountability and stand with those who have been harmed.”

When Los Angeles officials were considering renaming a major Eastside thoroughfare to honor labor rights icon César Chávez in 1993, one 20-year-old resident said she appreciated what he’d done for Latinos — but she hoped the city would find a memorial somewhere else.

For years, residents like Vivian Escalante have been advocating to change the name back, not only to preserve the street’s history and its significance in Boyle Heights but also to give credit to the Filipino farmworkers who initiated the historic 1965 Delano grape strike for which the United Farm Workers and Chávez are widely known. 

Escalante is the CEO of Boyle Heights Community Partners, the local historical society, and treasurer for the Boyle Heights Neighborhood Council. A Boyle Heights native, Escalante told Boyle Heights Beat that she recalls the opposition from residents when Brooklyn Avenue was to be renamed following Chávez’s death in 1993. Residents felt that the name change erased the era when Boyle Heights was known for its large Jewish population. 

“Many people on Brooklyn Avenue that have been here for decades want Brooklyn Avenue to come back,” Escalante said.

For years, Escalante has worked to advocate for the name to be reverted back and for others to learn the true history of the farmworker strikes. In 2024, Boyle Heights Community Partners went door-to-door to businesses and residents along César E. Chávez Avenue from Cummings Street to Forest Avenue and surveyed 75 residents, who mostly agreed with reverting it back, she said. 

Chávez “was not the leader of the farmworkers but took credit for it,” she said, referring to organizer Larry Itliong’s success in getting Filipino farm workers in Delano to strike before bringing in Chávez and Mexican workers. “Therefore, why would we change the name to César Chávez, instead of honoring the Filipino gentleman that actually started the whole farmworker strike?” she said.

When Los Angeles officials were considering renaming a major Eastside thoroughfare to honor labor rights icon César Chávez in 1993, one 20-year-old resident said she appreciated what he’d done for Latinos — but she hoped the city would find a memorial somewhere else.

After finding out about the abuse allegations against Chávez on Wednesday, Escalante said she will reignite the organization’s calls to change the name back and honor the community’s cultural history by forming a committee dedicated to “bringing back Brooklyn Avenue.”

Others are suggesting the iconic avenue be renamed after Huerta, who co-founded the National Farm Workers Association (which later became the United Farm Workers) alongside Chavéz in 1962 and became one of the most prominent labor rights leaders of the 20th century. 

Leaders with California Rising held a press conference Wednesday, calling for the street to be named Dolores Huerta Avenue. Meanwhile, artist Susana Sanchez created an illustration depicting a construction worker in a Dodgers cap, hoisted above a streetlight, replacing César E. Chávez signage with a Dolores C. Huerta placard. 

“I am heartbroken,” Sanchez said in her caption. “I stand with Dolores Huerta and every single woman who has had to carry their trauma all this time in silence.

“It’s heavy. Please do not ask why she didn’t speak up sooner. I hope all cities replace his name with hers.”

Amid these calls, Caroline Luce, a director of the UCLA Institute for Research on Labor and Employment, pointed to public records showing that changing the street name was not simply about Chávez’s contributions but about the broader Chicano and farmworker movements.

Long before Chávez’s death, Boyle Heights and East LA served as the epicenter of the Chicano civil rights movement with the student walkouts, the anti-war movement in the ‘70s “and the energy coming from the farmworker struggle,” Luce said.

“The guiding sentiment … was to honor that heritage as much as it was to honor the man himself,” Luce said.

Brooklyn Avenue officially became Cesar E. Chavez Avenue on March 31, 1994, Chávez’s birthday. The dedication ceremony took place at the well-known five-point intersection of East César E. Chávez Avenue and Lorena and Indiana Streets, where Boyle Heights and East L.A. meet. 

Championed by then-County Supervisor Gloria Molina shortly after Chávez’s death in April 1993, the change was approved by the Board of Supervisors in October 1993, followed by a unanimous vote in the L.A. City Council one day later. 

Leading up to the name change, hundreds expressed strong opposition to it, saying that choosing to rename Brooklyn Avenue in Boyle Heights “would be wiping away the memories of the many Jews who lived there years ago and of the many Latinos who connect with the busy commercial strip today,” according to the LA Times. 

“It’s important that we recognize a leader like César Chávez, who preached nonviolence and raised the whole nation’s conscience dealing with farmworkers,” said Robert Alaniz, Molina’s spokesman in the LA Times article. “Change is never easy, and some people don’t cope well with change.”

One thing you can be sure of in L.A. is that there’s never an excuse to stay home. Just this week, both the L.A. Phil and the Geffen Playhouse announced their new seasons, and there’s tons of great music and theater on the way this fall — and we haven’t even gotten to summer yet!

Even with Dudamel leaving us for NYC (and don’t worry, there are still many chances to see the maestro before then), the L.A. Phil has a lot of special shows on tap, including an evening with Andrew Bird and a tribute to Philip Glass. The Geffen has two plays coming straight from Broadway, including Branden Jacob-Jenkins' Purpose, directed by Phylicia Rashad, and Bess Wohl’s Liberation. Plan accordingly!

More imminently, your music picks for this weekend from Licorice Pizza include Peso Pluma at the Intuit Dome, Conan Gray at the Forum, Ashnikko with Princess Nokia at Shrine Expo Hall, Jeff Tweedy at the Belasco, Inara George at Largo and Peaches bringing her debauchery and sex-positivity to the Bellwether — all on Friday, though Peaches will be effing the pain away on Saturday, too.

Saturday’s a big night, with Jeff Tweedy playing a second show at the United Theater, Maggie Lindemann at the Regent, Spiritual Cramp at the Teragram, Paul van Dyk at Avalon and Yeasayer’s Anand Wilder at Townhouse Venice. If you’re feeling nostalgic, there’s the "I Love The 90s Tour" with Vanilla Ice, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Milli Vanilli, Tone Loc, Color Me Badd and Young MC at Great Park Live. Finally, end your weekend on Sunday with the "Boys 4 Life Tour" at the Forum, Hawthorne Heights at the Belasco or local punk icons Redd Kross at Alex’s Bar.

Elsewhere on LAist, learn where to order your latte with a side of feminist history, read about a queer Latin dance studio and score a ticket for next weekend’s Marketplace Live with Kai Ryssdal.

Events

Ukrainian Egg-Decorating Festival

Sunday, March 22, 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Ukrainian Cultural Center
4315 Melrose Ave., East Hollywood
COST: FREE; MORE INFO 

(

Courtesy Ukrainian Art Center

)

Trust me, your supermarket egg dyes have nothing on the intricate designs of Ukrainian Easter eggs. Learn about the historic tradition of pysanka and try out the craft for yourself at the Ukrainian Cultural Center’s Pysanka (Egg-Decorating) Festival. There’s also folk dancing, singing and delicious Ukrainian food and drink.

Innovation Social

Friday, March 20, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. 
Music Center Plaza
135 N. Grand Ave., Downtown L.A. 
COST: FREE; MORE INFO 

Learn more about the L.A. art and tech scene by mingling with the people making it happen at the next Innovation Social on Music Center Plaza. While there, check out the latest from Iranian multimedia artist Armon Naeini’s The Music Center Presents ID Pt. III, which uses motion tracking to generate responsive visuals that shift and change as you move.

Venice Love Fest 

Saturday, March 21, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Windward Ave. and Ocean Front Walk, Venice
COST: FREE; MORE INFO 

(

Courtesy Create Entertainment

)

Venice is the place to be this weekend for the annual Venice Love Fest, which moves to its rightful beachside location this year. It’s going to be hot, and the music is going to be rocking, with some of my favorites (including the Midnight Cowgirls) taking the Love Fest stage. Best of all, it’s free. Plus, Passion Pit is playing a free set at the Rivian space at 7 p.m., and the Venice Heritage Museum is reopening in its new location on the same day. Wander over to 1234 Pacific Ave. to check it out on your way to or from.

Jacob Jonas: Keeping Score

Through Sunday, March 22
Broad Stage
1310 11th St., Santa Monica 
COST: FROM $35; MORE INFO

Innovative artist, dancer and choreographer (and Santa Monica native) Jacob Jonas brings a trilogy about illness and resilience to the Broad Stage for a series of unique performances across three days. Jonas, a Stage 4 cancer survivor, has taken his journey onto the stage, creating a visceral piece that “intersects contemporary dance, performance art, musical composition, and theatrical storytelling to explore how early life trauma, illness, and resilience are encoded in the body.” Inspired by The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk, the work — which includes a combination of dance, film, binaural sound, meditation and conversation — looks at the before, during and after of illness.

VinylCon

Saturday and Sunday, March 21 and 22
California Market Center
110 E. Ninth St., Downtown Los Angeles
COST: FROM $8.75; MORE INFO 

(

Eric Krull

/

Unsplash

)

Vinyl-heads, this is for you. Head to California Market Center for "the largest record fair in California that anyone can remember," complete with a DJ lineup that includes The Gaslamp Killer and DJ Nu-Mark, plus more rare and vintage vinyl than you can possibly get away with bringing home.

Annual Vegan Chili Cook-Off

Saturday, March 21, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. 
Tony’s Darts Away
1710 W Magnolia Blvd., Burbank 
COST: FREE; MORE INFO 

(

American Heritage Chocolate

/

Unsplash

)

Enjoy chili and craft beer at the vegan chili cookoff, where favorite spots like Highland Park Brewery and Ogopogo Brewery will compete for the crown at Tony’s Darts Away in Burbank. Your entry ticket includes five servings of vegan chili, so come hungry. Plus, you’ll get to cast your vote for the People's Choice Award!

66th Annual Swallows Day Parade

Saturday, March 21, 11 a.m. 
Downtown San Juan Capistrano
COST: FREE; MORE INFO 

(

Courtesy San Juan Capistrano Fiesta Association

)

The Swallows — Las Golondrinas — make their way back to California from Argentina like clockwork every March, and San Juan Capistrano is ready. This year’s Swallows Day Parade includes equestrian units, historical reenactors and community groups celebrating the heritage of the historic Orange County town.

Art Jam 

Sunday, March 22, 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. 
Boomtown Brewery 
700 Jackson St., Downtown L.A. 
COST: FREE; MORE INFO

Maybe the next Linda Lindas will be discovered at this year’s Art Jam, an all-ages youth arts and music event at Boomtown Brewery with a teen battle of the bands, live car painting, hands-on art workshops, a photo show, art vendors and more — all benefiting Mount of Angels and their free art programs for L.A. youth.

Sake tasting 

Friday, March 20, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. 
The Gamble House 
4 Westmoreland Place, Pasadena 
COST: $50; MORE INFO 

(

Zaji Kanamajina

/

Unsplash

)

It’s sakura season in Japan, but you can celebrate without hopping a plane to Tokyo at this sip and learn event at Gamble House. Coinciding with the exhibit From Strand to Sculpture: Contemporary Japanese Basketry, the event includes a lecture from Asian art historian and former Curator of East Asian Art at Pacific Asia Museum Meher McArthur about the 2,000 year-old tradition of sake-making in Japan and the art that evolved around it, followed by a guided sampling.

The conversation around the cultural relevance of ballet and opera — sparked by Oscar-nominated actor Timothée Chalamet’s recent dismissive comments about the art forms — came to a culmination at the Academy Awards on Sunday, with a joke about the backlash from host Conan O’Brien and a performance by celebrated ballet dancer Misty Copeland.

While the Copeland appearance was planned before Chalamet’s remarks went viral, the fact that a ballet dancer (one raised in SoCal, we should note!) took center stage on Hollywood’s biggest night seemed to fly in the face of Chalamet’s assertion that ballet, as opposed to movies, is something “no one cares about [...] anymore.”

It got us here at LAist wondering about the state of ballet in Los Angeles, so we reached out to leaders of ballet companies who explained what sets the ballet scene in Los Angeles apart, and where it stands in terms of cultural relevance right now.

‘His remarks come from a place of insight’

Maybe surprisingly, neither Julia Rivera, executive director of Los Angeles Ballet, nor Lincoln Jones, founder, choreographer and director of American Contemporary Ballet, took offense to Chalmet’s remarks.

Rivera told LAist that while  ”it's not very neighborly of one artist to bash the other's art form,” once she learned that Chalamet’s grandmother, mother and sister studied ballet and performed with the New York City Ballet, she had more understanding for where he may have been coming from.

“I think his remarks come from a place of insight,” she said. Because he probably heard conversations “lamenting [how] we're always trying to fund these organizations.”

“It is a daily struggle,” Rivera said. And “for a young person, wanting to have a career,” it’s understandable that they may not want to be involved in a nonprofit industry where funding is always a challenge.

‘Like watching ballet in IMAX’

Jones, who co-founded American Contemporary Ballet in L.A. 15 years ago, said Chalamet’s remarks were relatable.

“What I understood him to be saying was that he wanted to be part of an art form that was central to the cultural conversation,” Jones told LAist. “And I actually agree with that. When I was choosing what to do artistically myself, I actually struggled with that a lot.”

While Jones said he was enthralled by ballet from a young age, his brother made a career shooting cover photos for magazines like Vanity Fair and Rolling Stone and later directing film and TV. And he saw the appeal in that as an artist.

“You want a big audience, you want to have people understand what you're doing in a visceral and vital way,” he said. “But  I just couldn't get myself away from ballet. I just loved it so much. And so my big thing became ‘How do I do this in a way that is culturally relevant?’”

That’s led Jones to a unique, more modern approach to ballet that’s designed to be more cinematic, and at the same time more intimate.

Much of what sets American Contemporary Ballet apart from other ballet companies is that they always perform with live music and in unconventional spaces, like warehouses and soundstages, instead of in theaters.

 ”So it's not like you're sitting in this room where there's darkened chandeliers, and you're looking through a frame, which feels a bit 19th century to me,” Jones said. “Instead, it's sort of like, for lack of a better term, like watching ballet in IMAX. The dancers are larger compared to where you are, you're in this shared space and it just feels much more majestic to me.”

The pros and cons of staging ballet in L.A.

As for the state of ballet in Los Angeles, Rivera described it as “appreciated, valued and growing.” The company received its first seven-figure gift from a donor just last season.

“Audiences are very interested,” Rivera said. “The more ballet that is offered in L.A., the more audiences want. That is very good news.”

But she said there are also some challenges for a ballet company that are specific to Los Angeles:  ”We are a company town and the company is screened entertainment. But the arts also compete with theme parks and sporting teams and the weather and things that have significantly larger budgets.”

Navigating that “and finding ways for the voices to break through some of that noise,” Rivera said, “is really tricky. It can be done, but it's a challenge.”

Lincoln Jones agreed that running a ballet company in Los Angeles does have its challenges, but said he also saw a unique benefit to founding his ballet company in L.A.

While Jones first incorporated American Contemporary Ballet in New York, he’s originally from Southern California, and every time he would come home he felt “there was an energy and an openness [here], and a lot of that came from the film industry.”

And his view is that ballet has the potential to be just as exciting as popular films can be.

“When I was growing up, people were lining up to see the second Matrix, the first Matrix blew their mind. And now, ‘Oh my God. We have to see what happens in the second one.’ And that doesn't happen in ballet, but that is absolutely what I'm striving for.”

Los Angeles Ballet has also had some fun with the firestorm Chalamet’s remarks ignited, offering a ticket promotion with the code “SUPREME,” a reference to Marty Supreme, the film the actor earned an Oscar nomination for this year.

So far, Chalamet’s comments seem to be having a positive effect.

Rivera, who’s been with the company for 11 out of its 20-year history, said they’ve seen an uptick in ticket sales and donations in recent weeks.  

“Any time we can talk about opera and ballet is a good day,” Rivera (who also previously worked with L.A. Opera) told LAist. “I'm sorry that it's at one artist's expense, but he opened the door.”

Where to see ballet in L.A.

The next Los Angeles Ballet performances (of Giselle) begin April 30.

The Music Center is hosting the New York City ballet in June.

American Contemporary Ballet has remaining performances of Balanchine: Twin Masterpieces running this Thursday, Friday and Saturday and next Thursday through Saturday as well.

“ I guarantee you've never seen ballet like this,” Jones said. “And if Timothée Chalamet wants to come, I will get him a ticket.”