Benn Widdey

Choreographer Paula Present is on a mission. This weekend (Friday through Sunday), her Ptero Dance Theatre brings a deep well of dances to A Room To Create (ARC), the studio/theater in Pasadena that is now home to much movement-based activity on the east side.

After a stunning year of performances throughout the country, hometown dance heroes Body Traffic return to the Broad Stage for only two shows this Friday and Saturday night.

In spite of major international visa hassles, the highly acclaimed Australian contemporary dance company Lucy Guerin Inc. has arrived. Forced to cancel the first of their scheduled two performances tonight, they will take the stage at UCLA's Royce Hall for only one show tomorrow, Friday, October 4, at 8 p.m.

RADAR L.A., a global festival of contemporary theater and dance, is in town for one jam-packed week of innovative art. for only one week. Presented in a multitude of traditional and unique settings at various times on each of the seven days, these theater and dance companies will infuse the local performing arts scene with a welcome exposure to new and different ways to approach, create, present and view live theater. There's also a symposium that goes on around the productions, encouraging a deep dialogue between interdisciplinary creators and their audiences.

There's a new, adventurous dance festival coming to town over the next few weeks

Multi-cultural Complexions, co-directed by Richardson and Dwight Rhoden, has received numerous awards including the New York Times “Critics Choice” Award and has appeared throughout the US, as well as in many European dance festivals. The Lula Washington Dance Theatre (LWDT) performs innovative and provocative choreography

Moving into the final week of the three week extravaganza of up-to-the moment performance ideas called the New Original Works Festival at REDCAT, we can look back and be excited for what's to come. The previous two programs have been eye-opening, entertaining and informative at various levels. This weekend seems to be just the same, only different.

Following last week's opening program of exploratory light, dance and performance work by three innovative Los Angeles artists, the NOW Festival returns for its second sampling of boundary pushing music, dance and theater at its downtown headquarters.

Exploding onto our local dance scene, collaborative artists Denna Thomsen and Zak Schlegel (choreographers), Robbie Williamson (music), Cathy Cooper (costumes), Eric Thome (scenic design) and Quin Cabalquinto (lights) premiere their original Axiom this weekend at Cafe Club Fais Do-Do.

Sailing smoothly into the festival's tenth anniversary, REDCAT (the Roy and Edna Disney Cal Arts Theater) presents its annual birthing of New Original Work by local artists in dance, music and multimedia genres. Selected from a highly competitive pool of regional talent, nine artists will showcase their current experiments in this three-weekend event.