L.A.'s Music Center plans in-person shows for May, the first since COVID-19 hit

Source: Los Angeles Times

April 8, 2021 at 13:06

A prepandemic scene at the Music Center plaza, with the Mark Taper Forum as backdrop. After more than a year of COVID-19, the Music Center will welcome a live audience for dance on the plaza. (The Music Center)

Tickets must be purchased in advance and will not be available on site.

Grab the family, mask up, get your tickets online and eat your supper first. The Music Center announced Thursday the launch of its first in-person performances since the start of the pandemic, meaning audiences can at long last gather again for live shows as soon as next month.

Dance at Dusk, staged by the Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at the Music Center series, will kick off in the newly refurbished Jerry Moss Plaza between the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion and the Mark Taper Forum. The four dance presentations — each an hour long with no intermission — will consist of a tap performance by American choreographers Dormeshia, Jason Samuels Smith and Derick K. Grant (May 26-30); American Ballet Theatre dancing selections from “Romeo and Juliet,” “Don Quixote” and “A Time There Was” (June 2-6); a West Coast premiere by Paul Taylor Dance Company (June 16-20); and Alonzo King LINES Ballet with guests Tiler Peck and Roman Mejia (July 14-18).

Because the programs start before June 15, the recently announced target date to fully reopen California businesses and venues, abundant health and safety protocols will be observed. What will reopening here look like?

Pods of up to four seats will be set up on the plaza. Each pod must be limited to members of a single household. Pods of four also can gather on blankets in Grand Park to watch a big-screen simulcast. Six feet will separate pods on all sides. Maximum capacity on the plaza will be 39 pods, or 156 people; Grand Park will accommodate 70 pods, or 280 people.

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