As the artistic response to the current administration continues to take shape, the first great works are emerging. The movies Beatriz at Dinner and Get Out, and Culture Clash’s theater piece Sapo, were written during the long campaign in the run-up to Election Day 2016, and are a direct reaction to the toxic rhetoric and degrading actions that continue to inundate the world.
On March 24, Clairobscur Dance founder, artistic director, and resident choreographer Laurie Sefton will present, with her company, the world premieres of her SUPREMACY RIDE, and TRIPTYCH: EXPERIENCE IN DEFIANCE, the latter a collaboration with hip-hop poet Jason Chu, who will perform onstage with the troupe.
“[When Obama was elected] many of us thought there was a big movement toward positive change. There was, but it is continuing in a bigger way now, a more contentious way. People are being forced to take sides, decide what they believe in, and take a stand. Obama’s leadership and ‘hope’ did prepare people in many ways: it prepared us to believe, to decide, and now—with our current president—to resist and act.
“After the 2016 election, and attending the Women’s March, I felt a call to action. I had never made political work before, but I felt I had to do something. I am more interested in inspiring people to think about what they are doing, about where they are going, and how they can be more thoughtful in their decisions. Art is my weapon, so I’m using it.” — Laurie Sefton
CLAIROBSCUR DANCE
SUPREMACY RIDE—TRIPTYCH: EXPERIENCE IN DEFIANCE—GIRL, GET OFF, Saturday, March 24, at 8 pm.
NATE HOLDEN PERFORMING ARTS CENTER, 4718 West Washington Boulevard, Los Angeles.
Top: Dancers Jonathan Stanley and Sophie Diamond in Supremacy Ride.
Bottom: Stanley, Samantha Blaz, and Ellen Akashi in Supremacy Ride. Photographs by Denise Leitner.
