“Flamenco is a fragile art. It exists on the verges of society, just as the Gypsies once existed in the same way.” So opens the recently completed documentary “Kumpania” by Katina Dunn, a story of the passionate dancers, singers, musicians, and producers who pursue flamenco in Los Angeles as a labor of love and often struggle to find an audience.

But the gripping film, as well as last weekend’s Los Angeles International Flamenco Festival, are bringing this talented community out of the shadows. In fact, LA is emerging as one of the powerful satellites of flamenco around the world. Read more in my article in the Los Angeles Times!

Pictured: flamenco guitarist Vicente Amigo and his bandmates, who I got to see at the festival last weekend! Vale!

Walking into The Floor, a multi-genre improv dance night that happens every third Monday at King King in Hollywood, is an uncannily similar experience. Creators Carolina Cerisola and Sascha Escandon, both professional dancers who met in the salsa scene, started The Floor as a place where their musician and dancers friends could get loose outside of the structured demands of professional gigs.

Et voilà: a dazzling display of movement across the stylistic map, where salsa dancers meet breakdancers meet swing dancers meet tango dancers meet capoeira practitioners and more, all to the tune of a live improv band and DJ. It’s the coolest thing I’ve been to in a long time. And you don’t even have to carry a watermelon! Read more in my article in the Los Angeles Times.

But I couldn’t ignore it for long. Soon enough, I gave into bachata’s slower, smoother charms. I never took a class, but it was easy to fake the dance with a strong leader. I naturally fell into the rhythm of “step 1, 2, 3″ and copied the little “hip pop” I saw other dancers doing on the count of 4. With the basics down, I no longer evacuated the dance floor when bachata came on, but I still didn’t quite get the appeal.

Two years later, bachata is a tour de force on Los Angeles’ Latin dance scene, with its own dedicated night at The Granada in Alhambra and Stevens Steakhouse in Commerce. I immersed myself in the Thursday bachata night at The Granada a couple of weeks ago to write the “Boogie Nights” piece that appeared in today’s Los Angeles Times, and I was blown away by the passionate dancing I witnessed. Most impressive were the young dancers who are making bachata their own by cross-pollinating it with hip-hop. The fancy footwork and fluid body action that results are truly stunning. I can only hope to replicate an iota of their funk and flava! This is one salsera who has been won over by bachata, and I’m definitely not alone… Read more in the Los Angeles Times piece.

Such fun, and it’s practical, too. It allows for music and dancing in public spaces where noise ordinances would otherwise make that impossible. And it saves a lot of eardrums…you can control the volume on your headset, and conversation at a club suddenly becomes possible. Read more about it in my article in today’s Los Angeles Times!

Turns out Larry is a huge Lindy Hop aficionado, and as a survivor of heart disease, his Larry King Cardiac Foundation is throwing its support behind National Dance Day and other initiatives to get America moving through dance. Read about Larry’s aspirations as a song and dance man in my interview with him in today’s Los Angeles Times!

Turns out it’s been going strong for over a decade during dedicated Wednesday hustle nights at the Double H Club (inside the Hacienda Hotel near LAX). The moves have been refined (gone are the cheesy line dances – this is a fun yet complex partner dance), and the music has gone from the Bee Gees to Lady Gaga. Read more in my “Boogie Nights” article in the Los Angeles Times!

So, when my editor at the Los Angeles Times asked me to start a series on quirky, one-off dance scenes in Los Angeles, I was a little stumped. I thought I’d tried it all, but it turns out I barely scratched the surface. People in LA are getting down in just about every which way they can.

There’s lots to come, but first up this week: two-step. Yes, you can have a taste of Texas right here in Southern California at Montana’s in San Dimas. Check out my article about this honky-tonk haven in today’s Los Angeles Times. And yes, I learned the two-step and danced with some cowboys in the making of this article! Coming soon: where to do The Hustle.

Dance gets a new home in Los Angeles this weekend with the first-ever Bootleg Dance Festival! The funky eastside theater housed in a 1930s warehouse is already known for its progressive plays and indie rock offerings — now it brings its cutting-edge ethos to bear on a curated lineup of contemporary choreographers.

The eclectic lineup runs the gamut from Jamie Benson’s “Mass Transit,” inspired by real-life experiences on the L.A. Metro system, to Antics Performance’s “Illuminated Manuscript,” which combines hip-hop street movement with interactive video projections. Of course, alternative rock bands will jam in the lobby lounge after each show!

Read more in my article that appears in the Los Angeles Times today!

Photo of “Mass Transit” dancers courtesy of Emily Marchand

Add the annual Dance Under the Stars Choreography Festival at Palm Desert’s McCallum Theatre to that list. Each November, artistic director Shea New gathers some of the hottest talent (both emerging and established choreographers) for a showcase of contemporary dance that doubles as a competition complete with cash prizes for the top performers. It’s equal parts “dance buffet” and reality show!

This year’s lineup promises to be stellar, with local Southern California talent including Terri Best, Mike Esperanza, and Eboni Adams, as well as out-of-towners like Jamel Gaines from Brooklyn and Melissa Thodos from Chicago.

Check out my article about the festival that appeared in today’s LA Times here.