The 49th annual L.A. County Holiday Celebration at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion is L.A.’s biggest holiday show, a six-hour extravaganza featuring 45 groups and 1,200 performers. Angelenos can see the show in person or tune into KCET for the live telecast.
With seven-to-eight performances each hour during the six-hour spectacular, audiences can expect to see colorful costumes and hear cultural sounds from Asia, Africa, Europe, South America, and the Middle East. Participating artists hail from communities across Los Angeles County. The show is sponsored by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and produced by the Los Angeles County Arts Commission.
The yearly Christmas Eve event features dance companies, musical groups, and choirs from across Los Angeles County who offer an artistic sampling of L.A.’s unique cultural diversity. Highlights this year include four different takes on The Nutcracker—one of which will be a Bollywood version produced by blue13 dance company.
blue13 dance company works to advance experimental and non-traditional contemporary dance, while preserving and cultivating the cultural and classical forms of India. The troupe also conducts multicultural classes, workshops, and live performances that aim to inspire global unity and togetherness.
Since 1999, blue13 dance company has worked and performed to sold out audiences all over the United States in its signature contemporary styles, Bollywood-Tech and Neo-Kathak. India Currents recently featured the company’s production of “KHEL! A Bollywood Bedtime Story.”
Other highlights for the L.A. County Holiday Celebration include hip hop modern, and traditional dance, and holiday-themed a pop/psychedelic rock band that integrates Cambodian rhythms and lyrics, contemporary Americana/Cajun/Zydeco arrangements, and traditional Japanese taiko drum beats with hip hop rhythms and movements.
Wednesday, Dec. 24, 3-9 p.m. Dorothy Chandler Pavilion of the Music Center, 135 N. Grand Ave., Los Angeles. Free. Patrons may come and go throught the six-hour performance. The show will also be broadcasted live on KCET. (213) 972-3099. www.holidaycelebreation.org.