Kings of the Dance coming to Ahmanson Theatre in February

Nov. 9, 2009 12:59 PM PT

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The dance world’s equivalent of a star-studded action franchise is coming to Los Angeles.

The Kings of the Dance -- which is not to be confused with the Kings of Comedy or the Lord of the Dance -- will play for two nights only at the Ahmanson Theatre on Feb. 16 and 17 as a new addition to the current Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at the Music Center season.

Six renowned dancers -- David Hallberg, Nikolai Tsiskarideze, Marcelo Gomes, Dennis Matvienko, Guillaume Cote and Desmond Richardson -- will star in this three-act performance that include numbers by some of dance’s top choreographers.

Local dance fans will no doubt recognize Gomes and Hallberg as members of New York’s American Ballet Theatre, which has made numerous visits to L.A. and Orange County. Richardson, who is co-artistic director of Complexions Contemporary Ballet, may be recognizable to viewers of Fox’s ‘So You Think You Can Dance,’ on which he appeared in 2008.

Various versions of Kings of the Dance have been performed all over the world, sometimes featuring different dancers. The franchise has appeared in New York, Moscow and other cities.

This version that will appear in L.A. will include numbers choreographed by Frederick Ashton, Leonid Jacobson, Nacho Duato, Roland Petit, David Fernandez, Adam Hougland, Boris Eifman and Christopher Wheeldon.

-- David Ng

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