With premieres by Jodie Gates and performances from elite companies like BalletX and Complexions Contemporary Ballet, the festival continues to shape dance in Southern California.
For 20 years, Laguna Dance has turned the seaside town of Laguna Beach into an unexpected stage for world-class dance, bringing internationally acclaimed artists to perform against the backdrop of Southern California’s coastal charm. What began as a small annual dance festival founded by Jodie Gates has grown into a nationally recognized, year-round dance organization that presents renowned companies and artists while maintaining deep roots in the local dance community by offering workshops, a summer intensive, and pop-up dance performances during things like the Laguna Beach Art Walk.
This year’s festival, taking place Feb. 6-9 at the Laguna Playhouse, will feature an exciting lineup, including Philadelphia-based contemporary ballet company BalletX, principal dancers from Houston Ballet, Boston Ballet and Joffrey Ballet, as well as celebrated contemporary and tap artists like Jillian Meyers and JA Collective. Complexions Contemporary Ballet, which performed at the very first Laguna Dance Festival in 2005, will also return with two signature works.
BalletX dancers will perform on nights one and two of the festival. Dancers from left, Dancer Francesca Forcella, Jared Kelly and Skyler Lubin. Photos courtesy of Laguna Dance/Gabriel Bienczycki
A 2025 Program Rooted in Music, Athleticism and Diversity
For this milestone year, Gates carefully curated a program that reflects the festival’s past, present and future. She describes the festival’s three main themes as “music and dance,” “athletic artistry” and “diversity in dance.”
Opening night, Feb. 6, will feature BalletX, known for its technical excellence and adventurous repertory. This performance is presented in collaboration with the Laguna Beach Music Festival, with every piece set to live music, including Gates’ world premiere to Rachmaninoff. “Having live music for the entire evening is a big step for us,” Gates said. “It deepens the audience’s connection to the movement in a way that recorded music simply can’t.”
BalletX will return for night two with a dynamic, high-energy program that Gates calls “athletic artistry.” The evening will open with her 2022 piece “Beautiful Once,” set to music by Oscar-nominated composer Ryan Lott of Son Lux, followed by “Become a Mountain” by Tony Award-winning choreographer Justin Peck. The night will close with Jennifer Archibald’s “Exalt,” which blends ballet with street dance influences.
On Feb. 8 and 9, the festival shifts to the “Stars of Dance” program, a two-day event that celebrates a diversity of dance styles. Gates’ work will again be featured, this time in a world premier solo created for dancer Jake Tribus. The piece, set to music by Son Lux’s Ryan Lott, is inspired by what Tribus describes as a “resurgence of hope” – a message of perseverance and renewal in the face of challenges.
Both evenings will feature Beckanne Sisk and Chase O’Connell performing Gerald Arpino’s “Light Rain,” an audience favorite, as well as Michael Smuin’s balcony pas de deux from “Romeo and Juliet.”
“‘Light Rain’ is timeless,” Sisk said. “It’s one of those pieces that people always love, and we love performing it. And ‘Romeo and Juliet’ is very special to us because it was the last full-length ballet we performed with Ballet West before joining Houston Ballet.”
Also on the program are Jillian Meyers and JA Collective’s distinctive contemporary works, as well as two landmark pieces from Complexions Ballet – Dwight Rhoden’s “Ave Maria,” which premiered in the company’s first-ever performance in 1994, and “Elegy,” set to Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata,” which will be performed with live music.
“Performing these works in Laguna is special as both Complexions Contemporary Ballet and Laguna Dance Festival celebrate milestone years,” Rhoden said. “It feels right to bring such impactful works to the festival.”
This will be the first time in the festival’s history that Gates has choreographed a piece for every night of the event. While she has long been known for her work as a curator and presenter, she now sees this as an opportunity to contribute creatively in a more direct way.
“The reason I’m showing and presenting my work is because that is a part of who I am,” she said. “I was hesitant in the past, but I think it’s OK now to not shy away from showing the craft that I’ve been working on for decades – not just as a performer, but as a dance maker.”
Classical ballet is presented alongside contemporary dance during the Laguna Dance Festival. Included this year are, from left, Boston Ballet dancers Daniel Rubin and Viktorina Kapitonova in Helen Pickett’s Tsukiyo (photo by Rosalie O’Connor), Houston Ballet principal dancers Beckanne Sisk and Chase O’Connell, returning to Laguna Dance Festival for the third time (photo by Beau Pearson) and Joffrey Ballet dancers Jeraldine Mendoza and Dylan Gutierrez perform on stage (photo by Cheryl Mann).
Photos courtesy of Laguna Dance
A Legacy of Dance in Laguna
Long before Laguna Dance Festival became a West Coast destination for concert dance, another visionary – Lila Zali – laid the foundation. The Russian-born ballerina founded Ballet Pacifica in Laguna Beach in 1962, creating a space for ballet to thrive in Southern California. Gates acknowledges that she isn’t the first to bring dance to the city but rather sees her work as continuing that legacy.
“There were many people before me that were keeping dance alive. And then I came to town, and I was like, OK, let’s have a renaissance. Let’s revive it.”
When she founded Laguna Dance Festival in 2005, Gates had already spent years traveling the world as a principal dancer with major companies like the Joffrey Ballet. She wanted audiences in Laguna Beach to have access to the same transformative performances she had seen internationally.
“I always imagined that it could work. I just didn’t know how,” she said. “But I knew why – because dance is in the fabric of our culture. Every community should have dance and music and art and be proud of it.”
Over the years, the festival has gained a reputation that keeps top-tier artists coming back. Beckanne Sisk, who will be performing for the third time, says the experience of dancing at Laguna Dance Festival is unlike any other.
“The audience isn’t just there because it’s a ballet, a thing to do. They’re genuinely invested in what they’re seeing,” she said.
Similarly, Dwight Rhoden, co-founder of Complexions Contemporary Ballet, remembers how Laguna Dance Festival’s very first year made an impression on him.
“There was always a sense of unity and love within all the activities,” he said. “We were embraced fully, and it felt like we were a part of the start of something really important.”
PHOTO 1: JA Collective, the innovative dance duo made up of artists Jordan Johnson and Aidan Carberry, will be featured at the Laguna Dance Festival (photo by Johann Jar Ramos). PHOTO 2: Dancer Jake Tribus will perform a world premier solo by Jodie Gates (photo by Lee Gumbs). Photos courtesy of Laguna Dance
Investing in the Next Generation of Artists
Beyond its festival programming, Laguna Dance is deeply committed to education. It provides scholarships, master classes and summer intensives for young dancers, many of whom later return as professionals.
One such artist is Tribus, who first performed at Laguna Dance Festival in 2018 as a student at USC Kaufman and is now returning as a featured performer. “I remember taking the time to blend my studentness with my professional hopes and using the festival as a moment of learning,” he said. “I watched the professionals, studied their approach to performance, and soaked in as much as I could.”
Now, Tribus will debut a new solo choreographed by Gates. Their collaboration is already proving to be a meaningful full-circle moment.
“This festival has always been about bringing professionals and emerging artists together,” he said. “It breaks down hierarchy and bias by putting students and professionals on the same stage. It’s about showing that dance exists in many forms, across many stages of a dancer’s life.”
PHOTO 1: Jodie Gates, founder and artistic director of the Laguna Dance Festival (photo by Hiromi Platt). PHOTO 2: Actor Patrick Swayze with Jodie Gates at the inaugural Laguna Dance Festival in 2005. Photos courtesy of Laguna Dance.
A Lasting Home for Dance in Laguna
For Gates, the festival’s 20th anniversary is both a celebration and a moment of reflection. While she has worked with major ballet companies and directed institutions like Cincinnati Ballet, this season of her life is about deepening her connection to Laguna Beach.
“There’s something magical about being able to celebrate milestones like this,” Gates said. “It’s a reminder of why we started – and why we’re still here.”
With a strong artistic vision, deep community engagement and a commitment to education, Laguna Dance isn’t just presenting great dance – it’s ensuring that dance has a lasting home in Laguna Beach.
Laguna Dance Festival
Where: Laguna Playhouse, 606 Laguna Canyon Road, Laguna Beach
When: 7:30 p.m. Feb. 6-8; 2 p.m. Feb. 9
Cost: $75 general, $25 students
Contact: lagunadancefestival.org
