Dance

The Ocean Avenue Brewery won’t know if it can continue to offer music and dancing to patrons for at least another month. The restaurant’s owners appeared before the Laguna Beach Planning Commission Feb. 13 to hammer out more details on a proposed conditional use permit (CUP) that would legalize dancing and entertainment. A decision on the CUP has been continued to March 26. The brewery has been operating with live bands and DJs as well as a dance floor for a number of years without permits.

City Manager Ken Frank's attempt to broker a compromise between a restaurateur's request for a live music permit and residential neighbors' opposition fell on deaf ears Tuesday. The council didn't like the deal any better than Romeo Cucina owner Vittorio Romeo, who thought Frank's compromise was too strict, or neighbor Richard Stoddard, who thought it was too lenient. Frank's proposal would have allowed the dancing that Romeo wanted but gave him fewer late night hours of operation than he had requested and no amplified instruments.

The Laguna Beach High dance department has a new director and students are excited about their first show of the season, “Synchronicity.” Led by Lisa Jay, the dance team will perform “Synchronicity” at 7:30 p.m. at the Artists Theatre today and Saturday. The title, which means a coincidence of events that seem to be meaningfully related, aptly describes the 12-dance program choreographed by Jay, colleague Danielle Pigneri, and guest choreographers Tracey Bonner and Jaclyn Butterfield.

A new wave of dance will roll into Main Beach when CaDance unravels its fifth annual Laguna Dance Festival. The eight-day event will commence with a free "Taste of CaDance" performance at 4 p.m. Oct. 2 on the cobblestones, followed by an interactive dance class from 5 to 6 p.m. Cutting edge performers from Corbin Dances in New York to Luminario Ballet in Los Angeles, will deliver an array of contemporary, modern, hip-hop, improvisation, belly...

Dancers will perform en pointe , or on the tips of their toes, for the first time in four years during Laguna Beach High School's spring dance concert this weekend, said Melanie Lewis, dance team booster president. Dancers will honor the high school's graduating class with their performance of "Thirteen," Friday through Sunday inside the Artists' Theatre. Five student and four guest choreographers will organize a variety of styles from hip-hop, ballet, lyrical, jazz and whimsical storytelling.

Suzie Harrison Don't get stuck on the mouthful of a name, the important thing is that the California Choreographers Dance Festival is all about bringing dance to Laguna. This Saturday, as part of Cultural Arts Month, the group is presenting Dance Day, an entire day of dance classes free to the public taught by world-class professionals. "The idea is going back to bringing new dance to audiences and new audiences to dance," said Kimberly Leeds, public relations director.

Suzie Harrison It's good to have Tod A. Kubo back to direct and choreograph "Black & White," Laguna Beach Dance Company's summer dance performance at 8 p.m. tonight. "I was in New York for a year working; I had some great professional opportunities to pursue and took a sabbatical," Kubo said. Kubo started Laguna Beach Dance Company at the high school 10 years ago this fall. Professional faculty choreographers include Mychelle Perez and Teresa Avina.

Suzie Harrison Dancers take the stage and show off ballet moves made with precision, giving the impression that they have many years of performances behind them. Rather, they are a part of Laguna Beach High School's Dance Company, who are under the tutelage of director Tod A. Kubo. Today and Saturday, these dancers will perform their winter concert, "World Dance" at the Laguna Beach High School's Artists' Theatre at 7:30 p.m. "World Dance" is a very eclectic mix, with influences from folk to contemporary, Celtic to Chinese, as well as a premiere classical performance.

Andrew Edwards In Laguna, first you start a theatrical company, then you get some dancers, then you start the music. That, at least, was Steve Josephson's plan when he founded Gallimaufry Performing Arts. "My idea for the company was to have three divisions, one for each of the disciplines of the performing arts," Josephson said. He started with theater, Gallimaufry's first show was "42nd Street," which debuted in July. He became one step closer to completing his trifecta when Gallimaufry merged with another Laguna group, the California Choreographers Dance Festival.