Pauline Adamek
The Soraya‘s inaugural LA Seen Festival begins in April. It’s comprised of a monthlong series of programs dedicated to the performing arts in Los Angeles.
Excitingly, the festival will feature two World Premieres from Martha Graham Dance Company (MGDC), that are incorporated into the evening of performances entitled LA Dances Graham100.
On April 26, 2025 The Soraya will present LA Dances Graham100, showcasing nearly a century of pieces by the Martha Graham Dance Company. The program features dynamic Los Angeles based dancers from Lula Washington Dance Theatre, Glorya Kaufman School of Dance at USC, CSU Northridge, L.A. County High School for the Arts (LACHSA), as well as three soloists from MGDC.
The seven-piece program covers a singular arc of MGDC history from 1932 to two anticipated 2025 world premiere Lamentation Variations pieces.
The Soraya‘s 2025-26 Season of concerts and events includes their rewarding and ongoing creative collaborative partnership with the esteemed Martha Graham Dance Company (MGDC).
Thrillingly, this year’s performances will include a World Premiere work commissioned by The Soraya with new music arranged by Wild Up Artistic Director/Conductor Christopher Rountree to accompany new choreography. This is a monumental creation which will continue MGDC’s 100th year, which began at The Soraya and has been traveling worldwide.
GRAHAM100 spans over three years, and the first year’s theme was American Legacies. To inaugurate that celebration, The Soraya presented a program that covers more than 100 years of the dance company’s history—from an early work performed by Graham in 1915 Los Angeles.
“The October 2025 performances will mark the 9th collaboration between Martha Graham Dance Company and The Soraya, most of which featured live music performed by Wild Up, and several of which were world premieres. Following a decade of collaboration, we are proud that the Martha Graham Dance Company entrusts us with the presentation of new works, utilizing our state-of-the-art facility, our excellent production and artistic teams, plus our willingness to support these works with live music, much of which was subsequently recorded on our stage so that the works could tour worldwide.”
The Soraya’s Executive and Artistic Director Thor Steingraber.
“Live music and original compositions were central to Graham’s work starting a century ago. In that spirit, The Soraya introduced the company to conductor/composer Rountree, a partnership that has been fruitful here in Los Angeles and far beyond. We are pleased to further support their work together on the major occasion of America’s oldest dance company turning 100, a continuation of the company’s long tradition of innovation.”
The Soraya’s Executive and Artistic Director Thor Steingraber.
About LA Seen:
For more than a decade, Los Angeles performing artists have had a home at The Soraya. They are standouts throughout the many seasons, performing original works, undertaking first-time collaborations, and rising to new heights. The Soraya both keeps an eye out for rising local talent and uplifts the ongoing work of the region’s favorites. Thousands of fresh eyes in The Soraya’s Great Hall have been introduced to hometown dancers, jazz artists, and other musicians. In April 2025, The Soraya introduces its first monthlong series of programs dedicated to the performing arts in Los Angeles, LA Seen.
Festival Media Partner – San Francisco Classical Voice
About the LA Dances Graham100 Program:
The April 26 repertoire includes Panorama, El Penitente, Lamentation Variations, Satyric Festival Song, Conversation of Lovers, and Ritual to the Sun (Helios).
Martha Graham Dance Company’s Lamentation Variations Project, initiated in 2007 to commemorate 9/11, involves contemporary choreographers creating short works inspired by a 1940 film of Martha Graham dancing Lamentation. Intended for a single performance, audience enthusiasm led to its addition to the company’s permanent repertory.
Two brand new Lamentation Variations will be presented: the Glorya Kaufman School of Dance at USC and Lula Washington Dance Theatre. A third Lamentation Variation created by Larry Keigwin in 2007 will be danced by performers from the CSUN School of Dance.
LA Dances Graham100 aligns with the second year of the company’s three-year celebration of its 100th Anniversary, making it the oldest dance company in the United States.
“As part of our centennial we are trying to spread the Graham artistry far and wide, inviting professional (and student) dancers around the world to license a Graham ballet and perform it. So, there’s going to be a collection of them at The Soraya.”
MGDC Artistic Director Janet Eilber.
The program for the evening will include two of Martha Graham’s earliest solos Satyric Festival Song and Deep Song, in addition to El Penitente, Lamentation Variations, Panorama (previously performed at The Soraya) and will close on two pieces of Graham’s later work Conversation of Lovers, and Ritual to the Sun (Helios).
The April 26 LA Dances Graham100 performance is part of The Soraya’s first-ever LA Seen festival, which launches April 6 with GRAMMY©-winning jazz trumpeter and composer Terence Blanchard. Additional LA Seen festival performances include the return of downtown LA’s Colburn Orchestra with conductor Stéphane Denève on the podium (April 12), and The Soraya & ARTDONTSLEEP Present Adrian Younge Something About April with full orchestra (April 17).
