Ebb & Flow is a free, site-specific community festival of local artists that integrates dance, visual arts, music, and technology to explore climate change and its impact on the environment and, consequently, our health. Inaugurated in 2018 and hosted annually since, Ebb & Flow has engaged community members, local arts, health and environmental organizations, and multidisciplinary artists.
Ebb & Flow applications are open and ongoing all year round!
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Exposition Park 2024
June 2024, Exposition Park
On Saturday, June 29, 2024, Heidi Duckler Dance (HDD) hosted its last show of the summer, the beloved Ebb & Flow community arts festival at Exposition Park. Each performance explored climate change, nature, humanity, and health through dance, visual arts, music, and technology.
For this installment, Heidi Duckler was joined by Cody Perkins, Jordan Slaffey, Joey Navarrette-Medina, Bernice Wang and Gurmuhki Bevli, Zhihan Yang, Ashton Phillips and Dylan Ricards of Pure Filth Society, Colleen Loverde, Alejandro Perez and Maija Knapp.
Ebb & Flow: Exposition Park was made possible in part, by the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs.
Culver City 2023 | @TheCreek
September 2023, Ballona Creek
For the sixth year of Ebb & Flow in Culver City, Heidi Duckler Dance teamed up with Ballona Creek Renaissance (BCR), a Culver City non-profit dedicated to reviving Ballona Creek and its watershed to present Ebb & Flow @ The Creek as a part of Heal the Bay’s 2023 Coastal Cleanup Day. Attendees were able to both view performances and take the time to actively improve the local environment by cleaning up Ballona Creek.
Choreographer, dancer, photographer, and rabbit rescuer, Shoji Yamasaki served as the event’s Creative Director, where the Tale of the Ballona Creek was told to the audience at the start of the show. Yamasaki introduced his beloved trash fairies who led the audiences through the creek to each performance that told an environmentally-themed story. Pieces were choreographed and performed by Heidi Duckler and Braden Pontoli, Gunita Collective, Raymond Ejiofor, Zhihan Yang, and movement duo, Jules Mara and Andrea Soto.
“An immersive experience that brings together local performance artists, environmental advocates, and the Ballona Creek, Heidi Duckler Dance’s Ebb & Flow @ The Creek will reexamine our never-ending relationship with ever-flowing communities, the environment we inhabit and how we can be the stepping stone for a cleaner future,” Ebb & Flow @TheCreek Creative Director, Shoji Yamasaki.
Ebb & Flow: @TheCreek is made possible through the city of Culver City and its Cultural Arts Affairs Commission, with support from Sony Pictures Entertainment and the Culver City Arts Foundation. Thank you to Ballona Creek Renaissance and Heal the Bay for your support and partnering with Heidi Duckler Dance for this year’s Ebb & Flow!
Chinatown 2023
June 2023, Los Angeles State Historic Park
For the sixth year, Heidi Duckler Dance brought Ebb & Flow to Los Angeles State Historic Park. We were joined by artists Hibiscus TV, Andersmith, Tori Cristi, MawusiSarah, Rachael Lovinger, Marie Osterman, Stephanie Sherwood, and Katie Shanks. The festival also featured performances choreographed by Heidi Duckler and the company’s Associate Artistic Director, Raymond Ejiofor.
The pieces featured spanned a variety of mediums, from site-specific dance to interactive installations. Each work was positioned in a different place in the park, allowing audiences to walk through and visit them all. With our theme centered on the climate and its health, each piece engaged with the surrounding environment.
Ebb & Flow: Chinatown is made possible through support from the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs and California State Parks. Heidi Duckler Dance expresses a special thanks to Stephanie Campbell, Manager of Planning, Public Affairs, and Community Engagement for the Los Angeles District and a special thanks to Dan Rosenfeld.
Culver City 2022
September 2022, Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook
We brought the festival back to the Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook in Culver City for the first time since lockdown. The festival featured a variety of interdisciplinary art pieces stationed throughout the park. Each unique piece was an exploration of climate change, nature, humanity, and health. Audience members strolled through the park and engaged with each work.
Heidi Duckler Dance was joined by artists Peter J. Harris, Victoria Goring (The Cardboard Countess), Five Skins with Jobel Medina, Shenandoah Harris (Psychopomp Dance), Dan Greene, Caitlin Javech, John Eagle and Emily Call, Marianna Varviani, Maëlys Renaud, Indigo Smith, Ashton S. Phillips, and Andrea Burr and Luke Dakota Zender.
Chinatown 2022
June 2022, Los Angeles State Historic Park
Heidi Duckler Dance brought the festival back to the Los Angeles State Historic Park for a fourth year. The company was joined by local choreographers and artists Bib Bauer, Elena Brocade, Deborah Brockus, Taylor Donofrio, Darrel ‘Friidom’ Dunn, Lydia Janbay, Nat Wilson, Sunrise Transparence (Anj Vancura), and Beartriz Vasquez. Heidi Duckler Dance’s Artist-in-Residence, Ching Ching Wong presented a work activating the beloved yellow DanceMobile with dance and musical collaborators Rebecca Lee, Alejandro Perez, and Gloria and Javier Arjona. Visual artist Elkpen (Christian Kasperkovitz), a Los Angeles-based visual artist who creates visual stories about neighborhoods, natural history, science, and the next economy presented her work in partnership with Hollywood Orchard, a community orchard that is a teaching model for sustainability.
Alongside Hollywood Orchard, local organizations provided learning opportunities for attendees. The Los Angeles Audubon Society hosted a nature walk, and Stop the Gondola had an informational booth.
This project is supported in part by the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs.
Chinatown 2021
June 2021, Los Angeles State Historic Park
Heidi Duckler Dance brought the festival back to the Los Angeles State Historic Park for a third year. This was the company’s first live outdoor performance of 2021. The festival featured dance, visual arts, music, and technology through interdisciplinary art pieces stationed throughout the park. Guest artists 3-19 Dance Art, Brittany Delany, Darrel ‘Friidom’ Dunn in collaboration with Kaz Mogi of Taiko Project, Lily Ockwell, Sand Dance Project, Shannon Janet Smith, and Carissa Songhorian, as well as Heidi Duckler herself, explored climate change, nature, humanity, and health. Audience members strolled through the park to watch each piece. Augmented Reality artworks and an installation by Snezana Petrovic was also displayed around the park.
This project is supported in part by the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs.
Chinatown 2020
June 2020, Los Angeles State Historic Park
With assistance from Los Angeles State Historic Park, Heidi Duckler Dance hosted its annual arts festival in virtual form with exhibits and interactive installations scattered throughout the park.
Instead of the usual festival activities that involve live performances and workshops, Heidi Duckler Dance utilized augmented reality to give attendees a self-guided, site-specific, socially distant, spectacular experience.
Parkgoers went on a journey from Ebb to Flow. In the Ebb section of the park, they encountered 5 static artworks representing the earth’s elements. With the use of an augmented reality app, they were able to bring these images to life to watch Heidi Duckler Dance artists on video.
In the Flow section, audiences experienced Collateral Damage, an immersive installation designed by Snezana Petrovic that spoke of the damage and harm that we, humans, are causing unintentionally to nature.
Chinatown 2019
June 2019, Los Angeles State Historic Park
The day started with free public dance workshops for all ages and abilities, booths from local artists, and opportunities to engage in environmental and wellness activities from community organizations. The festival also included daytime community performances by David Calderon, East Wind Foundation for Youth, and Shaolin Temple Cultural Center U.S.A.
The festival concluded with an evening professional performance. Guest choreographers included Moises Josue Michel, and Candy Yi in collaboration with Chantal Cherry, Carissa Songhorian, and JA collective, as well as Heidi Duckler’s new work titled Further, in collaboration with composer/performer, Drum & Lace
Culver City 2019
February 2019, Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook
After a successful one-day event in 2018, Heidi Duckler Dance brought the festival back to the Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook for two days in 2019. The days started with free public dance workshops for all ages and abilities, booths from local artists, and opportunities to engage in environmental and wellness activities from Culver City health & wellness organizations. The festival also included student performances by Culver City High School, A Place Called Home, and Dion Pratt throughout the day. The event concluded with a nighttime professional performance featuring guest choreographers Bernard Brown, Comfort Fedoke, Raymond Ejiofor, and Jacob “Kujo” Lyons. Heidi Duckler also premiered a new work Further in collaboration with composer/performer, Drum & Lace.
Culver City 2018
February 2018, Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook
The first Ebb & Flow Festival included workshops throughout the day, booths from local organizations, and opportunities to engage in environmental and wellness activities. The festival also included student performances by Culver City High School, Saint Mary’s Academy, and Loyola Marymount University throughout the day. The event concluded with a nighttime professional performance with opening remarks by New York Times Best Selling author Jedidiah Jenkins featuring guest choreographers Comfort Fedoke, Tess Hewlett, Rebecca Lemme, and Ryan Walker Page. Heid Duckler also performed FishEyes accompanied by music from Juhi Bansal.
