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About

Each fall, Heidi Duckler Dance hosts its annual anniversary celebration. Featuring dinner, dancing, and live performances, the event commemorates HDD’s work in site-specific performance and arts education.

Centering on a different theme each year, the celebration’s immersive art experience consistently draws guests into the world of HDD. Past works have explored identity, the ocean’s environment, and finding a place of one’s own. Other performances at the event by students in HDD’s educational programs demonstrate the power of site-specific dance to strengthen communities and increase our understanding of the world.

As part of the celebration, HDD honors artists and leaders who have made change in their fields. The awardees come from many backgrounds, from dance to theater to philanthropy.

For more details about this year’s celebration, please visit our events page.

Dancers walk alongside a garden wall

HDD education students perform at the 37th anniversary celebration. (Photo by Denise Leitner)

Dancer performing on a garden wall

Dancers at the 37th anniversary celebration used the infrastructure of Founder's Church of Religious Science to explore themes of identity and autonomy. (Photo by Denise Leitner)

Dancers on opposite sides of a building column

Performances at the 36th anniversary celebration highlighted motifs of belonging and community. (Photo by Rush Varela)

Dancers performing in a mirrored room

Our 34th annual gala — "Agua Viva" — explored the Los Angeles Theatre in its full splendor. (Photo by Rush Varela)

Two women sitting on a staircase with their faces touch. Two men stand behind pillars of the staircase.

The 34th anniversary celebration featured a variety of performances staged all around the Los Angeles Theatre, from the ballroom to the restroom. (Photo by Sean Deckert)

Woman dancing by a window

HDD's 33rd anniversary celebration in 2018 emphasized female empowerment in a series of performances at the Cooper Design Space Penthouse in Los Angeles. (Photo by Sangyeon An)

Three dancers sitting on a sculpture of a fish

Our "Ultramarine" gala in 2017 brought together performers of all mediums for an evening of aquatic delights. (Photo by Mark Lord)

Performer dressed as Ursula from "The Little Mermaid"

Artists performing at our 32nd anniversary celebration stole the scene at Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook. (Photo by Mark Lord)