Rehearsals Going On at Civic Center Park for 'Trolley Dances'

Trolley Dances, the annual site-specific dance event that celebrates bodies in motion, will feature Lemon Grove this year. Dancers are in rehearsal locally in preparation for the arts event that rolls out over two weekends.

Ten dancers primarily from the San Diego Dance Theater company are at work in Civic Center Park under the direction of choreographer Greg Sample, “experimenting with the site's elements.” Sample's showcase piece, Come 'Round, is set to On the Nature of Daylight by Max Richter, a contemporary composer whose works have been featured in film and television soundtracks.

Inspired by the park's dual circular elements—a fountain and a fire ring—Sample has pairs of dancers meeting on the grassy expanse as a common ground for different couplings. Dancers will express the pleasures and complexities of love—whether sweet, awkward or, at times, even volitile.

Created by Jean Isaacs, artistic director of the San Diego Dance Theater, Trolley Dances is a partnership between Isaacs and the Metropolitan Transit System. Now in its 14th year, the event will take place at four sites along the Green and Orange lines, starting at the Grossmont Transit Center in La Mesa and culminating at Civic Center Park in Lemon Grove.

Participants hop on the trolley to see each performance, and explore new neighborhoods along the way.

Trolley Dances' 50 performers will present six site-specific dances that have been choreographed by Isaacs and Sample, as well as Monica Bill Barnes, Joe Alter, and Annie Boyer. A French circus duo called WillyGood features Natalie Good, a former high school champion gymnast from La Mesa, will be adding a bit of a twist.

Trolley Dances takes place Sept. 29-30, and Oct. 6-7. Tickets are $30 general admission, $20 seniors, $15 students, and $10 Dance Card members. Children 5 and younger are free, as are those in wheelchairs.

Each two-hour tour leaves the Grossmont Transit Center on the hour from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Tickets are available online at San Diego Dance Theater.

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