[photo credit: Eventbrite]
The concert, on Saturday and Sunday at Lineage’s black-box theater on East Mountain Street, marks a span of continuous operation that is unusual for an independent dance ensemble of any size — and DanceArt has only five members. Founded in Boston in 1980 and based in Los Angeles since 1990, the company has performed from the California coast to New England and abroad while maintaining a dual mission of concert dance and community outreach.
The program features five works created between 2017 and 2026, all choreographed by Bike. The concert will include the premiere of “Flock Struck,” set to gamelan music and an original composition by Dean Wallraff, along with “From Where I Sit,” “Aspects of Me,” “Schoenfield Dances,” and “Benches.”
Bike began studying dance in the 1950s in Tucson, Arizona, and created the company in her early 20s after moving to Boston, where she chaired the Boston Dance Alliance for five years. She relocated to Los Angeles in 1990.
The connection between DanceArt and Lineage is not merely logistical. Thomas, who grew up in Pasadena and trained with the Pasadena Dance Theatre, danced with Bike’s company before founding Lineage Dance in 1999. That company grew into the Lineage Performing Arts Center, now a community cultural hub in Northwest Pasadena offering dance education, productions, and free classes for people with neurological conditions including Parkinson’s disease.
“Twenty years ago I danced for Benita,” Thomas said in a 2022 interview with LA Dance Chronicle. “We do have this deep, deep shared history.”
Bike, in the same interview, described Thomas’s venue as a space that nourishes its community. The company has received support from the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs and the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture, according to the company’s website.
Critics have noted DanceArt’s distinctive approach. Reviewing a 2019 performance, Dance Informa Magazine described the work as blending classical grounding with modern daring. The LA Dance Chronicle, reviewing the company’s April 2025 concert at the same Pasadena venue, called “From Where I Sit” the strongest work of the afternoon.
The 45th anniversary concert takes place Saturday, April 25, at 8 p.m. and Sunday, April 26, at 3 p.m. at Lineage Performing Arts Center, 920 E. Mountain St., Pasadena. Tickets range from $25 to $45 and are available at BenitaBike45.eventbrite.com. Free parking is available. For more information, call (818) 470-5734 or visit danceart.org.
Five dancers. Forty-five years. The same choreographer, still making new work.
BENITA BIKE’S DANCEART 45TH ANNIVERSARY CONCERT Date & Time: Saturday, April 25, 2026 at 8:00 PM | Venue: Lineage Performing Arts Center, 920 E. Mountain St., Pasadena, CA 91104 | For more information call: 818-470-5734 | Or click here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/celebrating-45-years-benita-bikes-danceart-april-25-26-tickets-1984482251836
