Lineage Dance Performing Arts Center in Pasadena will present dance performances, live music, good food and music this weekend as it hosts its annual Lineage Gala Party on Saturday, October 8.
“This year, the theme is ‘Dancing Through the Decades’ as we are working on a new production that will celebrate various decades,” Artistic Director Hilary Thomas of Lineage Dance said. “People can come to honor whatever their favorite decade is.”
Thomas added Lineage Center operations are going back to normal and bouncing back from the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic
“We are very close to going back to where we were before,” she said. “I think as COVID still tends to come in waves, we are still cautious and we still have the audience’s masks. But other than that, in terms of performing, we have more performances than ever, which is really wonderful.”
Thomas grew up in Pasadena and trained with The Pasadena Dance Theatre under the direction of Philip and Charles Fuller and Cynthia Young. She earned degrees in dance and psychology from Santa Clara University and continued her dance training with the Joffrey Ballet.
In 1999, Thomas created Lineage Dance, a contemporary dance company dedicated to raising support and awareness for nonprofit organizations and to making the arts accessible to all. Since that time, Lineage Dance has presented over 300 performances and raised nearly $200,000 dollars for charitable, educational and nonprofit organizations across the country.
In 2009, Lineage started the “Dance For Joy” program, a series of free acting, dance, and voice classes for people with neurological challenges like Parkinson’s, MS, TBI, Alzheimer’s and dementia, and stroke.
In 2010, the company opened the Lineage Performing Arts Center in Old Pasadena as a community hub designed to encourage community awareness through the arts. In 2009, Lineage started the “Dance For Joy” program, a series of free acting, dance, and voice classes for people with neurological challenges like Parkinson’s, MS, TBI, Alzheimer’s and dementia, and stroke.
Every year since 2005, the group has also produced a show called “Healing Blue,” inspired by the true stories of women in their struggles and triumphs over cancer, and in partnership with The Foundation For Living Beauty in Pasadena.
Lineage also sponsors an Artists In Schools in partnership with the Pasadena Unified School District, where Lineage dancers become artists-in-residence teachers at PUSD schools and engage with students on a multi-week collaboration through the arts, producing original choreography that aligns with National Core arts standards.
Thomas said these programs, and the relative success that Lineage has achieved in sponsoring them can be attributed to “all of the incredible people that surround and support the organization.”
“We started as a dance company, and now we are a performing group of actors and musicians and dancers,” she said. “And as we continue to expand, we have more people involved in every element of the work and more volunteers, greater audiences and a greater donor base. And I think that as more people call this place their home, we are going to continue to expand because we just keep creating new programs to accommodate all of the people that are hanging out here.”
The Gala Party on Saturday will be hosted by Wendy Kohlhase and Drake Pruitt in their home. The address will be provided upon purchase of a ticket.
Guests are encouraged to dress up in an outfit from your favorite decade for the annual outdoor gala, which begins at 4 p.m. (The original two time slots previousy announced for the gala have been combined into one single gala.)
Individual tickets are $150 and “couple tickets” are $250. For ticket purchases, visit https://lineagedance.secure.force.com/ticket/#/instances/a0F3o00000p4pNfEAI.
After the annual Gala Party this weekend, Lineage will be on Art Night Pasadena on October 14. Thomas said Linage has been involved with Art Night Pasadena for close to 20 years now.
