Lula Washington Dance Theatre is a contemporary modern dance company based in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1980, the repertoire dance ensemble has performed across the United States and toured internationally.
History
After graduating from UCLA, Lula Washington established the Los Angeles Contemporary Dance Theatre in 1980.[1]
She and her husband, Erwin Washington, a journalist and playwright,[2] founded the dance company to offer creative opportunities for minority artists in Los Angeles, particularly in South Central Los Angeles.[3][4][5]
In the mid-1980s, the company morphed into the Lula Washington Dance Theatre (LWDT).[6] A multiracial troupe of approximately one dozen professional dancers, LWDT tours nationally and internationally.[2][7] LWDT performs primarily choreography by Lula Washington, Los Angeles’ best-known African Americanchoreographer[2] who received choreography credits for the movies Avatar and The Little Mermaid.[2][5][8]
LWDT is a member of The International Association of Blacks in Dance and hosted the IABD annual conference in 1992, 2005, 2011, and 2018.[9] LWDT is considered to be “one of the most admired African-American contemporary dance companies” in the Western United States.[1]
In 2021, LWDT received its second-largest gift in company history,
a nearly one million dollar grant payable over four years from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.[3] The gift will fund building upgrades, dancers’ salaries, and administrative support.[3]
Building
In 1988, the Lula Washington Contemporary Dance Foundation purchased an approximately 12,600 square-foot building on Crenshaw Boulevard in Los Angeles.[10][11] The building serves as a community cultural center and houses four dance studios, instructional areas, and the LWDT school and administrative offices.[2] In 1994, the Northridge Earthquake destroyed significant parts of the building, and LWDT received a $1.3 million gift—the largest in LWDT’s history—from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to rebuild its building.[3][10]
School
Established in the 1983,[12] the Lula Washington Dance School offers elementary and advanced classes in ballet, jazz, African, tap, and other dance styles.[4][6] The school’s annual Kwanzaa celebration is a South Los Angeles tradition.[2][13] The school’s motto is, “I Do Dance, Not Drugs.”[4]
Notable performances and tours
LWDT has performed in more than 150 cities in the United States and around the world.[4][5][6] Notable venues and tours include:
China (25-day tour to Hangzhou, Jiaxing, Kaifeng, Luohe, Wuhan, Xi'an, Xinyang, Xucheng, and Zhengzhou) (2011)[7][14]
International Book Fair, LA artists showcase, Guadalajara, Mexico (2010)[2]
