With premieres by Jodie Gates and performances from elite companies like BalletX and Complexions Contemporary Ballet, the festival continues to shape dance in Southern California.

For 20 years, Laguna Dance has turned the seaside town of Laguna Beach into an unexpected stage for world-class dance, bringing internationally acclaimed artists to perform against the backdrop of Southern California’s coastal charm. What began as a small annual dance festival founded by Jodie Gates has grown into a nationally recognized, year-round dance organization that presents renowned companies and artists while maintaining deep roots in the local dance community by offering workshops, a summer intensive, and pop-up dance performances during things like the Laguna Beach Art Walk.
This year’s festival, taking place Feb. 6-9 at the Laguna Playhouse, will feature an exciting lineup, including Philadelphia-based contemporary ballet company BalletX, principal dancers from Houston Ballet, Boston Ballet and Joffrey Ballet, as well as celebrated contemporary and tap artists like Jillian Meyers and JA Collective. Complexions Contemporary Ballet, which performed at the very first Laguna Dance Festival in 2005, will also return with two signature works.
BalletX dancers will perform on nights one and two of the festival. Dancers from left, Dancer Francesca Forcella, Jared Kelly and Skyler Lubin. Photos courtesy of Laguna Dance/Gabriel Bienczycki
A 2025 Program Rooted in Music, Athleticism and Diversity
For this milestone year, Gates carefully curated a program that reflects the festival’s past, present and future. She describes the festival’s three main themes as “music and dance,” “athletic artistry” and “diversity in dance.”
Opening night, Feb. 6, will feature BalletX, known for its technical excellence and adventurous repertory. This performance is presented in collaboration with the Laguna Beach Music Festival, with every piece set to live music, including Gates’ world premiere to Rachmaninoff. “Having live music for the entire evening is a big step for us,” Gates said. “It deepens the audience’s connection to the movement in a way that recorded music simply can’t.”
BalletX will return for night two with a dynamic, high-energy program that Gates calls “athletic artistry.” The evening will open with her 2022 piece “Beautiful Once,” set to music by Oscar-nominated composer Ryan Lott of Son Lux, followed by “Become a Mountain” by Tony Award-winning choreographer Justin Peck. The night will close with Jennifer Archibald’s “Exalt,” which blends ballet with street dance influences.
On Feb. 8 and 9, the festival shifts to the “Stars of Dance” program, a two-day event that celebrates a diversity of dance styles. Gates’ work will again be featured, this time in a world premier solo created for dancer Jake Tribus. The piece, set to music by Son Lux’s Ryan Lott, is inspired by what Tribus describes as a “resurgence of hope” – a message of perseverance and renewal in the face of challenges.
Both evenings will feature Beckanne Sisk and Chase O’Connell performing Gerald Arpino’s “Light Rain,” an audience favorite, as well as Michael Smuin’s balcony pas de deux from “Romeo and Juliet.”
“‘Light Rain’ is timeless,” Sisk said. “It’s one of those pieces that people always love, and we love performing it. And ‘Romeo and Juliet’ is very special to us because it was the last full-length ballet we performed with Ballet West before joining Houston Ballet.”
Also on the program are Jillian Meyers and JA Collective’s distinctive contemporary works, as well as two landmark pieces from Complexions Ballet – Dwight Rhoden’s “Ave Maria,” which premiered in the company’s first-ever performance in 1994, and “Elegy,” set to Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata,” which will be performed with live music.
“Performing these works in Laguna is special as both Complexions Contemporary Ballet and Laguna Dance Festival celebrate milestone years,” Rhoden said. “It feels right to bring such impactful works to the festival.”
This will be the first time in the festival’s history that Gates has choreographed a piece for every night of the event. While she has long been known for her work as a curator and presenter, she now sees this as an opportunity to contribute creatively in a more direct way.
“The reason I’m showing and presenting my work is because that is a part of who I am,” she said. “I was hesitant in the past, but I think it’s OK now to not shy away from showing the craft that I’ve been working on for decades – not just as a performer, but as a dance maker.”