AT first blush, L.A.'s dance performance scene seems about as electrifying as a tree sloth. Touring troupes at the Music Center? Snooze city.
Fortunately, it has an underbelly, buoyed by a few DIY-minded artists, including dancer and choreographer Ryan Heffington, who's been challenging the status quo for years as co-choreographer of Hysterica, the edgy contemporary dance company.
These days, he's been infiltrating hip-and-dingy Eastside bars with Fingered. The guerrilla dance troupe, which he started two years ago, marries his Martha Graham-on-meth choreography with elaborate costumes (which he designs and sews) and throbbing rock and electro music.
Before each performance, Heffington teaches a rollicking dance class. (The sight of dozens of hipsters writhing around while swigging Amstels is worth the $5 admission alone.) After that, a section of the bar's floor is cleared, the lights dim and one by one, the small troupe of classically trained dancers, including Heffington, bursts in, while clad in freak-loving, eye-popping finery.
It's Heffington's oddball designs, which include a one-shouldered unitard shrouded in pink netting and a shoulder piece that looks like a stuffed-animal version of a lower intestinal tract, that push the performances into truly twisted territory.
The self-taught seamster also designs his own line of custom clothes called Sir Heffington. It's more of a personal project than a business, though Gwen Stefani bought a few pieces after admiring them on some dancer friends.
Heffington's subversive, gender-bending personal style -- a cross between Pat Benatar and Freddie Mercury -- is further testament to his passion for fashion as a vehicle for transformation.
Though Heffington's Fingered will persevere, the eccentric polymath will debut a new project on April 19 at downtown bar Charlie O's. We Are the World, an "art performance band," will pair dance with live music, crazy costumes and video footage.
What do you think about when costuming a show?
I usually have a visceral reaction first. Forms, scale and [color] tones come to me, then I go into a more technical mode and study the concept and the mood and the choreography's boundaries. I think about if I want to hide the body or if I want to layer it with fabric so that the fabric reacts to the movement. Then I start with a detailed sketch and create as I go.
What are some favorite things you've made?
