Frida Kahlo’s Life and Work, As Told Through Ballet, This Weekend In Downtown

Frida Kahlo's story has been told countless times over the last few decades.

But never like this.

Dutch National Ballet is taking The Music Center’s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Downtown L.A. by storm this weekend with a visually explosive, somewhat surrealist ballet titled Frida.

The two-and-a-half-hour work, part of The Music Center's Summer Dance Series, is choreographed by award-winning Colombian-Belgian choreographer Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, with a full orchestra playing music by British composer Peter Salem, known for his work on BBC shows. It is the U.S.-premiere.

Inspired by Frida's life, the show delights and intrigues through a surrealist and colorful phantasmogoria of imagery and movements, detailing Kahlo's fight against mainstream forces of sexism, tokenism, and taboos in the world of art and the 20th century, as she rose to become the icon of self-portraiture that she's known as today. The ballet uses movement to convey a living analogy to Kahlo's work.

Beyond mere biography, the full-length piece doesn't hesitate to offer deep exploration of Kahlo's lifelong solitude and struggle, offering passages that detail her relationship with Mexican painter Diego Rivera and her bisexuality, as well as the self-images she manifested in her work.

The ballet paints its own visual portrait of Frida's life through movement and vibrant costumes and sets, paying homage to her legacy through the work of talented dancers, musicians, and directors.

Frida runs this Friday, July 14, and Saturday, July 15 at 7:30 pm, with a matinee performance on Sunday, July 16. Tickets start at $34-$38. Use promo code LATACO for a 30% discount to select seats to any performance of Frida, valid in Main Orch, Front Orch, Front Orch Ring, and Main Founders sections through July 16, 2023.