A Salute to the Arts

Blue13 Dance Company

Blue13 Dance Company is a contemporary Indian dance theatre ensemble based in Los Angeles, with a mission to connect diverse audiences through the power of live, aesthetically and culturally daring dance. Since 1999, Blue13 has performed in the U.S. and abroad in it’s highly energetic and theatrical modern dance style that is inspired by the classical and cultural art forms of the Indian subcontinent. A first-generation South Asian American, Blue13’s Artistic director, Achinta S. McDaniel pulls precision, humor, and deep emotion from her ensemble to create work as rebellious and unconventional as its architect.

Blue13 has toured internationally, including 2008’s “Fez-Queen of Cities,” with engagements most recently at at Royce Hall Los Angeles, Symphony Space New York, Los Angeles Music Center, Morocco’s Mohammed V Theatre, and at UNESCO in Paris.

The Bollywood inspired dance company offers direct participation in the creative expression of dance through audience “flashmobs,” public interactive dance events, residencies, and workshops. The company dancers also teach studio classes in their trademarked Bollywood Bhangra Beats, open to all levels of children and adults. To translate dance into lasting societal contributions is in Blue13’s very DNA, as is the desire to empower and unite people, and to spread joy and understanding through its work.