The Angelus Temple megachurch in Echo Park was the unlikely venue (and largest to date) for the Gabriella Charter Schools’ year-end dance recitals. Friends and family packed the 5,300-seat, three-story theater for two performances on a Saturday in June, which transported them from California’s redwood forests and Central Valley farms to the schools’ home of Los Angeles. Sixth grader Annabelle Soriano took the stage as a voice-over in English and Spanish told the story — inspired by José Cruz González’s play “Two Donuts” — of a Guatemalan American girl who doesn’t see the beauty in her L.
A. neighborhood. So, in her dreams, she embarks on an adventure through the Golden State in search of meaning.
Students explore California through classic dance styles including tap, hip-hop and ballet mixed with moves popularized on TikTok and by the video game “Fortnite.” Audiences lined Glendale Boulevard hours before the two performances. Gabriella Charter Schools Executive Director Rhonda Baldenegro said this is the norm for the schools’ annual recital — even though it’s only their second in-person performance since the COVID-19 pandemic.
The event’s popularity is a testament to Liza Bercovici’s decades-long commitment to dance education. Bercovici, a former attorney, founded an after-school dance program for low-income communities in 1999 in honor of her 13-year-old daughter, Gabriella Axelrad, who was killed that year by a distracted driver while bicy.
