CONTRA-TIEMPO Dance Company Presents New Work at Sierra Madre Playhouse

Presented by Sierra Madre Playhouse

CONTRA-TIEMPO, a Los Angeles-based activist dance theater company, showcases its latest project, “Roots of Loving Us,” with back-to-back matinee and evening performances on Saturday, June 13, 2026, at 2:00 PM and 8:00 PM, at the historic 99-seat Sierra Madre Playhouse. An innovative, multi-modal, full-length work-in-progress, “Roots of Loving Us” incorporates somatic healing, dance, music and imagery to explore the 21st Century family, including narratives of adoption, foster families and bioadaptive families, uplifting these stories and lived experiences through movement and artistry.

“Roots of Loving Us” is a testament to lives transformed by the choice to love forever. Touching on diverse ancestries as well as chosen families and families retaining cultural and/or racial homogeneity, it considers origin stories shaped by biological uprooting, unchosen separation, and the re-rooting of bodies that alters family-tree DNA. 

The creative forces behind “Roots of Loving Us” are renowned dance artists holly johnston of Responsive Body and Ana Maria Alvarez, founder and artistic director of CONTRA-TIEMPO, both women of color, mothers, activists, and community leaders. “Roots of Loving Us” is a multi-year community engagement, collaborative research project and performance project. Partnering organizations include ArtPower (San Diego, CA); Echoes of Hope (Los Angeles, CA); Shenandoah University (Winchester, VA); and University of Tampa (Tampa, FL).

CONTRA-TIEMPO is a bold, multilingual dance theater company dedicated to transforming the world through dance. Its work is rooted in Salsa, Afro-Cuban, hip-hop, and contemporary dance and blends theater, compelling text, and original music. CONTRA-TIEMPO illuminates stories not traditionally heard on the concert stage, while building community, facilitating dialogue, and moving audiences to imagine what is possible.
    
For tickets ($35) and information, please call 626.355.4318 or visit www.sierramadreplayhouse.org. Sierra Madre Playhouse is located at 87 West Sierra Madre Boulevard, Sierra Madre, CA 91024.

Date:
Venue:
Sierra Madre Playhouse
Organization:
Sierra Madre Playhouse
Genres:
Dance
Categories:
Live Event
City: Sierra Madre
Price Range:
$35
Email:
info@sierramadreplayhouse.org
Phone:
(626) 355-4318
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Sierra Madre Playhouse

Sierra Madre Playhouse

87 West Sierra Madre Boulevard
Sierra Madre, CA 91024
United States

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Sierra Madre Playhouse, a vibrant Southern California cultural hub with a rich history spanning a century, energizes audiences and the community with distinctive theatrical productions and captivating live performances. 

 

Hailed as a “jewel” (Pasadena Weekly) and “a landmark theater” (ABC7 Los Angeles), it has garnered tremendous accolades for its varied repertoire and thought-provoking education and outreach programs curated with social impact in mind. The Los Angeles Times proclaims, “This is theater from the heart.” As one of San Gabriel Valley’s only performing arts center presenting a broad spectrum of performance genres, including theater, music, dance, film, comedy, and family-friendly productions featuring eminent local and national professional artists, the treasured artistic beacon draws audiences from across the Southland. 

 

The intimate 99-seat Sierra Madre Playhouse offers an up-close and personal connection to performances that resonate deeply, earning multiple Ovation Awards, NAACP Awards, and LA Times Critics' Choice honors. In 2023, Rep. Judy Chu named the Sierra Madre Playhouse as a leading ‘Nonprofit of the Year’ in the San Gabriel Valley. The playhouse was given the honor during the 2023 Congressional Leadership of the Year Awards, which recognizes the leadership and volunteerism in the cities making up California’s 28th Congressional District. It is nestled into a historic building on the inviting Main Street of Sierra Madre, a charming village in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains. 

 

Retaining its distinctive movie theater façade and instantly recognizable marquee, the structure has undergone numerous transformations since opening in 1910, from furniture emporium to silent movie theatre to the artistic institution that now stands as a vibrant embodiment of the region’s rich cultural legacy. The Sierra Madre Playhouse fosters creativity that aspires to bridge divides and spark dialogue, all while celebrating the rich tapestry of the American experience and the enduring pursuit of shared understanding.