How they get down downtown

Guess who’s behind an effort to reinvent the Los Angeles Music Center plaza as a people’s cultural destination. The Music Center itself. It’s sponsoring a “Dance Downtown!” series to provide free lessons and the opportunity to dance to live music for anyone who wants to show up.

Between 400 and 500 people, for instance, turned out April 29 for a swing dance night, catching by surprise patrons heading for American Ballet Theatre’s “Giselle” and other Music Center events.

“The idea is to provide participatory events that are low-cost or free, where people can dance, sing and play instruments themselves,” says Josephine Ramirez, vice president of Music Center programming and planning.

“The point is not about getting people to dance just so that they will come here and buy tickets. We do it because we’re a public space, and we want more of the public who are not professional artists to come and own this space too.”

The series started last fall with salsa and swing evenings. Both were recently repeated. Next up is contradance -- traditional American dance -- on Friday, followed by samba on May 27.

“Every series will add on two other dance styles that aren’t so familiar,” says Ramirez.

The evenings begin with free lessons at 6:30. A band starts up about 7:15.

When the musicians take a break, there’s another lesson, then more dancing, which lasts till 10.

The lessons are taught by members of UDance, a volunteer group of dance enthusiasts. The series is being supported by grants from the James Irvine, Ralph M. Parsons and James A. Doolittle foundations.

“We get no state or county money -- not yet,” says Ramirez.

“We’re hoping to start drum circles soon, then instrument play-alongs, singalongs and storytelling projects. By the end of the roll-out period -- late 2007 -- we will have over 50 participatory free or low-cost events that did not previously exist. We plan to do them basically anytime it’s not too cold to do them, spring, summer and fall.

“We’re trying to encourage people who already live and work downtown: After work on a Friday, don’t deal with the freeways, come dance and then go home.”

-- Chris Pasles