How to have the best Sunday in L.A., according to Debbie Allen
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When Debbie Allen opened the doors to her dance academy in 2000 inside of a revamped Marie Callender’s restaurant in Culver City, there was no other place in town like it that catered to disenfranchised Black and Latino communities.
The school became a haven for dancers of all backgrounds wanting to learn from the multifaceted performer, who chasséd into the Hollywood scene with her career-defining performance as Lydia Grant in the 1980 musical “Fame.” Allen went onto become an award-winning director and producer for shows like “Grey’s Anatomy” (which she also stars in), “How to Get Away With Murder,” “A Different World,” “Jane the Virgin” and “Everybody Hates Chris.”
In Sunday Funday, L.A. people give us a play-by-play of their ideal Sunday around town. Find ideas and inspiration on where to go, what to eat and how to enjoy life on the weekends.
Fast forward 25 years, the Debbie Allen Dance Academy now resides in a 25,000-square-foot “arts” palace in Mid City at the Rhimes Performing Arts Center (named after Allen’s longtime friend and colleague Shonda Rhimes). It’s more active than ever with a newly accredited middle school, a summer intensive program, a tap festival and annual “Hot Chocolate Nutcracker” holiday show. Next up, Allen is hosting her third free community block party on June 8 on Washington Boulevard, featuring dance classes with world-renowned choreographers like Marguerite Derricks and a breakdancing competition with Silverback Bboy Events. And on June 22, Allen will host Dancing in the Light: Healing with the Arts, a bimonthly event that features free dance lessons for those impacted by the wildfires. The event will take place at the Wallis in Beverly Hills and will feature classes taught by choreographers Lyrik Cruz (salsa), Angela Jordan (African) and Anthony Berry (hip-hop).
“It’s been wonderful that this community has been able to see each other and have a bit of joy,” Allen said during a Zoom call from Atlanta, where she was working on a new TV pilot.
The ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ actor-director-producer and the show’s creator dream big for a dance academy and an arts-centered middle school.
We caught up with Allen, who’s lived in L.A. for nearly 40 years, to learn about how she’d spend her perfect Sunday in the city. Much like when she was a child growing up in Houston, Sundays are centered around family and spending time with her four grandchildren who “own” her weekends, she said. On the call sheet is getting breakfast in Santa Monica, hosting a free dance class and catching a movie at Westfield Century City.
This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
7 a.m.: Wake up the grandbabies
On a typical Sunday, I would wake up at 7 a.m. My [eldest] grandchildren spend the night with us every Saturday. I have four grandkids who are 6, 4, and two who are 6 months old. The little ones are just now getting to where their parents might let us keep them overnight. My room has turned into a nursery.
First, we deal with our dog CoCo. We have a beautiful black German shepherd who is amazing. She’s such a good family dog and incredible guard dog. She just glistens, just pure black, and she’s wonderful with the kids. So we have to let her out and she wants to play. Then we get ready to go to breakfast.
9 a.m..: Time for breakfast
We always go out somewhere for breakfast. We either go to a nearby hotel or we go to Marmalade in Santa Monica. They have very fresh croissants, little biscuits with currants and scones. They also have really good omelets and turkey bacon. Then the neighborhood people are there, so we see people that we’ve met and have gotten to know over the years. There’s one man in particular who is always reading books and we can always get a new idea of a book to read.
Stuck at home because of the coronavirus, more than 30,000 tune in to Debbie Allen’s Instagram live class. Let’s come together though dance, she says.
11 a.m.: Host a free dance class
Then we’d come back and on any given Sunday, I might be on my way to Dancing in the Light: Healing with the Arts, where I’ve been doing these dance classes for all the people who have been impacted by the fires. We’ve been doing this for months and it’s been amazing. We’ve had tremendous support from Wallis Annenberg, United Way, Shonda Rhimes, Berry Gordy, just so many individuals who have supported. We do classes all over, which start at 11 a.m. But if we’re not doing the Dancing in the Light event, sometimes we like to go to the California Science Center, which the kids love. It’s great because there’s so much going on there now.
2:30 p.m.: Tennis time
I’ll head back home to catch the kids having their tennis lesson. They are starting to play at this young age and it’s so cute.
5 p.m.: Early dinner and a movie
We’d either start preparing family dinner because I have a son who has his 6-month-old and my daughter, Vivian, who has her three kids. Or we’d go out to dinner. We love to go to Ivy at the Shore because it’s very family-friendly and they have a lot of options. We also like going to Chinois. It’s a Wolfgang Puck spot. We’d have an early dinner around 5 p.m. If we don’t go out to eat, we might go to the movies. We love going to the movies. We’re really close to AMC Santa Monica, but sometimes we’ll go to [Westfield] Century City because they have a fantastic food court and the kids like to go up there and pick what they want to eat.
7:30 p.m.: Quality time with MaTurk
We’d come back home and spend time with my mom, who we call MaTurk. She’s 101 years old. We’d play her favorite music because she was a concert pianist. I did a beautiful piece for her at the Kennedy Center this year based on her book, “Hawk,” which we republished. It’s on sale now. But Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” is her favorite. She played it for me when I was 4 years old, going to sleep on her lap. And my granddaughters are the cutest things with MaTurk. They like to pretend they are the caregivers and they want to brush her hair. They want to massage her legs. It’s a sweet thing.
8:30 p.m.: Catch up on our favorite shows
After that, it’s time to say goodbye to the grandkids. Then my husband and I will nestle in. We’re always reading books and watching various series. We’ve been watching Shonda Rhimes’ “The Residence” lately. We love it! And he also is addicted to “Power Book.” If I could pick, I’d be in bed by 9:30 p.m.
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