A Live Dance Telenovela, in Four Parts

Watch the tale of two lovers dramatically spin out, via movement and flourish, over four nights.

We know that certain savory foods can sometimes show up during dessert -- ice cream pizza, for example -- and we know that sledding down grass, rather than snow, is an activity pursued by some outdoors enthusiasts. 

A tried-and-true thing in an unexpected place is something that doesn't rattle us, in short.

But we tend to box in our forms of entertainment a little too tightly. Telenovelas are always on television, given that "tele" is in their very name, and dance presentations always happen on a stage over the course of a single evening. 

Done and done.

The Heidi Duckler Dance Theatre, that sprightly, bright-of-mind dance troupe, is once again playing with various paradigms with the company's newest work, "Sophie & Charlie."

Nope, this is not an evening of dance in a real laundromat, as Ms. Ducker's dancers have taken on in the past. Nor is this a presentation in the Linda Vista hospital, another offbeat venue the troupe has visited.

It is, however, presented over four different nights, spread apart, in the way a thrilling, cliffhanger-rich telenovela might be on television.

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Night one is Saturday, Sept. 26, and the further episodes follow on Oct. 1, Oct. 11, and Oct. 18. The dance presentation's locations are spread across the city, from Venice to West Hollywood, in the way that a real courtship might actually unfold.

And the episode titles? "At the Funeral," "First Date," "Intensive Care," and "Garden Bout." Viewers -- er, audience members -- will watch the relationship between Sophie and Charlie progress in real time, through movement, leaps, emotive expressions, and the always important passion.

If you're worried that the Heidi Duckler Dance Theatre has left the hospital scene fully behind, fear not; "Intensive Care" takes place in a "semi-vacant hospital" in Crenshaw. 

Live music, courtesy of local musicians, will give the romance-before-your-eyes oomph and flair.

Are you ready to watch a telenovela? That's not on television? And that's portrayed through dance? And that's taking place at four distinct locations around Southern California? Over the better part of a month?

Enjoying a known thing presented in a fresh way has a way of giving us fresh eyes.

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