Free dance performances this Sunday from Laguna Dance Festival

This Sunday, July 21, Laguna Dance Festival will present two free shows by Los Angeles-based Versa-Style Dance Company at 1 p.m. and again at 2 p.m. on the stage at the Festival of Arts grounds, 650 Laguna Canyon Road.

Versa-Style was founded in 2005 by Jackie Lopez, a.k.a. “Miss Funk” and Leigh “Breeze-lee” Foaad to reflect the vast versatility within street dance and to break color lines by creating a forum where people come together in a common passion and joy. As a reaction to media misrepresentation of the dance forms it offers – hip-hop, house, popping, locking, whacking and boogaloo, and Afro-Latin styles such as salsa, merengue, cumbia and Afro-Cuban – Versa-Style specifically aims to perform for the youth of Los Angeles in order to foster knowledge of the roots, history, and social and political issues surrounding the art of its generation.Through its art, Versa-Style emphasizes freedom of expression, individuality, discipline, and dedication to the form.

Festival of Arts visitors are invited to enjoy two consecutive shows that will have them on their feet, grooving to the irresistible hip-hop beat.

For its 15th season Sept. 27–29, Laguna Dance Festival will present a trio of performances by the Parsons Dance Company from New York City, RUBBERBANDance Group from Montreal, and Ballet West from Salt Lake City, hosted by the 750-seat Irvine Barclay Theatre. Tickets are on sale now.