Talent dances into O.C.

Contract negotiations. Flight reservations. Venue selections. Itineraries. Sponsors. Fruit baskets.

Putting together the annual Laguna Dance Festival is never a smooth sail, but the finished project is worth all of the bumps, founder Jodie Gates said.

She brings in top talent from around the county, state, country and world for the annual event, which opens Saturday in Laguna Beach.

“Coordinating the schedule just takes my breath away,” Gates said. It’s very, very complicated, and requires a lot of organizational skills, but fortunately I’m pretty good at multi-tasking, and I thrive on the challenge. It’s like a puzzle.”

The week includes free events, a gala dinner, master classes with top dancers and choreographers, and performances featuring dancers and companies from around the country.

“I feel it’s my mission to educate and entertain,” Gates said. “As I get older, I try to be open to opportunities and not have expectations. I’d like to continue this vision and keep building it, because I think this festival is special.”

She also credits her board, which helps her put the event together each year.

“I was a professional ballerina for 25 years, and now am a professor of dance at UCI. Having this nonprofit organization has taught me loads about how to run a business,” Gates said. “It wasn’t that long ago that I was on tour, so I remember the things that make a difference: a nice meal after a performance, and a nice hotel room to go home to.”

Gates said the small boutique feel of the venues, pre-show talks, master classes and parties during the week serve to break down the “fourth wall” between the performers and their audience.

“It’s electrifying, because there’s beautiful athletes dancing to awesome music, and it’s incredibly entertaining. Why do people go to a film festival, or a movie? You go for escapism, and that’s what this is,” Gates said. “It’s escapism at its best, and we all need that, right?”

Popular free Main Beach events include a swing class and live performance.

“Opening night, I’m doing something that hasn’t been done in Orange County before,” Gates said.

She will bring in ABT II and Hubbard Street 2, the prestigious companies’ junior-level groups, in a dual bill; each will perform four pieces.

“They’re kind of the farm teams, of sorts,” Gates said. “These are two of the top classical and modern companies in the nation. I’m very excited about that. It’s also a great opportunity for loads of students out here to see them perform.”

One other performance already has audiences buzzing: Gates has managed to bring the Trey McIntyre Project, one of the hottest contemporary ballet companies in the country, to Laguna.

Two nights will feature the “stars of dance,” as Gates calls them — a collage of the finest dancers in the nation.

“Each night will be a slightly different show,” Gates said. “I love that collage evening because there’s something for everyone. You’re bound to like over half the program.”

Master classes will be taught by McIntyre himself, as well as a guest dancer from the Parsons Dance Company.

This will be Erin Holmes’ third year performing at the festival; the Newport-Mesa professional dancer and trainer used to help out behind the scenes.

Holmes, who left Ballet Pacifica following the departure of former artistic director Molly Lynch, said she returned to dance after Gates invited her to perform at the festival.

“I try to keep her involved as much as possible,” Gates said. “She’s a great talent.”

Holmes will dance with Spencer Hering, a former principal with Ballet Pacifica.

They will perform a piece choreographed by Cisco Gella, her partner at last year’s show.

“I know the piece is going to be an audience pleaser, and it really fits with the show this year,” Holmes said.

A highlight of this year’s show will be San Francisco Ballet principal dancer Tina LeBlanc.

“She’s probably one of America’s finest ballerinas,” Gates said; the duo performed together in the Joffrey Ballet.

LeBlanc’s husband’s family lives in Laguna Beach, so she’s always happy to perform during the festival, Gates said.

And she should know; she’s the one who set up LeBlanc and her husband, back in their New York City days.

Gates also will offer a free “Dancing Hands” workshop for kids that incorporates paint, dance, live music and a lot of imagination.

“I just love that class,” she said. “It’s amazing what children come up with.”

When not working on the festival, Gates also enjoys teaching dance at UCI and working on choreography.

“I don’t know where all that is going to take me, but I’m excited to find out,” Gates said. “Finding balance in my life is key, and I’d like to make a difference in the world somehow. I’m hopeful that what I’m doing makes a difference and makes people happy.”

EVENT CALENDAR

Saturday: 4 p.m. Taste of CaDance performance (free), followed by 5 p.m. swing dance class (free), Main Beach.

Thursday: Laguna Dance Festival Opening Night, 7:30 p.m., featuring ABT II and Hubbard Street 2 ($25-$50); pre-show talk 6:30 p.m.; Artists Theatre, 625 Park Ave. Tickets

Sept. 26:: Trey McIntyre Project ($35-$50), 7:30 p.m.; pre-show talk 6:30 p.m.; Artists Theatre, 625 Park Ave.

Sept. 27: 11 a.m. Trey McIntyre Master Class ($25), Veterans Hall, 384 Legion Ave., followed by pre-show talk 5 p.m.; 6 p.m. Celebrate the Stars of Dance performance ($50), Artists Theatre, 625 Park Ave. ($35-$50); and 7:30 p.m. Gala Dinner ($200), Dawson Cole Fine Art, 326 Glenneyre St.

Sept. 28: 11 a.m. Parsons Dance Company Master Class ($20-$25), Veterans Hall, 384 Legion St., followed 2 p.m. pre-show talk; More Stars of Dance, 3 p.m., Artists Theatre, 625 Park Ave.; and Closing Night Reception ($50), 6 p.m., Inn at Laguna, 211 N. Coast Hwy.

Oct. 2: First Thursdays Improvisation Gallery Installations, 6 to 9 p.m. at Marion Meyer Contemporary Art, 354 N. Coast Hwy.; the Esther Wells Collection, 1390 S. Coast Hwy.; and the DeBilzan Gallery, 224 Forest Ave.

Oct. 3: Dancing Hands Workshop for kids, 4 to 6 p.m. at Congregational Neighborhood Church, 340 St. Anne’s Drive (free).

CANDICE BAKER can be reached at (949) 494-5480 or at candice.baker@latimes.com.