Support Becca after the LA Eaton Fire destroyed her house

My name is Justin List and Becca is one of my dearest friends, our friendship forged in the crucible of high school in suburban Chicago. As many of you know, she has many roles as an incredible choreographer, educator, dancer, painter, friend, sister, daughter, and dog parent, as well as a professor at the public university Cal State-Long Beach and founder and director of the dance company Acts of Matter, the latter which you can learn more about on its website: https://www.actsofmatter.com.

She and I were text messaging each other the night of January 7 about the Los Angeles fires while I noticed on the NY Times that a fire had broken out in Eaton Canyon in the east part of Altadena, CA, not far from where she lived. It wasn’t long after that fire started that the evacuation watch and then evacuation orders were issued. Becca and her faithful dog companion, Kit, hurriedly packed up very few items and drove away for safety. That night, utter devastation swept through Altadena as winds as high as 99 miles per hour were recorded in the vicinity, more trees continuing to be ripped out of the ground which had started before the fire even began.

Becca was able to be in and out of communication on January 8 and had to relocate to safety a second time after a power loss and increasing fire risk again threatened her first move. Meanwhile, our friend Megan and I were piecing together data points not yet in the news. We feared the worst about the condition of her house when we saw that nearby Fox’s Restaurant, The Bunny Museum, and the coffee shop Café De Leche burned down via their social media pages. I caught up with Becca’s mother after I finished work and shortly after that call Becca texted that she was able to drive back into Altadena and saw that her home had burned down.

Becca found her home after a deliberate home-buyers journey during the pandemic. In fulfilling her home ownership dream, she carefully waited to find a place that aligned with her vision and tied together with her mission. She bought it from an artist and grew into it with her own artistic vision of the space, a place for both respite and fostering community, a house filled with inviting greenery and her own artwork. While making it her own, she also continued to work with Delfino, the same builder and gardener who helped build the home and landscape with the previous owner, to tend a dazzling succulent-drenched yard, cuttings of which are now home in my Chicago apartment.

Becca’s house fostered so many fond memories for her friends, family, and the artistic community of LA as many of you may know. During the pandemic it was the site of her company’s return to art making with the film Forward Looking Back, which was filmed entirely inside and around the home with dancers from the first 6 years of the company. It can be viewed here: https://vimeo.com/684490566.

Also in the history of the space, in hindsight, a uniting of her vision and mission at home and outside of it may have culminated with her 10th anniversary Acts of Matter performance “Fête10”, which was intimately performed both inside and outside in her gorgeous, tastefully lit backyard in April 2024 as the sun began to set. I was present for that performance – one of my life’s treasured experiences to date – and the house functioned as the vehicle for building community and performing art. Friends and strangers alike bonded over the magic of our shared experience. Becca also developed deep relationships with her neighbors, some of whom I met over the years, too, including at the dog park gathering across the street. Now, this Altadena community finds itself in mourning.

If you know personally how a physical space can transform you – provide respite, safety, comfort, even community – then you might begin to imagine the difficulty of such a loss psychologically for Becca and others affected by the fires. The financial impact of such a loss and the now in-between time Becca finds herself in, searching for stable housing, beginning to rebuild the things of everyday life – clothes, toiletries, etc. – poses an opportunity to help her get back on her feet materially. Please join me in generously supporting this GoFundMe to aid Becca in this time of material devastation and rebuilding – a bridge to her next home and the community it too will help flourish.