Benjamin Millepied, the energetic restless, multi-talented Artistic Director/choreographer/ filmmaker, and Founder of the L.A. Dance Project (LADP) was at The Wallis in Beverly Hills on June 13 & 14, 2025 with a full evening of contemporary dance. In the program was the work of several talented choreographers and dancers featuring not only Millepied’s work, “Triade,” but that of the remarkable choreography of Bobbi Jene Smith and Or Schraiber’s “Quartet for Five”, and the intriguing Janie Taylor’s “Sleepwalker’s Encyclopedia.”
LADP – Daphne Fernberger and Jeremy Coachman in “Triade” by Benjamin Millepied – Photo by Skye Schmidt Varga.
“Triade,” was originally done for the Paris Opera Ballet as an Homage to Jerome Robbins. The musical score and collaboration by Millepied and Nico Muhly, composer, premiered in 2008 in Paris. It has gone from classic point to a contemporary re-look at the piece. The exploration of relationships, so vital in Robbins work, features four dancers passing in the night, where a look or touch was significant both with and without intimacy…an honoring of Robbins’ “Glass Pieces.” One could recognize moments of play in “Interplay”, with a taste of “Fancy Free” and “Dances at a Gathering.” Perhaps not quite with the joy and playful repartee as the ballet, however, Gathering became the namesake of the evening.
LADP – Lorrin Brubaker, Hope Spears and Jeremy Coachman in “Triade” by Benjamin Millepied – Photo by Skye Schmidt Varga.
The effortless magnetism of dancer Lorrin Brubaker, whose experience with José Limón, Lar Lubovitch, Jerome Robbins, and Mark Morris, was quite clear in his technique, musicality and soulfulness that brought the piece close to real human encounters when discovering the earthy and powerful Jeremy Coachman. The partnering and excellence of Daphne Fernberger and Hope Spears effortlessly covered the space with full ownership, at times shifting loyalties between their male partners. They expressed their own light and, if familiar with Robbins work, a yearning for the sense of brilliance in the darkest of places.
LADP – Courtney Conovan, Daphne Fernberger, Marcel Mejia, Nicholas Sakai, Jeremy Coachman in “Quartet for Five” by Bobbi Jene Smith and Or Schraiber – Photo by Skye Schmidt Varga.
One of the highlights of the evening was Bobbi Jene Smith’s and Or Schraiber’s “Quartet of Five.” It seemed to pluck this tour de force from some universal dance god and gifted us all. Smith, Schraiber and dancers, not only used recognizable dance vernacular but insisted on an eclectic future for dance creativity itself. The inventiveness, the dynamic power, construction, and control was a surprising gift, that guided one along forcelessly. It gifted the onlookers with movement and design and a love of the music, the String Quartet No. 5 by Philip Glass, and adding soul to each phrase. An amazing work done by a quintuple group of brilliant dancers was a kind of essence of the piece. The rare outrageous power and commitment of Courtney Conovan, grabbed attention effortlessly. While Fernberger’s delicate strength and lyricism surprised and gave way to the joy of Jeremy Coachman’s, Marcel Mejia, and Nicholas Sakai’s intoxicating and robust dancing and partnering.
LADP – Nicholas Sakai, Jeremy Coachman, Daphne Fernberger in “Quartet for Five” by Bobbi Jene Smith and Or Schraiber – Photo by Skye Schmidt Varga.
Costumes by Victoria Bek, were reminiscent of simpler times, in shades of gray and black, they flowed, caressed and followed the ease of the movement, while Clifton Taylor’s lighting beautifully accentuated the dancer’s forms, the costumes and musicality of the piece.
After intermission, the stunning multi-talented Janie Taylor, former ballerina with The New York City ballet, managed to unite not only her deep love for dance and music, but for art and design.
“Sleepwalker’s Encyclopedia” by Benjamin Styer
Benjamin Styer’s colorful acrylic painting of “Sleepwalker’s Encyclopedia,” was Taylor’s inspiration for the set and choreographic structure of her piece. It mirrors a myriad of colorful subjects; a library, a butterfly, a cup of steaming coffee in front of a pine tree with sun peaking from behind. All make sense when going back to her thoughts on ‘finding’ the piece. Taylor in her interview with Jeff Slayton mused, “…when you look closer [at Styer’s work], there are many stories within each piece,” she said. “That is why I connected so much with his work. I felt like each of those stories were about different parts of my life.”
LADP – Audrey Sides, Caroline McAleavey, Courtney Conovan, Aidan Tyssee, Hope Spears, Daphne Fernberger in “Sleepwalkers Encyclopedia” by Janie Taylor – Photo by Skye Schmidt Varga.
When viewing her dance design, with Styre’s projected work on the back scrim, her statement added clarity to the Haiku-esque construction of her piece; short vignettes, some creations peeking out of nowhere, and before they were over they disappeared. With a combination of ballet technique bursting into jazz-like joy, with a bit of Gaga technique thrown in, she reflected her own playful soul with each phrase and statement.
LADP – Daphne Fernberger, Jeremy Coachman in “Sleepwalkers Encyclopedia” by Janie Taylor – Photo by Skye Schmidt Varga.
The mix of music was diverse and multi-faceted; ranging from Gymnopédie I (Debussy, Satie, and Fauré) to Music for Puppets, Heartache and Paradise Lost by Justin Sherburn to Vintage Soul by Sebastien Marcovici and Lay All Your Love on Me (Benny Goeran, Bror Andersson & Björn Ulvaeus), with its final, Let the Soil Play Its Simple Part (Sõ Percussion & Caroline Shaw). Each expressed an individuality of tastes and versatility of the dancers: Jeremy Coachman, Courtney Conovan, Daphne Fernberger, Caroline McAleavey, Marcel Mejia, Audrey Sides, Maxwell Simoes, Hope Spears, and Aidan Tyssee. Ending with gliding partnered bodies, sliding effortless across the space, with the excitement of near misses, then silence to end with supine body-forms being dragged off to all four corners as Brandon Stirling Baker’s lighting faded to black.
An important weekend was this, planning marches and decisions to stay in and out of town. But leaving the theatre left me with hope for the future of contemporary dance and the legacy of young dancers and choreographers with ideas and technique. Certainly, an inspiration we all need to remember and keep in mind.
For more information about L.A. Dance Project, please visit their website.
To learn more about The Wallis, please visit their website.
Written by Joanne DiVito for LA Dance Project.
Featured image: LADP – Daphne Fernberger and Marcel Mejia in “Quartet for Five” by Bobbi Jene Smith and Or Schraiber – Photo by Skye Schmidt Varga.
