Louise Reichlin Choreographers & Dancers/Louise Reichlin & Dancers is one of Los Angeles’ longest running dance companies. Founded in 1979 and now in its 41st season, the company has toured both nationally and internationally. Reichlin, Director/Choreographer of the company, has also been the Executive Producer and Dance Director for the San Pedro Festival of the Arts for over a decade. Made possible in part by the City of Culver City and its Cultural Affairs Commission, Los Angeles Choreographers & Dancers presents Louise Reichlin & Dancers in four streamed pieces from Urban and Tribal Dances December 15 – 31, 2020 free of charge on Vimeo. (Details below) The titles of these four works are Batida, Remembrance, Together, and Alone 2020.
The performance will include three reimagined sections of Reichlin’s critically acclaimed 1990-92 work Urban and Tribal Dances recorded at the Ivy Substation in Culver City and her new filmic version of Alone 2020, a solo first performed by Reichlin in 1990. The costumes for Urban and Tribal Dances are by Linda Borough, with media created by Audri Phillips. Dancers include Jill Elaine Collins, Coree McKee Gonzalez, Corrina Gemignani, Eve Metsäranta, Danny Guerrero, Katelyn Martin, and Kohl Lewis. Each of the three sections have been updated with elements to make the work timelier. In addition, the event will include a section of conversations with the artists.
Louise Reichlin & Dancers – “Batida” choreography by Louise Reichlin – Photo courtesy of the company
URBAN AND TRIBAL DANCES- REIMAGINED FOR 2020
As the 5th performance created for Culver City, the company’s press release describes Urban and Tribal Dances: “The first and last dances reveal an ever-present communal or tribal theme that lies below the surface. Alone is just the opposite, bleak and isolated. Although choreographed in 1990, it foreshadows our dependence on our phones, but at this time by the attached line. When it breaks, the dancer is deaf and blind.The new version was created with the choreographer and dancers each sequestered alone, with all direction by Reichlin and editing by Andrew Zutta created using Zoom. “Alone 2020“, was introduced in progress in the San Pedro Festival of the Arts in September and premiered at the Los Angeles Dance Festival in October 2020 (both streaming festivals).
“The multimedia content for “Remembrance”, an animation background by Audri Phillips to the dance was added through a Facebook campaign in which users were encouraged to share photos and stories about lost loved ones. New added photos will be added to the upcoming version, and all reading this article are invited to send your photo of a remembered person up to December 10.”
Louise Reichlin & Dancers – “Woman In White” choreography by Louise Reichlin – Photo courtesy of the company
Here is what a couple of critics wrote when this work was first created in 1990-1992:
“The most interesting example of her current work was found in Urban and Tribal Dances, which was further enhanced by an intriguing score of ethnic sounds gathered from around the world. ….Costumed in surreal headdresses and makeup, the dancers conveyed the interconnectedness of human existence, juxtaposed with the isolation experienced even in the midst of society.” VARIETY
“Reichlin’s “Urban and Tribal Dances” is a wonderful vehicle for her talent for evoking mysterious, primitive imagery. …In “Batida”, Linda Borough’s eccentric hats graced the heads of several dancers in black who criss-crossed the stage like so many cultures converging … “Alone”… a deft interweaving of mythical, primitive and biological images… “Together” challenged gender differentiation by putting all the dancers, including the men, in skirts. Reichlin used simple folk dance figures in this section, reemphasizing the earth, universal quality of “Urban and Tribal Dances” as a whole.” LA DAILY NEWS
Performance details:
WHAT: Los Angeles Choreographers & Dancers presents Louise Reichlin & Dancers 4 streamed pieces from “Urban and Tribal Dances” “Batida”, “Remembrance”, “Together”, “Alone 2020”.
WHEN: Streamed free December 15-31, 2020 from a new recording at the Ivy Substation
WHERE: Vimeo.com/showcase/urbanandtribaldances
ABOUT: Four of the six ‘Urban and Tribal Dances” reimagined for 2020 and streaming
ADMISSION: FREE
INFORMATION: (213) 385-1171 or louisehr@lachoreographersanddancers.org
To visit the Los Angeles Choreographers & Dancers website, click HERE.
Made possible in part by the City of Culver City and its Cultural Affairs Commission, with support from Sony Pictures Entertainment and the Culver City Arts Foundation. Additional funding is from the California Arts Council and the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture.
By Jeff Slayton for LA Dance Chronicle.
Featured image: Louise Reichlin & Dancers/Los Angeles Choreographers & Dancers – Alone 2020 – Photo courtesy of the company
