One of LA’s longest running dance companies Louise Reichlin/Los Angeles Choreographers & Dancers will perform October 31, 2021, from 1:45-2:45 pm at the Fiesta La Ballona taking place at the Veterans Memorial Park in Culver City. Fiesta La Ballona began in 1951 in partnership with the City of Culver City and the Culver City Chamber of Commerce. The festival has taken place in numerous months over the years but is always filled with activities for audiences of all ages. All performances are FREE.
Louise Reichlin/Los Angeles Choreographers & Dancers will be presenting two works created by Reichlin. Tennis Dances premiered in 1979, the same year Reichlin and her tap dancer and choreographer husband Alfred Desio founded the company. The Los Angeles Times wrote “Clever evocations of theatre dance styles…everything from Fokine and Graham to Béjart and beyond, all unified by rackets and nets and tennis balls.” Dance Magazine said of Reichlin’s iconic work, “One of Louise Reichlin’s most effective works is her signature piece, Tennis Dances, which is a unique dance that is almost cinematic in its effects. She creates on stage the illusion of long shots, montages, quick cuts, and individual close-ups that are usually seen only in the film or video media.”
Louise Reichlin & Dancers – “Tennis Dances” – Photo by Taso Papadakis.
Also on the program is one of Reichlin’s newest works Reboot! Reboot! which was created as a film in August 2021. Reichlin describes this work as investigating how, during these past eighteen plus months, everyone has been forced into rebooting everything they have known due to the ever-present pandemic. “Or perhaps it just asks how we have always dealt with uncertainty and the necessity for adaptation while maintaining who we are.” She said.
Reichlin has a long history of creating works for families, as well as educating children and youth. Her company tours to many schools and is a founding member of the LAUSD Arts Community Partnership Network. Some of Reichlin’s other well-known works include Celtic Suite, the multimedia The E-Mail Dances, The Patchwork Girl of Oz, A Jewish Child’s Story and the choreography from the cirque-music show Dream Scapes. Among her other creative activities Reichlin is currently the Executive Producer and Dance Director for the Annual San Pedro ♥ Festival of the Arts.
Louise Reichlin & Dancers – “Reboot! Reboot!” – Screenshot courtesy of the company.
Performing these two works, Tennis Dances and Reboot! Reboot! which will make their Culver City debut, are company members Jill Elaine Collins, Eve Metsäranta, Eliza S. Tollett, Emily Mcguire, Mcknnly Moren, Alfonso Fuentes, Katie Mcculla, and Jamil Morgan.
Also performing on the festival stage are The Vinyl Gypsies, a southern California Classic rock band; LA based contemporary dance company BrockusRED; LA Swing Dance Posse, performing vernacular jazz dances from the 1800s to the present; Beach Street A Gogo, a 6x person family friendly event band; Tina Aldana Band, currently charting on the R&B Billboard Charts; and Crawdaddio, a band that brings the spirit and rhythm of the bayou to life. Appearing on The Dance Floor are Ho’Aloha Polynesian Dancers performing dances from Hawaii, Tahiti and New Zealand (Māori); and On The Edge Dance Studio, founded in 2014 by professional dancers and choreographers Kim Borgaro and Robert Gilliam.
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WHAT: Louise Reichlin & Dancers /Los Angeles Choreographers & Dancers performs at the Fiesta La Ballona
WHEN: October 31, 2021 from 1:45-2:45
WHERE: Veterans Memorial Park, 4117 Overland Ave, Culver City, CA 90230. Parking information on website. All performances are FREE.
PERFORMANCE CONTACT: LOUISE REICHLIN (213) 385-1171
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To visit the Louise Reichlin/Los Angeles Choreographers & Dancers website, click HERE. Become a fan of the company on Facebook; Twitter: @LouiseReichlin; or on Instagram: @lachoreographersanddancers
For more information about Fiesta La Ballona and to see the festival’s full schedule of activities, click HERE.
Written by Jeff Slayton for LA Dance Chronicle.
Feature image: Los Angeles Choreographers & Dancers/Louise Reichlin & Dancers – Tennis Dances – Photo by Taso Papadakis.
