Celebrating Black Superpowers — On Ink with Camille A. Brown
LMU On Dance: Critical Conversations
Release Date: 04/26/2024
Dance as Dialogue — On Cion: Requiem of Ravel’s Boléro with Gregory Maqoma
LMU On Dance: Critical Conversations
Today we’re joined by internationally renowned dancer, choreographer, teacher, director and scriptwriter, Gregory Maqoma. Born in Soweto, South Africa in 1973, Gregory became interested in dance in the late 1980s as a means to escape the political tensions growing in his place of birth. He started his formal dance training in 1990 at Moving Into Dance where in 2002 he became the Associate Artistic Director. In this conversation, we discuss Cion: Requiem of Ravel’s Boléro which we saw at Royce Hall. Together we explore Gregory’s inspiration for the piece, the variety of different...
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The Tension of Circus — On Circa: Humans 2.0 with Yaron Lifschitz
LMU On Dance: Critical Conversations
Welcome back to On Dance. Today, we’re joined by Yaron Lifschitz, the Artistic Director and CEO of Circa. We begin the episode with our review of Circa’s recent performance of Humans 2.0 at The Wallis in Los Angeles. Then we invite Yaron to the show to share more about circus and Circa. Yaron shares how he fell in love with performance in the moments when the theater goes dark before a show, and he offers us a plethora of contemporary circus, theatre, and musical performers that inspire his contemporary work. In our conversation, we discuss the purpose of circus, how it distinguishes...
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Seeking the Language of Each Dance — On Ballet Hispánico's Doña Perón with Annabelle Lopez Ochoa
LMU On Dance: Critical Conversations
Welcome back to On Dance. Today we’re excited to be joined by renowned Belgian-Colombian choreographer Annabelle Lopez Ochoa to discuss her production of Ballet Hispánico's Doña Perón, as performed in Los Angeles in July 2024. In this conversation, Annabelle reflects on the ways her gender has impacted her dance career, why she decided to tell Evita’s story, and how she approaches choreographing a narrative ballet. We also discuss the role of awards and reviews, what it means to be “famous,” and the differences between the dance world and the ballet world. Resources
info_outline![Dancing with Death — On The Rite of Spring & common ground[s] show art](https://assets.libsyn.com/item/30995138?height=50&width=50)
Dancing with Death — On The Rite of Spring & common ground[s]
LMU On Dance: Critical Conversations
Today we’re joined by LMU dance student Katie Tuchi to discuss The Rite of Spring, which was choreographed by the late Pina Bausch and recently performed at The Music Center in Los Angeles. We also talk about common ground[s], a remarkable work created, performed and inspired by dance icons Germaine Acogny and Malou Airaudo, which was performed before and prepared us for The Rite of Spring. Tune in as we explore the history of these pieces and the dynamics of age, race, and gender that emerge in the performances. Resources
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Celebrating Black Superpowers — On Ink with Camille A. Brown
LMU On Dance: Critical Conversations
Welcome back to On Dance. Today we’re thrilled to be joined by Camille A. Brown, a prolific choreographer whose work taps into both ancestral and contemporary stories of African American identity. In this episode, we share our experience seeing Camille and her company perform ink at The Wallis in January 2024. Camille shares what it felt like to perform in her forties, how she cultivates the culture of her company, and the continuities between concert dance and musical theater. We also discuss a negative review she received early in her career and how she’s learned whose feedback to...
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Multi-Dimensional Dance Legacies — On Versa-Style with Breeze-lee
LMU On Dance: Critical Conversations
Today we’re excited to be joined by Leigh Foaad, aka Breeze-lee, the Co-Founder and Artistic Director of the renowned Versa-Style Dance Company. In this episode, we share our experience seeing Versa-Style at the Carpenter Center in Long Beach, CA. Then Breeze-Lee joins us to explore the company's journey from its founding in Los Angeles in 2005 to their present-day mission of empowering underserved and marginalized groups worldwide by celebrating Hip Hop and Streetdance culture. We also discuss the challenges of sustaining an artistic vision amidst the evolving landscape of dance in a...
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Being Willing to Change — On Jungle Book reimagined with Akram Khan
LMU On Dance: Critical Conversations
Welcome back to On Dance. In this episode, we’re thrilled to be joined by one of the most celebrated and respected dance artists of today, Akram Khan. In just over 23 years, Khan has created a body of work that has contributed significantly to the arts in the UK and abroad through the success of imaginative, highly accessible and relevant productions. In this conversation, we discuss Jungle Book reimagined which we saw recently at the Broad in Santa Monica, CA. Together with Khan, we explore how his dancers became animal characters, the ways he works with his own voice and others, his...
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Korean Dance Has Always Been Contemporary — On Noori with DaEun Jung
LMU On Dance: Critical Conversations
Today we’re joined by LMU dance student Povi Martinez and Los Angeles based choreographer and dancer DaEun Jung to discuss Jung’s recent work, “Noori,” which premiered at LA Dance Project in November 2023. Together we unpack how DaEun integrates Korean folk dance into her work and the ways she transmutes those rhythms, movements and images into the LA context. We also learn about the layers of nuance and meaning embedded in everything from the costumes to the reviews of Noori. And we hear about Noori’s upcoming 2024 tour! Resources
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Where Science & Dance Meet — On MoonRock with Donna Sternberg
LMU On Dance: Critical Conversations
Today we’re happy to be joined by Donna Sternberg, the Founder of LA-based dance company Donna Sternberg & Dancers. Together we delve into the evolution of the Los Angeles dance scene and how Donna bridges the gap between science and dance in her work. We also discuss Donna’s latest show, MoonRock, performed in October 2023 at the Wende Museum in Culver City. And we talk about the positive (and negative) power of dance reviews. Resources
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World Burning & World Building — On Invertigo Dance Theatre and Formulae & Fairy Tales with Laura Karlin
LMU On Dance: Critical Conversations
Today we’re excited to be joined by Laura Karlin, the Founder and Artistic Director of Invertigo Dance Theatre. Together we explore why Laura founded Invertigo in Los Angeles and how the Theatre centers community support and activism in their work. We also discuss their recent production, Formulae & Fairy Tales, about Alan Turing, the story of Snow White, and looming questions around AI. Resources
info_outlineWelcome back to On Dance. Today we’re thrilled to be joined by Camille A. Brown, a prolific choreographer whose work taps into both ancestral and contemporary stories of African American identity.
In this episode, we share our experience seeing Camille and her company perform ink at The Wallis in January 2024.
Camille shares what it felt like to perform in her forties, how she cultivates the culture of her company, and the continuities between concert dance and musical theater.
We also discuss a negative review she received early in her career and how she’s learned whose feedback to take to heart.