She’s been dubbed the “queen of site-specific dance,” and for 39 years, Los Angeles-based choreographer Heidi Duckler has been making dances anywhere but on a stage. Indeed, her company Heidi Duckler Dance (HDD) has left its footprints everywhere from a Santa Monica laundromat and the erstwhile Ambassador Hotel to L.A.’s splendid St. John’s Cathedral and the historic Dunbar Hotel, where jazz legends once performed.
Now, HDD is set to present its first salon of the 2024–2025 season, “Life Cycle of a Fever Dream,” on Nov. 16 at its rooftop studio in the Bendix Building. Part of a series dubbed “Truth or Consequences,” the performance explores how interdisciplinary art can cover just about any topic.
Saturday’s presentation will feature the work of experimental sound artist Julia Edith Rigby, whose exploratory opera will invite the audience into an immersive sonic world combining human and animal sounds. Rigby will perform live on viola and piano, along with 16 other musicians, sound artists, and vocalists.
“I heard about Julia’s work at Grand Central Arts Center in Santa Ana,” said Duckler, “and we met for coffee. She’d never done anything in the city of L.A. but was interested in the Bendix Building and said, ‘I want to play the building.’ ‘How do you play a building?’ I asked, and she told me.”
Duckler explained that Rigby plans to deploy geo microphones, equipment generally used for capturing field recordings. “You can get vibrations of people walking into and out of the building, and you can respond to all aspects of sound vibrations. She’s doing it on the rooftop with all these musicians, [including] two choirs intermixed with the audience. The piece keeps growing.”
As has HDD’s repertory over the years, with Duckler having produced more than 500 original site-specific works. By migrating off the stage and into surrounding environments, the troupe invites audiences to see their communities in a new light.
Asked to describe her choreography, Duckler responded, “It depends on the goals and commissions. I only create on-site, never in the studio, [and] it’s always related to space and the location. Then we mine whatever it is we’re after. In terms of ideas, content, and narrative, the characters [come out of] the community. The most important thing is it’s created in that place.”
Duckler, with her expanded techniques and methodology that encourages collective experience and awareness, has rarely met a site she doesn’t like. In addition to having performed internationally, including in Russia, Australia, and Hong Kong, her company has also spearheaded a variety of contemporary dance education initiatives that have reached over 10,000 youth and families in more than 25 schools and community centers in L.A.
In keeping her company afloat for nearly four decades, Duckler has learned that “it has its ebb and flow, but basically, you must be open to change. The nice thing about a site-specific company is you have the capacity to adapt. One thing we know is [that] the future is unknowable. Life is always changing. That’s what makes it worth living.”
When asked about the R-word — retirement — she was quick to reply: “The R-word is going to be ‘reducing my hours.’ I’m here every day, rehearsing every day. [It’s like an] 80-hour week. That’s kind of ridiculous.”
In 2025, HDD will get a new artistic director, Raymond Ejiofor. “He’s associate artistic director now, [so] it’s very organic and natural for the company that he would step up and become artistic director. I’m so happy that he’s doing it.
“But,” Duckler stressed, “as long as I’m alive, I want to always stay connected to the company. I love being an artist and making work.”
