Celebrating 40 years of presenting soulful, imaginative dance that takes audience members on their own journey of self-discovery, Louise Reichlin & Dancers/ Los Angeles Choreographers & Dancers presents an inspiring weekend filled with dance and multimedia on Saturday and Sunday, October 19 & 20 at 4:00 p.m., and features a special program of The Tennis Dances (complete), Los Angeles premiere of A Jewish Child’s Story, and Invasion, all taking place at the Barnsdall Gallery Theatre in Hollywood.
A Jewish Child's Story, Part I: “A Dream – The Roses on My Wallpaper” is an autobiographical dance multimedia work of early dreams from a granddaughter of Jewish immigrants. An empowering as well as entertaining dance, it has archetypal and personal characters from the 40's, including Wonder Woman, K'ton ton, and a ballerina, and biblical figures from the story tellers own and other cultures including Rebekah at the Well, and Miriam with her cradle holding Moses. It is particularly relevant today with the immigration focus. Part II, "Yellow Star," deals with research on the Holocaust about relatives never known. The work, created and written by Louise Reichlin, is a winner of the Bruce Geller Memorial Prize. This marks a Los Angeles premiere for the work, which was put on its theatrical feet by a grant from DCA's LA Stage Advance, where the company was given the Madrid Theater and a crew for a week to get photos and a video to help see the piece more clearly, and which also helped the company put together marketing materials. The moving work has now been presented in Las Vegas, where it had its world premiere, in Santa Barbara and Culver City, and now arrives back for its Los Angeles premiere.
The Tennis Dances (’79 full version) remains Louise Reichlin’s most acclaimed work, with countless performances at outdoor festivals and major theaters for audiences of thousands, to small galleries and elementary school stages, yet rarely had a chance to be seen in its entirety in Los Angeles. It provides an overview of modern society using tennis as a metaphor. The moods range from a lighthearted bluegrass section to a tennis match ritualized and fought to the death. The complete work is in eleven sections and uses music by Fanshawe, Ives, Stravinsky, Mihaud, Sarkisian and Orff, as well as medieval and electronic scores.
A few of the many reviews:
-"Among the group pieces, Louise Reichlin's Tennis Dances, for a dozen members of Los Angeles Choreographers & Dancers, had to be the most provocative. A potpourri that vaguely satirizes pomposity, exoticism, period cutesiness and contrived elegance, that probes ancient mystery and indulges contemporary whimsy - all with the unlikely but clever metaphor of racquets and nets." Los Angeles Herald Examiner
-"(The program) ended brilliantly, thanks to Reichlin's Tennis Dances, which dates back to 1979. In this ten-part suite the tennis court becomes a metaphor, of course, for life's stage. And life, as Reichlin sees it, is indeed a stage, one crowded with a broad spectrum of attitudes. ...Here is a choreographer who arguably picks up the feminist point of view where Isadora Duncan and Ruth St. Denis left off. To observe the universe as it is inhabited by women, she harks back to ancient times and mythic symbols." Dance Magazine
Invasion (‘15) - Conceived and choreographed by Louise Reichlin, Invasion had its premier with digital animation by Audri Phillips at Los Angeles Theater Center as part of IMPLOSION. This piece is sci-fi, and has to do with what happens when we are invaded by another species (or metaphorically, what happens when very diverse qualities from diverse cultures come together). Who changes who? What is the result? It was selected for multiple festivals in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, New York City, and Santa Barbara.
Louise Reichlin & Dancers / Los Angeles Choreographers & Dancers 40th Anniversary dance program takes place on Saturday & Sunday, October 19 & 20 at 4:00 p.m. Tickets are $25 general admission; $20 for children 12 and under, seniors over 65, and DRC. Group sale of $60 for four tickets at $15 each. On Sunday only we have $40 admission+champagne reception to celebrate our 40th Anniversary.
Barnsdall Gallery Theatre @ Barnsdall Art Park is located at 4800 Hollywood Blvd. in Los Angeles, CA 90027. Free public parking in upper or lower lot. For tickets and information, call 800-838-3006 or go to
https://40thanniversary.brownpapertickets.com.