A bare stage – literally, with nothing on it and no backdrops – set the scene for an incredible evening of compelling premieres by L.A. Dance Project, the first company in residence at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills.
The troupe is performing a special three-night engagement through Saturday, April 7 before departing for performances in France.
L.A. Dance Project, led by artistic director Benjamin Millepied, is known for integrating musicians and visual artists into its collaborative creative process and has performed around the world in traditional and nontraditional spaces. Since it was founded in 2012 by Millepied and four others, its mission is to make dance that is both artistically excellent and widely accessible.
On the bill at the Bram Goldsmith Theater at the Wallis are performances of Martha Graham Duets, Helix, Sarabande and Yag. A program note tells audiences that the final performance contains brief nudity.
“L.A. Dance Project is thrilled to return to the Wallis,” said Millepied, well-known for choreographing the hit film Black Swan (where he met his now-wife Natalie Portman) as well as being the artistic director of the Paris Opera Ballet and a former star dancer at the New York City Ballet. “This appearance is a wonderful homecoming for us that caps an extended national/international tour and sets the stage for the launch of our permanent new home in downtown LA in just a few short weeks, marking an exciting new chapter in the company’s history.”
Millepied and dancers Patricia Zhou, Rachelle Rafailedes and David Adrian Freeland Jr. engaged in a lively Q&A after the opening night performance with the Wallis artistic director Paul Crewes, who noted that the company continues to expand the boundaries of world-class dance in Los Angeles.
