Clik here to view.
Yesterday, today, tomorrow—these are red-letter days for French choreographer Benjamin Millepied. L.A. Dance Project, the ambitious collective he helped cofound in 2012, is in the midst of its three-day run at Los Angeles’s glamorous new performance venue: the Theatre at Ace Hotel, which has sprung up inside the historic United Artists cinema house. The highlight of the triple bill is the U.S. premiere of his Reflections, with sets by artist Barbara Kruger (red letters, indeed) and a score by David Lang (performed live by pianist Gloria Cheng).
It’s fitting that these two have partnered up for a spring and fall run. That leaves plenty of time for the company’s far-flung touring schedule, which includes stops in France and Russia this year, as well as future site-specific projects. (Recent ones have included performances in the Museum of Contemporary Art’s galleries, backed by Mark Bradford canvases, and an operatic work set amid the commuter bustle of Union Station.)
As for Millepied, he has grand plans of his own: In November, he will take over as director of the Paris Opera Ballet. Not that he’ll distance himself, figuratively speaking, from the L.A. group. After all, the momentum is building, and there is much work to be done. On the eve of the Ace debut, we spoke with Charles Fabius, another of L.A. Dance Project’s cofounders, on the city’s blossoming arts scene, a rising new choreographer, and the power of a California rental.
Take me back to the beginning of L.A. Dance Project. What was the motivation behind creating the collective?
I met Benjamin Millepied briefly before he moved out to L.A. He told me that he wanted to start a dance company, and then we started chatting about what a dance company means these days, and if it’s even possible. I said, “Well, why don’t we start with a different concept and, with a few curators, put together dance-related projects, like theater performances or film or video? And for every project we find, the dancers that will actually be able to do it.”
What is it about Los Angeles that was so appealing?
There are so many artists in L.A., and people are interested in collaboration. They have time—there’s not so much pressure as there is in New York. And [L.A.] has all these different roots, into the visual arts and into the movie industry, into fashion. Our first project was with Rodarte. After the opening at the Music Center [in 2012], we [worked] with Alejandro Iñárritu, who shot a beautiful video of the dancers. We immediately wanted to show that this is not your regular dance company.
How did the residency with the Theatre at Ace Hotel come about?
Benjamin and I were drawn to downtown L.A. just because of the vibe of the renaissance of this whole neighborhood. Walking through the streets every day, we were always saying, “If ever one of those gorgeous Old Hollywood theaters became [available], we could perform there.” And then we found out that Ace was opening a hotel and renovating one of the most beautiful theaters, the 1927 United Artists, so we approached them. Alex Calderwood, the [Ace] founder who sadly passed away in the fall, was in London in October when we premiered at Sadler’s Wells, so he came to the performance. It was a very meaningful collaboration.
How does the theater suit the company in terms of scale and design?
Benjamin was really excited. He said this is the best theater for dance in L.A., by far, because it’s so beautiful. All the seats basically have full view of the stage, and it’s quite big—1,600 seats. For this particular program, we had to build over the orchestra pit because the Barbara Kruger set is large; [it] was designed for a large opera house, the Théâtre du Châtelet. We had to make sure it fit! It looks very dramatic and grand.
Did Kruger cite any inspiration for the text on the set?
It’s funny, she doesn’t want to talk about it. But I have a theory. She sat through the rehearsals, and whenever we asked her [if] she had an idea on what she would be doing, she said, “No, I have to think about it.” It was really about taking in all that dance and all those sort of languid, romantic movements in Benjamin’s piece. “Stay” and “Go”—she basically captured the movement of dance in two words. It’s the longing, it’s the dancing together, and then one goes off in the wings and then someone else comes. And her other text is very, very beautiful: “Think of Me, Thinking of You.”
Her text seems to echo the company’s state of transition, with Millepied on the verge of leaving for Paris, and all the trans-Atlantic travel that will follow.
Yeah [laughs], which is very much a part of Benjamin as an artist. He thrives on multitasking and doing many projects at the same time. We’re very fortunate that it was never, ever a question for him to drop L.A. Dance Project for the Paris Opera Ballet. This really is his pet project. And the two are so different: This is more like a playground to develop new ideas, and, of course, Paris has the rigor of a large company with 150 dancers. I think, for Benjamin, it’s a nice balance to have both. And we’re honored, because for us to be in the same breath as the Paris Opera Ballet—that’s not a bad thing.
What’s the process like with outside choreographers?
We bring the choreographers to L.A. and then we work with them here. In April, we’re back working on a new work with Roy Assaf. He’s a young Israeli choreographer. Then we’re back here again in the summer, rehearsing with Benjamin for his new choreography, the second part of the collaboration with Van Cleef & Arpels; Reflections was the first.
I imagine the experience of working in L.A. informs the pieces?
We did a work with Emanuel Gat—that will probably be in our next program; we premiered it in Paris—and [his choreography is usually] tortured and strong and very dark. He’d never been to L.A., so he brought his entire family here, rented a house, and stayed five weeks in the Californian sun in August. He created a piece that has some sort of different light to it. He would never have done a work like that in France or in Germany or anywhere. It’s all very interesting to see how the result [changes when] someone discovers L.A. and lives in L.A.—that the city becomes part of the work, in a way.
The post L.A. Dance Project’s Charles Fabius on the California State of Mind appeared first on Vogue.