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Fresh Pencil

Jean Lenihan: dance and other movements

BodyTraffic Excels in Kyle Abraham Premiere

October 14, 2013 by Jean Lenihan

BodyTraffic perform "Kollide"

[Los Angeles struggles to support a pure dance company. You'd be surprised how the city trails behind NY, SF or Seattle.  Yet this weekend, some good news: a small company called BodyTraffic! With a premiere from Kyle Abraham! I wrote for the L.A. Times on the Saturday night show:] Coming off prestigious gigs at New York’s Joyce Theater and … [Read more...]

Arthur Pinajian: An art-world genius lost, found and now worth millions

October 3, 2013 by Jean Lenihan

Arthur Pinajian, Untitled

Wedged between a hair salon and yogurt shop, Stephanie’s Fine Art Gallery is a narrow, unpretentious exhibition space and frame shop in a strip mall on Foothill Boulevard in La Canada. There is no “Stephanie” here. The owners are Linda and Sepon Stepanian, Turkish-born Armenians who have run custom frame shops in this area for decades now. They … [Read more...]

Performance/Art Arrives at LAX Airport

October 1, 2013 by Jean Lenihan

[A version of this piece originally ran on the L.A. Weekly arts blog.] The current renovations and re-branding of Los Angeles International Airport is delivering frustrating, mixed cues for its art. In its first public arts festival -- "Influx: Art at LAX," running through Dec. 31 -- a few of the newly designed and curated exhibition spaces -- … [Read more...]

David Roussève/REALITY in the soft premiere of “Stardust”

September 25, 2013 by Jean Lenihan

Nehara Kalev in the 'avant-premiere' of "Stardust" by David Roussève/REALITY

  Though dubbed an 'avant-premiere" (the official world premiere is slated for January 2014 at the University of Maryland), there was nothing anemic  or glitchy at the Los Angeles opening of "Stardust," the latest challenging, one-pot dance-theater stew from David Roussève/REALITY.  A dogged 85-minute work, “Stardust” was chockablock … [Read more...]

24 ‘Choreographed’ Dancers?

May 23, 2013 by Jean Lenihan

Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines TV ad

"24 choreographed dancers? That's the unlikely phrase the new Royal Carribbean Cruise line TV advertisement  uses to bestow validity and power to the jazzy dance performances on its cruise ships. Has anyone seen such language before? Since when did "choreographed" become Madison Avenue's go-to adjective for teasing a populist dance … [Read more...]

Dancers in the Architecture

May 17, 2013 by Jean Lenihan

As a lover of dance and a lover of architecture, I was both excited and fearful about “HomeLA,” the dance performance held on May 4th in a private home on the cliffside heights of Mount Washington. Directed by Rebecca Bruno, working in partnership with the Dance Resource Center and the dance lab Pietor, the recent site-specific event advertised 14 … [Read more...]

The Well-Oiled Alvin Ailey Audience in SoCal

May 2, 2013 by Jean Lenihan

Southern California is old, good friends with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, with a rightful claim to a crucial piece of Ailey choreographic history (the Lester Horton connection was forged here) and a revered longtime company member (Matthew Rushing).  Ailey concerts have a party atmosphere at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion -- the houses … [Read more...]

Blessed Stillness of Trisha Brown Retrospective at CAP-UCLA

April 9, 2013 by Jean Lenihan

Amelia Rudolph in "Man Walking Down the Side of a Building."

A funny thing happened when Amelia Rudolph, artistic director of Oakland-based BANDALOOP dance company, launched into the very rare, permit-heavy re-staging of Trisha Brown's "Man Walking Down the Side of a Building" (1970) during the Brown Dance Company Retrospective on Friday evening at CAP-UCLA. Just as she crested the edge of the 8-plus story … [Read more...]

The Horses Keep Coming

April 5, 2013 by Jean Lenihan

Cavalia horses

Back in February, I received the fun assignment to look at the choreography created for the dozens of horses in "Odysseo," the new $30 million touring production from Cavalia. As usual, the show is a popular hit -- originally slated for a 3-week run in March, it keeps getting one extension after another after another. As of now, the end date is … [Read more...]

Buried Love Affair Evokes Elusive Moment in American Ballet History

February 19, 2013 by Jean Lenihan

Golden headshot

With ballet’s 15th-century Renaissance origins still somewhat imaginable,  it’s hard to keep in mind that American ballet -- born in 1940s New York City -- is still less than 100 years old.  The two pillars of American ballet --  George Balanchine’s New York City Ballet and Lucia Chase’s American Ballet Theatre -- both arose in that same urban, … [Read more...]

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About Jean Lenihan

Formerly the staff dance critic for the Seattle Times, Jean Lenihan now lives in Los Angeles where she's written for the … [Read More...]

About Fresh Pencil

This blog began as an aggregation of published freelance pieces on a wide range of dance-makers and touring troupes, from Miss Prissy to ABT premieres to  Benjamin Millepied to Ryan Heffington. Nowadays I often review and write straight into this blog.

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Recent Comments

  • Jean Lenihan on Phantasmic Freaks and Geeks in ABT’s Scrumptious “Whipped Cream”: “One more quick hit: Isn’t there something in Ryden’s creatures that makes them quietly imploring? Like they’re stuffed with impossible…” Mar 17, 07:54
  • Michael Wilson on Could an L.A. Dance Hub Grow from a Mapping Tool?: “There are not nearly enough respondents to draw any real conclusions. This strikes me as a mostly pointless exercise with…” Apr 2, 19:44
  • m. beth on Los Angeles Ballet’s Notable “The Sleeping Beauty”: “I know it’s pricey, but you should REALLY go see Allynne Noelle dance the role of Aurora in The Sleeping…” Mar 10, 17:07
  • m. beth on Los Angeles Ballet’s Notable “The Sleeping Beauty”: “You are certainly right!!! The casting was amiss!” Mar 10, 16:05
  • Diana Batista on Los Angeles Ballet’s Notable “The Sleeping Beauty”: “Overall really enjoyed LAB’s Sleeping Beauty at Valley Performing Arts Center last Saturday night. I’ve also seen their Swan Lake…” Mar 3, 12:52

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