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Fresh Pencil

Jean Lenihan: dance and other movements

Krump Choreography, Coming to a Stage Near You

February 11, 2013 by Jean Lenihan

The Underground by Dan Carino

Over three months, I followed pioneer krumpers Lil' C and Miss Prissy (from "Rize") during the gestational year of The Underground, the first-ever krump-based concert-dance company which they're building with street dance artists from Los Angeles and beyond. I saw their concert, talked to them at Miss Prissy's house on South Wilton Place, and … [Read more...]

Doug Varone the Painter-Choreographer

February 11, 2013 by Jean Lenihan

Doug Varone and Dancers in "Caruggi." photo: (c) Cylla von Tiedemann

"I'm like a painter," said choreographer Doug Varone during his opening remarks for "Stripped/Dressed," the unique program on choreographic process and performance that he and his company of dancers brought to the Segerstrom Center for the Arts' Off-Center Festival in Costa Mesa on January 25-26 2013. The phrase sounds a little poetic (wouldn't a … [Read more...]

Wheeldon’s Wonderful ‘Alice’

October 29, 2012 by Jean Lenihan

Christopher Wheeldon's "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland."

[slideshow] When British choreographer Christopher Wheeldon left his dance company Morphoses in 2010, I was so worried he might retreat from choreography, exhausted from the battle of keeping a transatlantic dance company funded and strong. How glorious, then, to see the National Ballet of Canada (NBC) bring Wheeldon's robust new creation, a … [Read more...]

Teatro Zinzanni Comes to Southern California

October 21, 2012 by Jean Lenihan

[first published in the L.A. Times] As the outré Euro-style dinner-theater called Teatro ZinZanni parks its vintage 1910 Belgian spiegeltent on the scrubbed architectural grounds of the Segerstrom Center for the Arts for the next three months, there's much cooing among the ZinZanni staff about the luxuries of this Costa Mesa locale. "Marble … [Read more...]

The Divine Axis of Akram Khan

October 9, 2012 by Jean Lenihan

Akram Khan's "Vertical Road"

The west coast premiere of “Vertical Road” at CAP UCLA’s Royce Hall this week had some vocal public detractors, which surprised me. Khan is one of the most promising and original voices on the dance landscape right now, and the only one who’s creating a completely new dance lexicon. Though its still relatively early in his career, Kahn already … [Read more...]

The Mariinsky Ballet’s “Swan Lake” Satisfies Every Craving

October 5, 2012 by Jean Lenihan

Oxana Skorik & Vladimir Schklyarov in "Swan Lake"

[slideshow] I went for the downy thunderbolt of technique and expression possessed only by Russian ballet artists in Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Lake,” and I was not disappointed. The 200-person forcefield of sophistication, generosity and technical excitement that comes at you when St. Petersburg's Mariinksky Ballet and Orchestra (formerly Kirov) brings … [Read more...]

Benjamin Millepied Unveils his Gem-sized L.A. Dance Project

September 26, 2012 by Jean Lenihan

Merce Cunningham's "Winterbranch"

[UPDATE: Less than a year into this project, Millepied announced he was moving to Paris Opera Ballet, where he was offered the artistic director position. Since then, as the company toured the US and Europe, a series of exciting appointments unfolded: in 2014 James Fayette, another former City Ballet principal, became the company manager and in … [Read more...]

David Rakoff on Dance

August 12, 2012 by Jean Lenihan

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldqjM7x6NhE&feature=youtu.be] Life is just a series of dances. I will miss Rakoff so much. … [Read more...]

Radiolab with Pilobolus tours “In the Dark”

May 7, 2012 by Jean Lenihan

Radiolab hosts Jad Abumrad & Robert Krulwich

[This ran in the L.A. Times.] Before touring live versions of Radiolab, his gripping radio shows of scientific discovery and biography concocted with co-host Jad Abumrad, Peabody-winning reporter Robert Krulwich made just one brief stage appearance, decades ago, when he was recruited off the Manhattan streets to play a frozen, chair-bound Prince … [Read more...]

Ballet Geneve debuts Benjamin Millepied works

April 16, 2012 by Jean Lenihan

"Le Spectre de la Rose" by Benjamin Millepied: credits: Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times

[This article first ran in the L.A. Times.] Touring with contemporary, soft-slippered ballets, Ballet du Grand Théâtre de Genève made its West Coast debut at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion on Friday with a trio of eye-catching works set to canonical ballet music choreographed by Benjamin Millepied, now known widely for his work in “Black … [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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