The Ford Theatres presents the world premiere of moon& by szalt (dance co) on Sunday, August 26 at 8:30pm as part of its IGNITE @ the FORD! series. Mirrored by the eight phases of the moon, moon& is a new evening-length work by szalt (dance co.)'s Founding Artistic Director Stephanie Zaletel. The piece will premiere under the light of the full moon and will feature an all-female company of six world-class dancers paired with electro-acoustic composers Louis Lopez and Jonathan Snipes performing live.
szalt (dance co.) is a collection of Los Angeles movers, collaborating with musicians and visual artists -tackling subjects of the feminine experience, body memory (specifically as it pertains to trauma), and dream logic while creating and facilitating highly collaborative, site-sensitive, and socially fluent dance performance and practice. SeeDance.com called work by szalt, "stunning - a beautiful meeting of artists' visions and mesmerizing performances."
moon& is Zaletel's fifth evening-length dance work; in 2019 the company will tour the full work and an all-levels workshop series to Seattle, WA to be presented by Velocity Dance Center in collaboration with Lavinia Vago (The YC/Rubberband Dance).
The company for moon& is Lindsey Lollie, Eden Orrick, Sarah Prinz, Amir Rappaport, Mecca Romero, and Ms. Zaletel. The lighting design is by
Pablo Santiago-Brandwein. Co-produced with Los Angeles Performance Practice, moon& dives deep into infinity cycles; momentum and gravity provide paradoxes for an arrival.
About Stephanie Zaletel
Stephanie Zaletel is a dreamer. She dreams vividly, a lot, and resorts to her body as a vessel with which to better understand the labyrinth of her mind. Zaletel is an instinctual choreographer deeply connected to her own psychology, yet fueled by the creative energy of her collaborators. She treasures the preciousness of the work made with her dance company, szalt, but she is also not afraid to abandon control.
She has danced for renowned choreographers including Barak Marshall, Colin Connor (Artistic Director, Limon Dance Company) and in Danielle Agami's Ate9 dANCEcOMPANY. Zaletel worked closely with Agami as the company's rehearsal director from 2013-2014 before officially forming szalt (dance co.) in 2015. Zaletel has presented her own creative work at Velocity Dance Center in Seattle, WA, and in Los Angeles at REDCAT, The Hammer Museum, ACE Hotel, Current:LA Public Art Biennial, and was a finalist in the 2015 McCallum Theater Choreography Competition. Her choreography has been featured in music videos for recording artists Jofridur, clipping., and Maxi Wild. Zaletel is an educator at AMDA LA, and has led master classes at LMU, Cornish College of the Arts and Las Vegas Academy. She has also led improvisational movement classes for children with Down Syndrome.
She was the 2016 MorYork Gallery Artist in Residence and is an active member of the Pieter Performance Space Council. She holds a BFA in Dance Performance and Choreography with a minor in Humanities from California Institute of the Arts.
In an online interview on the Los Angeles Performance Practice website, Stephanie Zaletel talked about her process: The process is continuous. There is one distilled theme I try to build upon, usually an image, an object, or a dream and then the movement vocabulary of a piece will draw from the physical activities I have in my life at that time: swimming in the ocean, long distance running, playing tennis, hiking, driving, climbing rocks. While my work is categorized as "contemporary dance" we all like to take a cross training approach to our physicality; especially since my work often is not set in a theater, we treat ourselves like athletes - prepared for any and all terrain. A technical foundation is important, but we are also challenging our bodies often and thus unlocking more availability for richer material. During a creative process, my company improvises daily and I set choreography on them regularly. Eventually there is a deadline and the work is considered "finished" for the time being.
I enjoy long processes. Swimming in my stream of consciousness and exercising material fully. I have always had an active imagination. I dream a lot, and dance is how I analyze my fantasies, paranoia and demons without overthinking. I crave physical practice and my dancers crave physical practice. Rigor is my default - but rest is equally important. Restoring, regenerating. Infinite cycles. The work is never finished and always finished.
It has been difficult for me to find a balance between exposing my heart and protecting it ... balance is hard to find and fleeting. Through it all I feel so lucky to have such a strong bond with my friends, family, and loved ones. Because of szalt there are more and more beloved people entering my life. That is what it is really all about.
SeeDance.com said Zaletel has "a unique choreographic voice, creating work that is meditative, introspective, haunting, and... dream-like." About Marshmallow Sea (2017) Los Angles Dance Chronicle said, "Led by founding artistic director Stephanie Zaletel, szalt (dance co.) is a group of astonishingly talented women. The work is sensual, direct and sometimes harsh. She has taken these adjectives and created her own vocabulary of beauty. These six women are very well-trained dancers who can hold an extension, execute a ballet penché with great control and perform various styles of contemporary modern dance ... Zaletel utilizes this everydayness to move from one situation into another ... love, disputes, friendship, fear, mundaneness ... Zaletel has a raw perception of life and a directness that is completely refreshing."
Louis Lopez is a trumpet player, performer/composer, engineer, and educator. His music-making centers around the integration of acoustic and processed sounds in live performance through the signal processing language of Max/MSP/Jitter. As an instrumentalist, Louis has performed across the United States in Honolulu, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and at the International Society of Improvising Musicians (ISIM) conference in Chicago. His work is in film, dance, radio, animation, and concert music including at the Center for Advanced Musical Studies at Chosen Vale, New Hampshire; Azusa Pacific University in California; The Sundance Film Festival; and in Essen, Germany at PACT-Zollverein. His contributions as a musician and collaborator in the visual art world include performances for the Made in LA series at Barnsdall Gallery Theatre and at The Hammer Museum with artists Kenyatta Hinkle and Kevin Robertson.
His ensemble, the trio Grampus released their debut album "ILK ILK" on pfMENTUM records. It appeared on KDVS Top Ten Jazz Chart coupled with radio play across the US and Europe. Through their collaboration with szalt (dance co.), they have performed at the Sharon D. Lund Dance Theater, Live Arts LA, HNYPT and at REDCAT.
Lopez is the Artistic Developer and Liaison for pfMENTUM records. Owned and operated by fellow trumpeter and composer, Jeff Kaiser, the record label is committed to enabling the production and exposure of creative musicians. He is also the Professor of Audio at The Art Institute-Inland Empire, where he teaches a variety of subjects including electronics, audio technology and computer music programming. Louis obtained his Master's degree from California Institute of the Arts in Performance/Composition: African American Improvisational Music in 2012.
Jonathan Snipes is a composer and sound designer for film and theater. He occasionally teaches sound design in the theater department at UCLA and is a member of the rap group clipping.
IGNITE@ THE FORD!
This event is part of IGNITE @ THE FORD!, a series presented by the Ford Theatre Foundation comprised of world-renowned contemporary artists whose work is thought-provoking and reflects the world in which we live. Supported by Los Angeles County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl.
For this IGNITE performance, in addition to seating in the house, a limited number of on stage seats are available for audiences to experience this new work enveloped by the dancers. Tickets are priced at $45 and $25 are very limited for this intimate IGNITE event. Tickets and information about parking are available by visiting
FordTheatres.org or by calling 323.461.3673.
PARKING FOR THIS EVENT -- For this intimate event - which can accommodate approximately 350 people - the off-site parking lot at
3330 Cahuenga Blvd. West is not available. Stacked parking is available on site and free shuttles will pick up from the Universal City/Studio City Metro stop.
Los Angeles Performance Practice is a nonprofit organization devoted to the production and presentation of contemporary performance by artists whose work advances and challenges multidisciplinary artistic practices. Our mission is to support a unique and diverse constellation of artists and audiences through the active creation and presentation of groundbreaking experiences that use innovative approaches to collaboration, technology and social engagement. Anchored in Los Angeles, our artists and projects have national and global reach. Across a range of platforms and partnerships, we build an active network of contemporary practitioners-curators and producers, artists and designers, audiences and patrons-all leveraged in service to the ideas and issues of our time.
About the Ford Theatres At 1,200 seats, the Ford Theatres creates an intimate outdoor amphitheatre concert experience that is a favorite among Angelenos. This season, the Ford Theatres also introduces performances providing uniquely intimate experiences in which audience and performance fit entirely onto the stage, and others at which the seating has been limited to the first ten rows.
Each summer, the Ford hosts music, dance, theatre, film and family events reflective of the communities that comprise Los Angeles County. Proceeds from IGNITE @ the FORD! events benefit the Ford Theatre Foundation. The Ford is owned by the County of Los Angeles and operated in partnership with the Department of Parks and Recreation and the Ford Theatre Foundation. Nestled in a canyon of a County regional park in the Cahuenga Pass, the Ford Theatres has a rich history dating back to the 1920s. Audiences attending the 2018 Season will enjoy a fully revitalized Ford after the completion of a nearly three-year renovation project, including improved lighting and sound and the Ford Terrace Café on the new terrace - dubbed The Zev - with a menu by Crumble Catering.
The 2018 Season at the Ford Theatres is made possible through the support of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. Additional support provided by Los Angeles County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl, along with ABC7; the Caruso Family Foundation; the Department of Cultural Affairs, City of Los Angeles; Chamber Music America; City National Bank; Discover Hollywood; First 5 LA; Fusicology; The James Irvine Foundation; KCETLink; KCRW; LAArtsOnline.com; Motev; The National Endowment for the Arts; NBC Universal; Southern California Edison; Union Bank; Univision; The Wasserman Foundation; Wells Fargo; and Yelp.com.
