LA C& D Repertory & Reviews

"Louise Reichlin created a sensation with The Tennis Dances." Dance News

"Clever evocations of theatre dance styles...everything from Fokine and Graham to Bejart and beyond, all unfied by rackets and nets and tennis balls." Los Angeles Times

"Among the group pieces, Louise Reichlin's Tennis Dances, for a dozen members of Los Angeles Choreographers & Dancers, had to be the most provocative. A potpourri that vaguely satirizes pomposity, exoticism, period cutesiness and contrived elegance, that probes ancient mystery and indulges contemporary whimsy - all with the unlikely but clever metaphor or racquets and nets." Los Angeles Herald Examiner

"(The program) ended brilliantly, thanks to Reichlin's Tennis Dances, which dates back to 1979. In this ten-part suite the tennis court becomes a metaphor, of course, for life's stage. And life, as Reichlin sees it, is indeed a stage, one crowded with a broad spectrum of attitudes. ...Here is a choreographer who arguably picks up the feminist point of view where Isadora Duncan and Ruth St. Denis left off. To observe the universe as it is inhabited by women, she harks back to ancient times and mythic symbols." DanceMagazine

"One of Louise Reichlin's most effective works is her signature piece, Tennis Dances, which is a unique dance that is almost cinematic in its effects. She creates on stage the illusion of long shots, montages, quick cuts, and individual close-ups that are usually seen only in the film or video media." DanceMagazine

"Reichlin's premiere, dis-located, studies homelessness and disempowerment. Avoiding a comfortably distant cliche of the lazy, boozed out homeless, she focuses on three women's highly personal stories. One in particular has a piercing impact. In section four, Third Memory, Howard Sun Tom first courts Sy Byram with gifts, then abuses her, punching and literally walking over her, only to strip away the presents and stroll away from his subjugated love. Beautifully performed with a chilling callousness and uncomprehending despair, Third Memory is an elegant swirl of subtly disorienting flows." Dramalogue

"dis-located, which was given its premiere, featured soloists Ruriko Sakumi Duer, Linda Machida and Sy Byram as three homeless women lost in their own memories. Duer is drawn to a Japanese figure with kimono and fan(Yumiko Kawaguchi); Machida romps with a leaping, spinning, athletic trio; and Byram suffers at the hands of a boxer(Howard Sun Tom), who enfolds her in a frilly shawl and then knocks her to the ground." Daily News

Urban and Tribal Dances ('90, '91, '92)

'Batida' 'Wedding' 'Alone' 'War' 'Remembrance' 'Together'

Choreography by Louise Reichlin
Music all dances except IV by R. Musci & G. Venosta
Music dance IV by Michael Brook interpreted by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
Costumes and sets by Linda Borough

"The most interesting example of her current work was found in Urban and Tribal Dances, which was further enhanced by an intriguing score of ethnic sounds gathered from around the world ...Costumed in surreal headdresses and makeup, the dancers conveyed the interconnectedness of human existence, juxtaposed with the isolation experienced even in the midst of society." Variety

"And Urban and Tribal Dances certainly deserves all the audiences it can get...Reichlin's ambitious, ever-engaging, six-part suite delivers exactly what its title promises. following once again her trademark aesthetic, she opts for metaphor, transferring what we think of as tribal behavior to the contemporary urban scene...Before a triumphant finale, a world and its history have passed before our eyes, thanks to Louise Reichlin." Los Angeles Times

Dances of Assimilation ('95)

Choreography by Louise Reichlin
Music by Varttina (Finland) and Hedningarna (Sweden)
Costumes by Linda Borough

Dances of Assimilation is a work in three sections that pulls the audience into the center of the piece through a combination of intense rhythms and emotions. Section I (also part of "The Five Sisters" ('99) is about friendship and community; Section II is about conformance, repetition and despair; Section III is a dance of coalescing and transformation.

'Yellow Star' 'Re-Relative?' 'Woman in a Room, Woman in the Moon' 'Contest' 'Remembrance'

Conceived, directed and choreographed by Louise Reichlin
Video Art by Michael Masucci
Costumes by Linda Borough
Music by Klezmer Conservatory Band(Lyrics: M. Oysher/ Music: traditional), Nusrat Fateh Ali Kahn, Alfred Desio, Nusrat Fateh Ali Kahn & Michael Brooks

"Utilizing a variety of Internet resources as a creative springboard, choreographer Louise Reichlin has launched herself into cyberspace and returned with an innovative and entertaining multimedia performance piece. The synergy between technology and human bodies in motion was always intriguing. The combination of large screen video projection, well-chosen recorded music, crisply executed dance, and Ms Reichlin's charming narration provided a constant flow of images and information." Barry Weiss, Dance!90210, a web review publication.

Communal Dream ('92)

Choreography by Louise Reichlin
Music by Strunz and Farah

A theme and variations. In dreams we often share the experience with others from the 'real world,' and they become part of our fantasy.

A Wedding Folk Dance with Audience Participation (prototype '92)

Choreography by Louise Reichlin
Music Traditional based on Japanese, Jewish, and African cultures (uses volunteers from audience)

The prototype used elements from 3 cultures. From the Jewish culture -- Kol Dodi, an Israeli courtship dance; from the Japanese culture -- Tanko Bushi, a coal mining dance learned in almost every village of Japan to celebrate the harvesting in the fall; and from the African culture -- the Lamba, a healing dance of the 14th century Mali empire, often danced at weddings. In the original version, cultures were drawn from members of the company, and later versions added cultures from the communities where the workshops and performances were held. The dance can be developed interactively, in workshops, or choreographed before a tour begins.

'The Lark' 'Susie MacGuire' 'Gaelic Scrawl' 'Skip Dance' 'From Out of Their Graves'

This work is often performed by an all modern dance cast, but it is most well-known as a 'blend' piece which mixes the modern movement and traditional folk dances with virtuoso jig tapping and flute- playing.

"Each (dance) has Irish roots, with Desio piping traditional flute tunes and bouncing lyrically on his feet in the first and concluding sections. He unleashes his energy in frenzied jigs, like a hapless lad kicking stones and determinedly chasing after them. Offering contrast to his merriment, Reichlin dances a ripe, lush and sweeping solo, The Lark. And the ensemble of nine dancers performs a barefooted, heathen circle-dance that would not have been out of place among the Druids centuries ago; it is mythically transporting. Reichlin has a keen way with group dynamics, and both Celtic Suiteand the program's finale, The Tennis Dances, fitted her dancers together in unexpected pairings, giving the evening a unique flavor. We hear the music better and gain insight to a world of Reichlin's own fashioning, whether it's Celtic rituals of yesteryear or her own vision of life played out symbolically with ... racquets used as swords, mirrors and triumphant banners." Los Angeles Herald Examiner

"Reichlin fashions large-scale modern dance works for her 11-member ensemble. Her early works, The Tennis Dances and Celtic Suite are wonderful microcosms of life and various ethnic cultures." Daily News

Gaelic Scrawl, a new addition to Reichlin's Celtic Suite, extended her exploration of Irish folkways, myths and traumas. Nicely danced by an attractive Brett Heine and Christine Kreibich, it added a quirky gaiety to the picture that contrasted well with the other four sections of the work." Variety

An Interactive Dance Multimedia Theatre Piece