On May 31, I had the pleasure of enjoying a performance by Los Angeles-based Heidi Duckler Dance Theatre. “Bowling Blues” at the Mission Bowling Club in SF integrated live music by multi-instrumentalist Claire Gignac and athletic choreography by Duckler. The piece explored the vintage atmosphere of bowling alleys against the soundtrack of Gignac and company, pins falling and popcorn popping. It was such fun and altogether much too short!
Check out a few of my photos and video below:
The dance group is renowned for Duckler’s site-specific choreography, and thanks to Leibner, I’ve delighted in their performances since high school. My first introduction was at the historic (and now demolished :/ ) Ambassador Hotel in LA: “Sleeping With the Ambassador” (2003).
…the audience moved from the decaying empty swimming pool through the Casino Hallway where dancers performed in the storefronts to the famous Coconut Grove and ended in the lobby of the hotel with the dancers curled at the feet of the audience. Written by Merridawn Duckler, music by Amy Knoles, and design by Dan Evans.
Quite simply, I was blown away. The sensual choreography, coupled with the lush backdrop of the hotel, was unlike anything I’d experienced at that point in my life. At 16 years old, my admiration for performance art deepened and broadened, and I’ve tried my best to introduce others to this unique group. Every performance is a visual and aural assault; you almost feel a part of the show.
Other performances I’ve enjoyed:
The Entire World is a Narrow Bridge | 2005
Casa del Mexicano, Boyle Heights, Los Angeles
Created in one of the city’s oldest neighborhoods, the performance reflected the community’s complex cultural history with music, costumes and movement influenced by the neighborhood’s Eastern European Jewish, Japanese, and Latino heritage. Written by Merridawn Duckler with music by Bob Een and local Mariachis and a set designed by Habib Kheradyar.
C’opera | 2006
Los Angeles Police Academy, Los Angeles
Created in collaboration with the Los Angeles Police Department, this opera took the audience on a journey throughout the historic Police Academy’s gymnasium, rock garden, coffee shop and firing range. With live music by Amy Knoles and Dorothy Stone and libretto by Merridawn Duckler.
Cleopatra, CEO. | 2012
Paul Hastings Tower, 51st Floor, Los Angeles, CA
In the opulent former ARCO headquarters on the 51st Floor of the Paul Hastings Tower, Cleopatra, CEO. interwove the gender biased myths and propaganda associated with the icon Cleopatra, or femme fatale of the east, with the male dominant corporate lineage of the oil men of the west. Between the incredible panoramic views of downtown to Cesar the stunt-man, this multimedia performance challenged ideas of desire and power.
If you ever have the opportunity to attend a performance, PLEASE DO.
"Bowling Blues" by @HeidiDuckler Dance Theatre. On May 31, I had the pleasure of enjoying a performance by Los Angeles-based Heidi Duckler Dance Theatre…
