Dancer and choreographer Lindsey Kelley came to Asheville in 2010 with a dream of founding her own dance company. Arriving in town with experience in modern dance and ballet, the Florida native immediately began working toward that vision. It wasn’t until the winter of 2013, however, that things really clicked into place. Kelley formed a quartet with three other local dancers and felt an immediate kinship. “I knew almost instantly that this certain group of ladies was pretty magical,” she says. “The timing felt right, our connection as artists felt highly compatible, and I was supereager to get my own thing started here in Asheville.” Lindsey Kelley Dance’s debut performances were at the 2014 Fringe Festival and the 2014 {Re}Happening. Legend of the Shim Sham was the company’s first evening-length production.
This month, Lindsey Kelley Dance brings its latest production to the stage. The multilayered modern dance event Ladle Weiss will be performed at Asheville Masonic Temple on Friday and Saturday, March 20 and 21. The local dance company’s previous performances have been energetic and fluid, at times humorous and always expressive — the new work promises to be just as dynamic.
Ladle Weiss is an evening of modern dance in three parts. Opening the night is “Hot Like It’s a Trot,” a piece inspired by dance-theater and described by Kelley as “the most lighthearted work of the evening.” Following is “Eidetic,” a new work set by Janice Lancaster Larsen, a dancer from Shen Wei Dance Arts in New York City. The music for this piece will be provided by local musicians Chris Stack and Alina Quu. Kelley says “Eidetic” is truly stunning and “feels super buttery to dance [to.]”
The headlining work is the titular “Ladle Weiss,” a six-section piece both choreographed and performed by Kelley’s troupe. “It is an ode to various significant female figures in my own life,” Kelley says, “but also represents each dancer involved and our personal experiences with womanhood.”
On the LKD website, dancer Amy Borskey says, “I believe that all of us bring something unique and alluring to each of [Kelley’s] visions, and the final products are both intriguing and entertaining.”
Kelley is hesitant to be too expository when discussing her performances. “I like to allow my movement to speak for itself,” she says. “It’s easy to mask the actual choreography and strip the dancing away from a dance performance. LKD’s foundation is the dance itself, and the choreography is a true reflection of my individual expression, plus that of my dancers.”
The company will put in appearances at {Re}Happening, an annual fundraiser for the Black Mountain College Museum + Art Center at Camp Rockmont on Saturday, April 4. After that, Kelley would like to tour North Carolina, Florida and a handful of other U.S. locations. She also hopes to curate LKD’s first dance festival this summer, with details to be determined.
WHAT: Lindsey Kelley Dance presents Ladle Weiss, lindseykelleydance.com
WHERE: Asheville Masonic Temple
WHEN: Friday and Saturday, March 20 and 21, at 8 p.m. $12
” She also hopes to curate Asheville’s first dance festival this summer, . . .” Someone tell Ms. Kelley and Ms. Cherene to check with some of the senior dancers in town about the many dance festivals that Asheville has hosted/curated over the last, oh, 50 years or so.
I apologize for the oversight; thanks for the info. Would love to hear more about those.
Many of the senior dancers in town could give you the context of Asheville’s dance history. Ruth St Denis performing Salome here, Dalcroze teachers at the Plonk School, the storied Fletcher School of Dance, the Asheville Ballet Guild, Asheville Contemporary Dance Theatre, to mention companies and not the many names of the pioneers. And that doesn’t begin to cover the significant indigenous dance forms. Don’t forget the role of A Dancer’s Place in this town’s dance history.
Maybe some of the dancers/dance lovers in town could capture this history before the people who remember it are gone.
Yes, sorry about that @dancelover, I actually stated that I’d like to create LKD’s FIRST dance festival this summer. Lost in translation somewhere.