ABOUT THE ARTISTS:
Ron Bartlett (Composer)has explored his passion in music for 35 years in many scenarios, including Symphony orchestra, Brazilian ensemble, Jazz, World music, Rock bands, Drum corps and Tympani in a brass ensemble. He is also an accomplished session player recorded on many projects and has composed music for film scores, commercials and Modern dance. He has performed in various venues including the World Festival of Sacred Music. Ron is a Re-recording mixer at Warner Bros., mixing hundreds of films such as 8 Mile, Heat, Reservoir Dogs, Dante's Peak and The Fifth Element. He has collaborated with TRIP Dance Theatre as a musician and a composer since 1999 and plays improvised, world percussion in weekly at the company's Sacred Spaces workshop. His current album "Sojourn" is available at cdbaby.com and the itunes store.
Charlie Campagna (Composer) a 16-year veteran of the music field,has been music director and primary composer for TRIP Dance Theatre since 1998. His compositions and live playing merge his interests in ambient, rock, minimalist and world music. He is co-founder of TRIP'S Sacred Spaces Workshop, where he directs the improv music ensemble and plays guitar (his main instrument), percussion and cello. He is the recipient of two 2004Lester Horton Award nominations for musical composition and received a 2004 Asia Pacific Performance ExchangeFellowship through UCLA's Center for Intercultural Performance. The Los Angeles Times has praised Campagna's "transfixing" and "crackling" guitar work and called his collaborations with TRIP "a mind-blowing journey into the aural and physical." He has composed and directed music for 11 TRIP Dance Theatre performances and has created dozens of original compositions for LA- and NYC-based choreographers such as Nina Kaufman, Erica Rebollar, Elaine Wang, Linda Gold and Eryn Schon. Aside from his compositions for dance, Charlie works in many areas of music, including scoring for film (past projects include "Don't Say a Word" - his current project is a documentary about photographer Julius Schulman), recording (he was field recorder for Warner Brother's "War of the Wars" project which garnered his sound team under Academy Award winner Richard King an illustrious Golden Reel Award) and as a guitarist for several local singer songwriters and rock bands. Charlie also works as a mastering engineer, audio engineer,producer, field recorder and sound librarian. He currently works at Sound Delux in Hollywood.
Monica Favand (Choreographer)is founder and Executive/Artistic director of the Los Angeles based, contemporary dance and music ensemble TRIP Dance Theatre, which has housed the creative talents of approximately 60 dancers, choreographers, composers, musicians and designers and offered over 100 performances since 1997. Monica received her early training at the prestigious Baltimore School for the Arts and graduated summa cum laude with a BFA from Philadelphia's Temple University in 1992. She has created more than 40 choreographic works and directed 12 evening length performances. She has performed and presented her work in Europe, Indonesia, South America and throughout the U.S. Her choreography has been performed by TRIP Dance Theatre, Group Motion, and the Pennsylvania Ballet and has been filmed and broadcast repeatedly on PBS in Philadelphia (WHYY), Los Angeles (KCET) and in two national PBS broadcasts. Monica's work has been funded by numerous government agencies and foundations including the California Arts Council, City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs and Durfee Foundation. She has received two Lester Horton Awards for Costume Design (1998 & 2006).
In 2004, Favand received an Asia Pacific Performance Exchange Fellowship through UCLA's Center for Intercultural Performance (CIP). This program brought 16 puppeteers, choreographers and musicians from the U.S. and South East Asia to collaborate in Bali, Indonesia. Recently, CIP chose Monica as one of three US Artists to receive a Choreographers/Arts Management (CAM) Fellowship through which she will travel to Phnom Phen, Cambodia in 2007 to mentor dance students at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts. Monica is currently dance director for Oakwood School's Academy of Creative Education in North Hollywood, and, since 1999, facilitates weekly community-based "Sacred Spaces" dance workshops with live music in Santa Monica.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS:
Regina Klenjoski (Choreographer)
A dynamic, graceful and indefatigable presence ... a welcome addition to the Southland dance scene. - Victoria Looseleaf, Los Angeles Times
Regina Klenjoski is a creator, performer, educator and advocate of contemporary dance. Passionate about the moving body with a thirst for communication through dance, the Austrian-born choreographer creates deeply personal works that boldly challenge the limits of the human body and examine our search for intimacy in contemporary society. She is recognized for her innovative movement designs, dynamic energy, commitment to the collaborative arts and uncompromising dedication to arts education. She discovered her zeal for dance through traditional Slavic folk dance but did not step foot into a formal ballet class until the age of 19. Ms. Klenjoski received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance and Bachelor of Business Administration in Management from Ohio University in 1993. Since then, she has created 18 works as an independent artist and artistic director for the Regina Klenjoski Dance Company. Her work has been presented in France, Florida, Ohio, Illinois and Southern California and has been commissioned by Chicago’s Next Dance Festival, Loyola Marymount University, Bob Barrett Productions, Zephyr Dance, Torrance Unified School District and DePaul University’s Music Department. She has been recognized with numerous awards including 14 Lester Horton Award nominations, 4 Achievement in Choreography awards from the Palm Desert Choreography Competition, and the 2000 City of Torrance Excellence in Arts Award for her contributions to the community. She is a 2003 Public Corporation for the Arts Fellow, has received two Echo Grants from Time Warner, Inc. and grants from the Los Angeles County Arts Commission, the Torrance Cultural Arts Commission, the Arts Council for Long Beach and the Arts Council of Torrance. Ms. Klenjoski has been guest faculty with the Loyola Marymount University Dance Program and director of the modern dance program at North High School in Torrance. Klenjoski’s dedication to arts education has led her to create numerous programs for public and private institutions. Most notable is the residency program she began with the Torrance Cultural Services Division that has seen over 10, 000 participants since 1999. In Torrance is where she also instituted the hugely successful SOLA Contemporary Dance Festival, an annual event aimed at furthering contemporary dance in Los Angeles and directly benefiting the South Bay community.
Moira Smiley (Composer)works internationally as a composer-vocalist. Based in Los Angeles, she leads her firey roots vocal-band VOCO, travels the world as a soloist in early and traditional music, and creates new work for dance, theatre and film. Her compositions are commissioned by choral, dance and theater companies all over the US, in Canada, Europe and Africa. She performs anywhere from Lincoln Center to CBGBs, UCLA Live to London’s Royal Festival Hall. Moira has recorded for numerous BBC/PBS film productions, several feature films and over 30 folk, pop and classical CDs (Harmonia Mundi, Varese, NPR, Celestial Harmonies). She released two highly-regarded CDs (reviewed by Billboard, Dirty Linen) with her vocal group, VIDA and released her solo CD “Rua” in early 2006. She has won numerous awards for her study of voice in culture, and has toured with acclaimed ensembles, KITKA, Paul Hillier’s Theatre of Voices, Celtic Christmas and Malcolm Dalglish, sharing the stage with Garrison Keillor, Ladysmith Black Mambazo and many other fine artists.
Moira's been writing music since the age of six – focusing on voices-as-instruments, and in harmony. Her recent commissions have been by choral ensembles, dance and theatre companies. Moira’s soundtracks for St. Louis-based dance-theater company Gash/Voigt and AnnonyArts have produced two lush CDs called “Sacred Ground and “Changing Woman” – the latter written for masked choir and dancers. With VOCO, Moira fuses a new sound with voices, banjo, cello and percussion that is rooted in traditional song – in 2006 VOCO embarks on a project of arranging Bela Bartók’s “Mikrokosmos” piano miniatures for voices – recently premiered at Disney Hall/CalArts’ REDCAT Theater.
ABOUT THE DANCE ENSEMBLES:
Regina Klenjoski Dance Company
In 1993 Regina Klenjoski began experimenting in the field of contemporary dance, forging a unique voice and captivating audiences with her dynamic energy and innovative choreography. The Regina Klenjoski Dance Company incorporated as a 501 (c) 3 organization in 2001 providing a vehicle for Ms. Klenjoski’s work as an artist and educator. RKDC is comprised of six professional dancers and is home to regularly commissioned artistic collaborators that include scenic, lighting, costume and sound designers, composers, visual artists, photographers and filmmakers.
Regina Klenjoski has created 18 dance works for the company ranging from five-minute studies to evening length works. RKDC’s dance material is drawn from Ms. Klenjoski’s fascination with the human experience in contemporary society. Her dances explore the drama, comedy and passion that is universal to us all. One of RKDC’s signature characteristics is their diverse representation of relationships through intricate partnering, clever movement design and dramatic performance.
RKDC has performed throughout Illinois, Ohio, Florida and Southern California. They have been presented at John Anson Ford Amphitheatre, James Armstrong Theatre, Loyola Marymount University, Ivar Theater, Palm Desert Amphitheater, Fountain Theatre, Grand Performances as part of Dance Kaleidoscope 2000, Highways Performance Space, Scripps College and CSU Northridge as part of Arts Open House.
In their international debut, the company was a featured performer as part of the American Choreographer’s Showcase at the 1998 Festival D’Avignon in France.
RKDC has received numerous grants and awards for their work in the fields of dance performance and dance education. In 1999, RKDC was awarded an ongoing partnership with the City of Torrance, Learning Center for Arts Excellence. There, the company has developed a residency program for the local community offering over 35 dance classes a week, performing each spring at the James Armstrong Theatre and producing the yearly SOLA Contemporary Dance Festival, a showcase for emerging local choreographers.
ABOUT THE DANCE ENSEMBLES:
TRIP Dance Theatre
TRIP Dance Theatrewas founded in 1996 by artistic director Monica Favand to create a forum her choreography and a platform for artistic collaboration. The original music created by TRIP's music director Charlie Campagna and guest composers, and the ensemble of live musicians formed in 1998, known as the TRIP Music Ensemble, is at the forefront of what makes this company so unique. TRIP combines original music with stunning visual components such as video, slide, set and costume design and has recently enjoyed exploring quad sound and live (dancer and musician performed) vocal landscapes. The ensemble draws together the unique backgrounds and talents of six dancers, who bring extensive training in modern dance and ballet. German Expressionist, African and Indonesian dance styles as well as experience in Tai Chi and Japanese Butoh flavor the company's powerfully expressive and organic movement style. TRIP Dance Theatre prides itself on creating works that communicate, uplift and connect with diverse audiences.
TRIP Dance Theatre has created 11 evening-length works and offered over 100 performances in more than 30 venues in Los Angeles, Philadelphia and New York, including two performances at the Ford Amphitheatre in 1999 and 2001, and five locally and national syndicated public television appearances as part of the annual "Holiday Celebration" event, filmed live from the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Downtown, Los Angeles. Favand’s “Moonlight on the Winter Ice” will be included in the 2006 national P.B.S. broadcast. TRIP has performed in a range of venues, including the James Armstrong and Martha Knoebel Theaters, Highways, Will Gear's Theatricum Botanicum, UCLA Hammer Museum, Skirball Center, and the Philadelphia Fringe Festival, among many others.
In September 2005 TRIP Dance Theatre received a $20,000 Visual Arts Initiative Award from theCalifornia Community Foundation. Also in September 2005, TRIP Dance Theatre began a long-term residency atUnknown Theatre, a brand new theatre in the heart of Hollywood presenting a yearlong schedule of theatre, dance, music and performance art events. Recent TRIP projects include "Breath & Bone" which toured to Joyce Soho in New York, and enjoyed sold out runs at the Ivy Substation in Culver City (2004) and Unknown Theatre (2006). Upcoming projects include the creation of "Skin, Mountain, Landslide", a multi-media piece directed by Favand, centering on environmental issues which will open April 2006 for a three week run at Unknown Theatre.
In addition to performances, the company has offered nearly 300 community based, Sacred Spaces improvisational dance workshops that have exposed over 1,000 adults of diverse backgrounds from ages 18 to 80 to the self-expressive, healing and community building power of dance and music. The workshop is offered weekly in Santa Monica, CA.
ABOUT THE MUSIC ENSEMBLES:
Moira Smiley & VOCO
With influences from Sofia to Dublin, Bjork to Bessie Smith, Bobby McFerrin to Baaba Maal, VOCO sings the amazing spectrum of the voice with unrivaled integrity and playfulness. Deeply influenced by traditional folk singing of Appalachia & E. Europe, VOCO's music springs from immersion and improvisation. VOCO is voice to the fullest - while banjo and cello weave in funk & grace at the low end. Moira Smiley performs internationally as a traditional singer of Eastern European, Irish and Appalachian song, and VOCO was born to bring these explorations into the creative and physical. VOCO is utterly connected to the audience through participation, improvisation and percussive movement, and their performances are joyous and moving - "a truly phenomenal act" (Folkworks Magazine)
The TRIP Music Ensemble
The TRIP Music Ensemble weaves textured electronics and artful sound design, with electric and acoustic guitar, soulful vocal and cello melodies and grounded, world rhythms. The ensemble, formed in 1998 to create and perform original music for TRIP Dance Theatre performances and improvisational dance workshops, is led by music director/ composer/guitarist Charlie Campagna. Campagna has created dozens of original compositions for the company that have incorporated guitar, cello, bass, percussion, voice, electronics, four channel audio, bells, whales, violin and much more. His scores run the gamut from Arvo Part-ish, classically influenced compositions, to earthy and lush scores echoing the world-rock arrangements of Peter Gabriel, to the super-energized guitar and electronic landscapes of Robert Fripp.
From ambient, to orchestral, rock and world music, this group of musicians is influenced by many different musical genres and having worked together for between 7 and 15 years, has developed a highly skilled improvisational ability. Core ensemble members are Ron Bartlett (world percussion), Charlie Campagna (guitar / sound design), Eric Potter (guitar, electronics) and Hector Torres (world percussion).
MOIRA SMILEY & VOCO PRESS:
"This is a truly phenomenal act, combining the energy of urban street singing with first-rate musicianship, folk roots and traditions from throughout the world. Their body percussion sets are a sight to behold" ~Folkworks Magazine, April 2005
"Improvisational musicians Moira Smiley & VOCO weave banjo, cello and just a hint of funkiness into a night of unforgettable and unusual music." ~LA Alternative Press, March, 2005
"Their (VOCO’s) focused, high energy a cappella moves seamlessly from Macedonia...Bulgaria, Africa, Native America to Uncle Sammy doo-wop.” ~Dirty Linen, September 2005
"At Cabaret Voltaire on October 21st, VOCO presented just the naked voice. The audience was ecstatic over how gifted and wonderful the group sounded." ~Cabaret Voltaire, Hollywood, CA.
REVIEWS of VOCO's collaboration with TRIP Dance Theatre, "Breath & Bone":
“…Charlie Campagna's score seduces you with an impressive array of textures and rhythms that artfully exploit …especially, the improvisational capabilities of vocalists Jessica Basta and Moira Smiley.” ~Los Angeles Times, January 2006
"The intoxicating live vocals of (VOCO's) Jessica Basta and Moira Smiley enhanced Ups and Downs." ~Dance Magazine, January, 2006