MISSION STATEMENT: BODYTRAFFIC is a non-profit repertory dance company that lives, breathes, and thrives in Los Angeles. The company relentlessly recruits great talent from around the globe to create world-class contemporary dance in Los Angeles. BODYTRAFFIC’s growing repertory of work is inspiring, accessible, and challenging to both new audiences and experienced enthusiasts.
BODYTRAFFIC provides a wide range of training opportunities for both pre-professional and working dancers through open company classes and workshops. BODYTRAFFIC’s outreach program provides dance classes and rehearsal access to inner-city schools in Los Angeles.
COMPANY BIOGRAPHY:
Founded in 2007 by Lillian Barbeito and Tina Finkelman Berkett, BODYTRAFFIC has surged to the forefront of the concert dance world. Named “the company of the future” by The Joyce Theater Foundation, Dance Magazine’s 25 to Watch in 2013 and Best of Culture by the Los Angeles Times, the young company is already internationally recognized for their high quality of work.
BODYTRAFFIC is commissioning today’s most distinctive contemporary choreographers including Kyle Abraham, Sidra Bell, Stijn Celis, Sarah Elgart, Alex Ketley, Barak Marshall, Andrea Miller, Laura Gorenstein Miller, Zoe Scofield, Hofesh Shechter, Richard Siegal, and Guy Weizman & Roni Haver; with upcoming commissions by Loni Landon and Victor Quijada.
BODYTRAFFIC, in collaboration with Barak Marshall, had the honor of winning first prize at The A.W.A.R.D. Show! 2011: Los Angeles (a choreographic competition which considered hundreds of Los Angeles based companies). In June 2012, BODYTRAFFIC made their Joyce Theater (NYC) debut during Gotham Dance Festival. In September 2012, BODYTRAFFIC made their Walt Disney Concert Hall debut, at the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s Opening Night Gala performance conducted by Gustavo Dudamel. BODYTRAFFIC performed six sold-out performances at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival during their summer season. Most recently, BODYTRAFFIC performed at New York City Center’s Fall for Dance and presented a sold-out run at Santa Monica’s Broad Stage.
BODYTRAFFIC has received generous support from The Joyce Theater Foundation, The Sydney D. Holland Foundation, The Mortimer & Mimi Levitt Foundation, Jewish Community Foundation of Los Angeles, The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation, and the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation.
BODYTRAFFICE was awarded a National Dance Project: Production Grant in 2014 to commission a work by choreographer Victor Quijada (Director/ Choreographer of RUBBERBANDance), which will be further supported by an NDP Touring Grant for its 2014/15 season tour. Additionally, in 2013 choreographer Loni Landon was awarded a Choreography Fellowship with BODYTRAFFIC from the Princess Grace Foundation.
Born from the sheer love of dance, BODYTRAFFIC’s spirited environment is blossoming because of its dedication, passion, and exquisite talent. BODYTRAFFIC is helping establish Los Angeles as a major center for contemporary dance.
PRESS QUOTES
• Performance, Place, and Politics: The dancers of BODYTRAFFIC are superb… This is a technically accomplished company with lots of personality to boot.
• Los Angels Times, Jean Lenihan: A penchant for amplitude and precision
• Los Angeles Times, Victoria Looseleaf, June 2013: Six dancers displayed fierce technique. The company is a welcome addition to the local dance scene.
• Los Angeles Times, Mark Swed, September 2012: …the execution was excellent.
…one of the most talked-about young companies, not just in L.A. but nationwide..Los Angeles is not exactly known for its thriving contemporary dance scene, but if anyone is changing that reputation, it’s Lillian Barbeito and Tina Finkelman Berkett, directors of this fledgling repertory company.
•artsmeme.com, Debra Levine (dance writer for Los Angeles Times and The Huffington Post), September 2012: Marshall fielded the ten ripping dancers of BODYTRAFFIC, a local troupe that has been on a steep upward climb lately, garnering awards and grants from New York’s Joyce Theater Foundation. The piece was at its best when the ‘Traffickers spooled Marshall’s quick-paced, unison nervous-twitching at which he is the undisputed king and that’s a huge kick to watch. BODYTRAFFIC excels at this draconian stuff.
• The New York Times, Brian Seibert, June 2012: On Wednesday at the Joyce Theater the Gotham Dance Festival offered New York something that its dance audiences (and critics) rarely see: signs of life from the Los Angeles dance scene.
• artsmeme.com, Debra Levine (dance writer for Los Angeles Times and The Huffington Post), June 2012: Did everyone feel the earthquake that rocked the top of the 405 Freeway near Mulholland Drive Thursday night? Oh, you missed it? It was the tremor of excitement when BodyTraffic, Los Angeles’s newest and best entry into the contemporary dance universe, shook the stage of the University of Judaism’s Gindi Auditorium. The ten- member troupe, co-directed by Lillian Barbeito and Tina Finkelman Berkett, delivered beautiful dancing across the board in three diverse works of contemporary choreography.
• Los Angeles Times, Debra Levine, January 2011: In three short years, [BODYTRAFFIC] has surged to the forefront of the Los Angeles dance scene, pairing sophisticated choreographers, often Europeans, with top-rung local dancers.
Company Website: www.BODYTRAFFIC.com
Location: 708 Machado Drive, Venice CA 90291
Phone: 646.221.7811
Founded: 2007
Artistic Directors: Lillian Barbeito and Tina Berkett
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