Download about the artists - TRIP Dance Theatre

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 2004 Lester Horton Award
nominations for musical composition and received a 2004 Asia Pacific Performance Exchange
Fellowship 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 LAand 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 highlyregarded 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 Theatre was 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
the California Community Foundation. Also in September 2005, TRIP Dance Theatre began a longterm residency at Unknown 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
“With the talented ensemble of dancers of the Trip Dance Theatre company, as well as gifted
musical composer Charlie Campagna and (VOCO) vocalists Moira Smiley and Jessica Basta, (Artistic
Director Monica) Favand weaves an enchanting, impressionistic evening of dance and media.”
~Backstage West, January 2006
TRIP & TRIP MUSIC ENSEMBLE PRESS:
“Artistic Director Monica Favand explores the fusion of modern Western dance with the rhythms
and tone of African and Asian dance and music. With the talented ensemble of dancers of the TRIP
Dance Theatre company, as well as gifted musical composer Charlie Campagna and vocalists Moira
Smiley and Jessica Basta, Favand weaves an enchanting, impressionistic evening of dance and
media.
In "When the Bones Lie Open," Denesa Chan and Taryn Wayne dance a powerful, athletic duet with
overtones of death and transfiguration. And in the final piece, "Body," the company enacts vivid,
poignant memories of pain and loss, accompanied by Campagna's music, which uses live vocal and
instrumental music in four-channel audio to produce an almost-hallucinatory effect.
As with any powerful dance piece, Breath & Bone reaches to a primordial place, a depth of human
feeling that is more the province of music, voice, and movement than of words."
- Hoyt Hilsman, Backstage West (January, 2006)
“...Charlie Campagna's score seduces you with an impressive array of textures and rhythms that
artfully exploit the resources of four-channel audio and, especially, the improvisational capabilities
of vocalists Jessica Basta and Moira Smiley.” - Lewis Segal, Los Angeles Times (January, 2006)
“Enter Breath & Bone, a mind-blowing escapade into the world of memories, voices and primal
instincts choreographed by Monica Favand, the superbly talented Artistic Director behind Trip
Dance Company.” - Sergio Martinez, SOCAL.COM (January, 2006)
“Monica Favand’s octet “Howl” bristled with primeval longings and intoxicating leaps…“
-Victoria Looseleaf, Los Angeles Times
“With its hallucinatory music, fertile moves and seductive lighting, TRIP Dance Theatre, under the
artistic direction of an indefatigable Monica Favand, is aptly named. Its latest journey: “Praying for
Daybreak,” a program of 10 stunningly danced works...proved memorable...as the troupe used
Favand’s dramatic and precise movement style to probe current dark times.”
-Victoria Looseleaf, Los Angeles Times
“Trip founder Monica Favand kicked into an improvisatory melange of free-form poly-rhythmic
articulations. The mixture of influences that made up her “Call and Response” (African torso
isolations here, whirling dervish spins there) typified Favand’s tendency to borrow and blend
cultural idioms with abandon. For the length of this altogether too brief solo, she was a sight to
behold: a dynamic flurry of flying limbs and long hair riding the kinetic impulses of Ron Bartlett’s
and Hector Tores’ percussion and Charlie Campagna’s guitar accompaniment.”
- Sara Wolf, Los Angeles Times
"As in past TRIP Productions, Favand's costumes defined a bold creativity, but music director
Charlie Campagna must be credited with the evening's most intense pleasures: atmospheric but
sharply grounded instrumental and vocal performances."
- Lewis Segal, Los Angeles Times (July, 2001)
"With her glitter-encrusted chignon, accordion pleated gown and her choreography and dancing,
which can safely lay claim to the adjectives "fluid " and "transporting,' Monica Favand, artistic
director of Trip Dance Theatre, could very well be the 21 st century's answer to Martha Graham.
With set pieces bleeding into one another seamlessly, the performances were akin to a
psychedelicized union, a mind-blowing journey in the aural and physical…"
-Victoria Looseleaf, Los Angeles Times (September 1999)
" 'Wanderlust' brimmed with interpretive talent, beginning with Trip artistic director Monica Favand:
a 1997 Lester Horton Ward winner for her nightmarish scrapheap costumes but also a performer of
great emotional urgency…" - Lewis Segal, Los Angeles Times (1998)
"…a level of skill and stamina worth celebrating."- Lewis Segal, Los Angeles Times (1998)
"In its 10-year history, Los Angeles-based Trip Dance Theatre, under the direction of Monica
Favand, has created a formidable body of work, including 11 evening-length productions that often
incorporate video and live music. Favand’s commitment to original music has resulted in a
partnership with guitarist Charlie Campagna, the director of Trip Music Ensemble, that continually
ups the artistic ante with alluring, often hallucinatory soundscapes that comfort and challenge
dancers and audiences alike." - Victoria Looseleaf, Dance Magazine (2006)
"In her solo 'Slither', Monica Favand gamely shape-shifted her torso, arms and legs, seamlessly
moving as if an internal energy force were passing through her . . . erotic and primal . . . showing
off incredible body control, yet making it look easy, Favand's 'Slither' only underscored the loss to
our dance community now that she's relocated to L.A." - Deni Kasrel, Philadelphia City Paper
RKDC PRESS:
Love Lies Waiting
"Each dance chapter radiates its core beauty, power and poignancy."
- Joseph Sirota, Easy Reader
"More then dance this is wordless, timeless, cathartic fable telling..."
- Joseph Sirota, Easy Reader
"This piece soars in prime Klenjoski style..."
-Joseph Sirota, Easy Reader
“Perfect interfolding of dance and sound…”
-Joseph Sirota, Easy Reader
General:
"Klenjoski's hyperkinetic style served her well..."
-Lewis Segal, The Los Angeles Times
"..Klenjoski is a dynamic, graceful and indefatigable presence who appears to have it all."
-Victoria Looseleaf, The Los Angeles Times
"...a promising newcomer on the Southland dance scene."
- Victoria Looseleaf, The Los Angeles Times
“Klenjoski company’s program reveals ambition, promise”
-Victoria Looseleaf, The Los Angeles Times
Paired Down
"...reminiscent of Twyla Tharp."
-The Chicago Sun-Times
"...an exuberant romp reminiscent of Twyla Tharp."
-Victoria Looseleaf, The Los Angeles Times
“Surprised kept the dance interesting from moment to moment”
-Terry Brennan, Chicago Reader
Original Sin
"Visually stunning..."
- Jim Farber, The Daily Breeze
"...breathtaking creativity... like taking a rocket ship ride of the senses."
- Joseph Sirota, Easy Reader
"...skillful and imaginative..."
-Jim Farber, Daily Breeze
"...excellent dancing and design elements..."
-Jennifer Fisher, The Los Angeles Times
“Brilliant Dancing…highlights were non-stop..”
-Joseph Sirota, Easy Reader
“ingenuitive, sparkling ideas and framings..”
-Joseph Sirota, Easy Reader
Little Kukla
“…dynamic, beautifully realized sweeps and swirls”
-Mitchell Kupferberg, Chicago Reader
"...Klenjoski shows a keen eye for grace and beauty."
- Sid Smith, The Chicago Tribune
"...intelligently conceived..."
-Lynn Voedish, The Chicago Sun-Times
“a mesmerizing performance”
-Mary Houlihan, Chicago Sun-times
Dear Mimmy
“Technically wonderful ... an impressively moving work…”
-Joseph Sirota, Easy Reader
The SOLA Contemporary Dance Festival took an art form that doesn’t get
much attention and presented serious and inspirational modern dance...
-Elizabeth Khuri, Daily Breeze
We're hurtled into another world of feelings and emotional drives...
-Joseph Sirota, Easy Reader
Waiting for Solitude
“a pensive pas de deux between lovers who embrace in an amazing array of configurations.”
-Jeff Britton, The Desert Sun
SOLA Contemporary Dance Festival
“The SOLA Dance Festival proves a welcome reminder dance’s spirit remains alive and well.”
“The ambitious, impressively successful program, SOLA 2003”
-Joseph Sirota, Easy Reader
"Festival Celebrates the Future"
-Victoria Looseleaf, LA Times
Streetscapes
"..exuberant, expansive choreography.."
-Laura Dennis, Easy Reader
"Regina will guide the audience on a personal journey through self and spirit."
-Gia Inferrera, Artline