Offstage + Unbound: Episode 2 – An Interview with Jessica Lang of Jessica Lang Dance

In our second installation of “Offstage and Unbound,” The Music Center’s President and CEO Rachel Moore chats with Jessica Lang, choreographer and artistic director of Jessica Lang Dance. She is a graduate of the Juilliard School and a former dancer with Twyla Tharp’s company THARP! She began her prolific choreographic career in 1999, creating more than 90 works on companies worldwide. Her work has been performed by American Ballet Theatre, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet, the National Ballet of Japan and Joffrey Ballet, among many others. In 2011, she formed Jessica Lang Dance, a New York City-based dance company dedicated to the immersive music and movement of her work. Since the company’s debut, Jessica has received international acclaim for her articulate blend of ballet and modern dance, punctuated by visually stunning design elements. She is a recipient of a prestigious Bessie Award in 2014 and is a 2017 Arison Award honoree.

The Music Center features Jessica Lang Dance as part of the 2016/2017 dance season of Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center. The company, which is making its Music Center debut, is on stage at The Music Center’s Ahmanson Theatre from February 17 through 19.

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Jessica Lang Dance

We are very excited to welcome Jessica Lang Dance to The Music Center for the very first time this February 17-19!

11/5/15 7:24:30 PM — World Premier of “Tesseracts of Time” by Jessica Lang Dance Co. . © Todd Rosenberg Photography 2015

Jessica Lang Dance was founded in 2011 as a company dedicated to creating and performing the works of Jessica Lang, choreographer and artistic director.

Jessica Lang has created more than 95 works so far for companies worldwide, including American Ballet Theatre, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet (2013 Manchester Theatre Award nominee), the National Ballet of Japan and Joffrey Ballet, among many others.

The program at The Music Center’s Ahmanson Theatre, which is part of the 16/17 Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center season, includes the West Coast premiere of Tesseracts of Time, created in collaboration with world renowned architect Steven Holl plus the Thousand Yard Stare, a new work created by Jessica Lang in 2015 that sheds light on the theme of war, mixed-media audience favorite, i.n.k. and Lang’s iconic gem, The Calling.

Fun fact: Project Runway Season 12 finalist and Lang’s fellow Julliard classmate, Bradon McDonald designed costumes for both Tesseracts of Time and Thousand Yard Stare. Bradon and Jessica worked together to create costumes inspired by the choreography and subject matter of each dance.

Learn more about Jessica Lang and her company in our podcast, Offstage + Unbound then come see the performance for yourself! musiccenter.org/jessica