A History of Yorke Dance Project
From the Director – Yolande Yorke-Edgell:
Yorke Dance Project was an idea that came about towards the end of my tenure with Lewitzky Dance Company. As there were very few companies in Los Angeles and none of which offered a full time contract I decided to form my own company and base it on the structure of a repertory company like Rambert Dance Company in London. I was fortunate enough to have some of the now ex-Lewitzky dancers join me which enabled me to start putting together my first project.
I launched the company in 1998 and we had our first performances at the Keck Theatre. The evening showcased five works, “Between Sleeping and Waking” and “Prey” both of which I choreographed. Bella gave permission for her work “The Song of the Woman” to be performed by veteran Lewitzky dancer Diana MacNeil. Mark Baldwin (now director of Rambert Dance Company) graciously donated his work “Out of Doors” which was reconstructed by Shelley Baker, and finally “Badderputtle” was created by Courtney Selan, a director/choreographer I had worked with at The Los Angeles Opera. It was a diverse programme and the two nights at the Keck were sold out; a very successful start to a new company.
The company then went on to create many works and perform annually at venues such as The Wilshire Ebel Theatre, Disney Hall, Zipper Hall, El Portal, Cerritos Centre for the Performing Arts and the Miles Memorial Playhouse. The company was made up of a core group of amazingly talented dancers such as Jennifer Flannagan, Kristen Wilkinson, Kristen Brown, Samantha Robinson and Shelby Williams. As we were a project based company we had additional dancers join us for projects, all of whom generously gave their time and commitment to a very underfunded but passionate and driven company. My long term collaborator, Diana MacNeil, also choreographed for the company. She later went on to form her own company, The Posthouse Dance Group.
The company survived over the years with very little funding in Los Angeles and could only be maintained with the huge support from private individuals and the generosity and continued support of all the dancers that have been a part of the project. I am eternally grateful and would like to mention those who were involved:
Dancers:
Jennifer Flanagan, Kristen Wilkinson, Kristin Brown, Diana MacNeil (GA), Samantha Robinson, Shelby Williams, Roger Gonzalez Hibner (GA), Sean Greene(GA), Yvette Wulff, Yui Kirihara, Melody Bissada, Cristy Candler, David Pletner, Heather McArdle, Madeleine Soglin, Mimi Wilheim, Michael Mizeraney(GA), Helen Dixon (GA)
Damian Jackson (GA)
Choreographers:
Diana MacNeil, Sean Greene, MarK Baldwin, Courtney Selan, Walter Kennedy
Musicians and singers:
Cecilai Tsan, Catherine Miller Popvic, Kevin Hafenstein, Diana Tash, Julianna di Giacomo, Eli Villanueva, Paul Floyd
Bruce Sledge
Collaborators:
Bosco Flanagan ( lighting design and stage management), James P Hunter II (lighting design and stage management)
Patrons and those who gave their support in kind:
Ruth Eliel and Wiliam Cooney, John Gray, Eileen and Tom Rainey, Cela Collins, June and Simon Li, The Grant Family, Susan and Fred Selan, Laura Newman, Bill and Rozann Newman, Stacy Brightman, Amy Neunsinger, Edmund Barr, Beth Katz, Johnny Buzzerio, Tiffiny and Adam Eastwood, Brendon Blincoe, Ann Johnstad, Victoria Looseleaf, Hazel Yorke-Edgell, Alan Shirley, Lee Dixon, Roy and Doreen Dixon, Jan Appleton, Aaron Contreras, David and Anat Corbett.
