Reed Luplau never intended to start a company and set his own choreography. A veteran of the ballet world, musical theater, television and film, he thought he might use that experience to work for others, choreographing in the commercial side of theater, as those were the offers coming his way. But as time passed, he realized that what he really wanted to do was create from a place that used all his skills from the various genres to create art – driven by creativity and not beholden to necessary commercial success. Enter – Reed Luplau Works.
You’ve been involved in the dance world in so many capacities. What made you take on this venture? Was it a dream of yours, or something that grew organically from the passage of time in the field?
“I honestly never thought I would go down this path. I knew I wanted to create and choreograph. Once I really made my decision of not performing anymore, I thought, ‘I love to create.’ Things are coming on the commercial side of theater, but I really love ballet and concert dance. Why am I trying so hard to just do theater and commercial theater? I should be working on stuff that also is just pure dance for me. When you’re doing commercial theater, a lot of dance gets cut because of storytelling and time. I’ve been on faculty at the Institute for American Musical Theatre for three years now as their contemporary teacher. Why don’t I form this company utilizing the studio and the theater and raise funds to be able to hire eight professional dancers to bring the company together? I want it to be a learning curve, and a hybrid to go from graduation to the next step of being professional. It came from a real educational purpose. It’s going to benefit so many of us in different ways – from the school, to the students, to professionals.”
The inaugural performance was this past May 22-24. Tell us about the show. Was it a few pieces, or was it an evening-length presentation? What was your inspirational jump point?
“This was my first full-length piece. I wanted to challenge myself because I’ve already done a lot of short works, but I really wanted to hone in on what the night was going to look like, having the time, and the space, and the theater. My inspirations were the world right now, which is a little chaotic. Specifically, there was a bar in the 1920s in Berlin that was very LGBTI-plus friendly, and was very welcoming. It was the first place that trans people were accepted. I wanted to place the setting there. I’ve taken some ideas from it, but it’s really about people’s memories of one particular place, and how people remember things in a very loose kind of way, very open to interpretation.”
I’m curious about how dancers who’ve had extensive performing careers navigate through other aspects of dance once performing becomes a thing of the past. The time comes for us all when we step away from the stage, for whatever reasons. How did you handle this transition?
“I was performing eight times a week for so long. I thought, ‘What’s the next thing that’s going to push me and help me wake up in the morning and feel energized to be creative?’ I was booking things as a choreographer for myself, but then I saw the possibility of doing this show, and all the cards were placing themselves. I was nervous to do it because you to have get grants, and all this funding. But luckily, I have a great support system around me that’s built up over the years, and also the support from the school to let it happen naturally, without it being forced.”
Starting a new venture is bound to be filled with challenges, even when things do fall into place fairly easily. What were some of the challenges you encountered along the way? And, what has been rewarding?
“Scheduling is such a pain. But the rewarding part was honestly the auditions. We had about 85 incredible New York City talents come through the door, and I was so humbled to see how dedicated, how calm, and how beautiful people are. I wish I could give all these people the chance and an option to dance. But to see people interpret movement, to see the joy, and the love that they brought was priceless.”
For more information on Reed Luplau and Reed Luplau Works, visit www.reedluplau.com.
By Emily Sarkissian of Dance Informa.
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