Leah Stein Dance Company is a well-seasoned group of movement artists that creates dance works for the stage, outdoor landscapes and unusual sites. Founded in 2001 by choreographer Leah Stein, LSDC strives to bring dance to a wide spectrum of people from diverse backgrounds, age groups and communities. With invention, humor, and surprise, and inspired by the physics of movement and the forces of nature, Stein's improvisational, spontaneous and all-inclusive approach to dance making sparks synergy between performers and audience, highlighting the interconnectedness of people, culture and the physical environment

Collaboration is central to the Company's mission. Ongoing and longterm collaborators include musician Toshi Makihara, conceptual artist Edward Dormer, and dancers and choreographers Josie Smith, Roko Kawai, Dan Karlberg.

Recent projects include a commission for eight dancers, 130-voice choir, 4 percussionists and 2 pianists with choral director Karen Schnarkarar in a performance of "Carmina Burana" at Frostburg University. There are plans to bring this collaborative work to Philadephia in the fall of 2006.

Leah Stein Dance Company (LSDC) creates dance works for the stage and outdoor sites that highlight the interaction between people, their culture and the physical environment. LSDC works with untraditional approaches to creating dances with a focus on juxtapositions and interrelationships between movement, sound, object and place. Collaboration is central to the mission and most works include musicians, visual artists, and local communities.

Leah Stein Dance Company strives to bring dance to a wide spectrum of people from diverse ethnic and economic backgrounds, age groups and communities. Inspired by the physics of movement and the forces of nature, Artistic Director Leah Stein seeks to deepen and enliven a sense of place. The Company is a dynamic group of talented dancers who work collectively to realize Stein's vision.

Leah Stein Dance Company was founded in 2001. LSDC has built upon Stein's vision of creating dances for unusual sites, presenting unique works for the stage, and developing collaborative relationships with diverse artists and communities. LSDC has received numerous commissions, developed residency projects at schools and festivals and created several major dance pieces. The Company includes five dancers of different backgrounds, each bringing a strong individual voice to the work. Priority is given to cultivating the strength of the collective voice in conjunction with the distinct talent of each individual performer.

Recent projects include the unlikely commission of Carmina Burana performed at Frostburg University in collaboration with choral director Karen Schnarkarar, with 130-voice choir, 4 percussionists, 2 pianists, and eight dancers. There are plans to bring this work to Philadephia in the fall of 2006.

Leah Stein Dance Company's On Site Philadelphia program began in 2004 with "Cornerstone" presented at the Christ Church Burial Ground, by the Philadelphia Live Arts Festival. This unusual site work quietly resonated in the stillness of the burial ground with bursts of color and surreal imagery now and then as if to awaken the moment from the past. In September 2005, LSDC presented "Bardo" in an empty lot on Broad Street Philadelphia, again presented by the Live Arts Festival. This large scale work rotated through the site over the course of 45 minutes, beginning while it was still light and concluding after the sun had set. The backdrop of Broad Street became central to the work and extended the reach of the performance into the public sphere.

In 2004, LSDC performed at the Mainstage concert series of the Silisian International Dance Festival in Bytom, Poland as well as directing "The Train Project" a two-week performance project on site with Polish students and LSDC dancers in an abandoned old train shed. LSDC also performed in Bucharest, Romania at the Odeon Theater as well as leading a three-day workshop called "Road Map" for local dancers and performers created on site in an ancient castle ruin. Addition performance projects included a sell-out production of "Through Lines (of Intimate Distance)" at the Wilma Theater's Dance Boom Festival in January 2003. This new work included the entire theater space on and off the stage including the balconies, aisles, and walls, with musicians playing live trombone and percussion in the upper levels of the theater.

In 2002 LSDC premiered "Imprint" at the Philadelphia Arts Bank. This intricate and resonant work is based on the poems of Josey Foo, inspired by the vast landscape of the New Mexican desert. "Imprint" is a series of movement poems that evoke multiple images from the spacious loneliness of the desert to animated insects.

LSDC was in residence at Furness High School in South Philadelphia during the spring semester 2001. The residency culminated in "Sycamore", a site-specific performance project at Historic Bartram's Garden. This dance wove together layers and impressions of different time periods with performers costumes reflecting these eras. The dance began at the top of the garden near the houses and progressed down a slope, along a fence, and ended down by the Schuylkill River.

During June and July 2001, Leah Stein conducted a special 6-week performance workshop on Saltspring Island, British Columbia. "Terraces" began outside behind the theater in a parking lot with the performers (dancers and musicians) dancing rhythmically and unexpectedly in and around cars. The performance continued into the theater and ended by moving from the stage out a side door back into the landscape.

In August 2001, Leah Stein created "In Situ" for the unique building that is the home to Dance Base, a national Scottish Dance Organization in Edinburgh. Stein worked with local professional dancers and community participants to create an elaborate site work to honor the building. "In Situ" was performed to sold out audiences every performance and won a Herald Angel Award for being an exceptional work at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

LSDC was invited to teach a two-week dance workshop at the 9th annual International Dance Festival in Poland, June 2002. Leah traveled with production coordinator and journalist Anastacia Wilde who documented the performance project "Off the Main Road". Stein collaborated with New York dance choreographer Gus Solomons, Jr. and performed a duet entitled "Dwa", showcased in the festival performance series. In spring 2000, the Company was in residence at Clemson University, where LSDC led discussions, workshops and master classes, and created a site-specific performance project titled "Watermark". During summer 2000, LSDC worked at Longwood Gardens with intergenerational community members to create and perform a large scale site-specific performance work. "Falling from the Sky" moved through the gardens, woods, and fountains of this enchanting setting. For the Philadelphia Fringe Festival in 2000, LSDC presented "Corner Lot" in a parking lot in in old city. With 20 foot copper pipes, 6 dancers and one musician, the piece called attention to the unusual accoustics and architecture of the site. It moved down an alleyway and into the street. Commissioned by the Painted Bride Art Center with support from Dance Advance, LSDC created and performed "Cirque", a 25-minute work for the stage. This distinct and challenging dance received very strong response and was performed again at the Philadelphia Fringe in 2001 and will be maintained in the Company's repertoire for upcoming touring engagements.