“Invertigo doesn’t just produce shows,” founder of Invertigo Dance Company Laura Karlin said. “It’s more than performance; we do world building. Oh, and Happy World Parkinson’s Day!”
Karlin spoke with Culver City Crossroads on April 11, 2024, about some of the projects Invertigo Dance is sharing with the community. With the new work “Interior Design” opening at the Kirk Douglas Theater for two days only, April 20 and 21, Karlin was quietly effusive about the story, the dancers, and performing on the KDT stage. Widely renowned for the ‘Dancing Through Parkinson’s’ classes that are held throughout the Los Angeles area, the Culver City-based dance company does more than go through the motions.
“I went in on Monday [to a class] with Marco Palomino [one of the two dancers in “Interior Design”] and taught some of the elements of the show. We always take our professional work to our dance classes. It helps us build an integrated network of community engagement through the creative process. When we make a piece, there’s the storytelling element; everything is about something.”
The tale of “Interior Design” is about a couple moving into a new space together, but we take the theme of design, and use that to illustrate change. How do you find home? How do you make a home? The couple is also navigating a loss – a miscarriage – and so it’s also about healing. The couple, Anna (Hyosun Choi) and Carlos (Marco Palomino) are both experienced dancers and theatrical performers have the muscle to get the story moving. And it’s a very moving story – about moving.
Karlin laughed that all of her dance pieces were about “trauma, transformation and hope. It seems to be the story that I tell over and over again. In the show, we see a healing love, and a healthy way forward.”
Asked about performing at the Kirk Douglas, “I have had my eye in the Douglas as a great space for dance and I have not seen it there. This seems like the right time and the right show to do there; it’s very intimate, but it’s very expansive.”
With only two performances, “Interior Design” is not to be missed. After that, there are more worlds to be built, and Invertigo Dance will be happy to welcome you into them.
Interior Design is a guest production at the Kirk Douglas Theatre. For venue and parking information, click here.
Judith Martin-Straw
Photo Courtesy Invertigo Dance Company
