For 40 tough years, this couple’s devotion has kept their dance company on its feet
UCLA alum Lula Washington ’84 is the founder and artistic director of her self-titled dance company, Lula Washington Dance Theatre, which she runs with her hasband, Erwin Washington, in Los Angeles.
"Even after 40 years of running a dance company together, Lula and Erwin Washington still disagree on the value of critics.
At their Lula Washington Dance Theatre headquarters on Crenshaw Boulevard, the two debated the topic in their office filled with promotional posters from past shows. Erwin reflected on early reviews of Lula’s choreography in The Times, which he described as “sometimes awful.”
He eventually figured out that audiences loved the shows that critics ripped apart, and he would encourage Lula to add at least one “intellectual, ethereal, experimental” work to appease them.
As the company’s executive director and grant writer, Erwin reasoned that good reviews could lead to additional funding. But for artistic director Lula, West Coast critics never took time to understand her work, a fusion of modern, hip-hop, jazz and African movement. She still wonders if there is a space for critics today.
“I think critics are needed,” Erwin said.
“That’s your opinion, not mine,” Lula quipped.
Both are 69 now. As the wife and husband who founded the Los Angeles dance company in 1980, the two continue to strike the delicate balance between artist and administrator, between ambitiously creative and cautiously pragmatic."— Makeda Easter, Jan. 31, 2020
This post is an excerpt. Read the full article on the Los Angeles Times website.
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