Kenneth Walker Dance Project (KWDP) was founded by nationally recognized choreographer Kenneth Walker for the purpose of providing a vehicle to create and present original works of contemporary ballet. KWDP annually self-produces concerts in Los Angeles County, at times in underserved communities. Important institutional goals for KWDP are to give performances that meld collaboration between interesting music, talented dancers and innovative movement to create a meaningful artistic experience and to maintain competitive ticket prices to all to enable the next generation of dancegoers the opportunity to see as much dance as possible. KWDP performs the ballets of Kenneth Walker exclusively to date and is based in the south Los Angeles County area.
The company has appeared at festivals throughout Los Angeles and California, including the festivals in Riverside, Pasadena, Santa Monica, Palm Desert, Orange County, MAD BAD Festival in the San Francisco Bay Area, Central Coast Summerfest in Monterey, California, Golden West College Professional Dance Invitational, as well as at festivals and conferences in Virginia, New York and twice at Piccolo Spoleto Festival in Charleston, SC. The company has been presented by El Camino College Center for the Arts, Brand Associates and The Brand Library, and Moorpark College Dance Department.
KWDP has been well-received by audiences and respected dance artists alike. Pointe magazine named KWDP’s video collage of their ballet Transient Memory editor’s choice for August 2008. In 2007 KWDP was nominated for a Lester Horton Award for Outstanding Performance by a Company. John Meehan, former director of Hong Kong Ballet, described Walker’s Savage Grace as “…a fun piece, full of energy with some nice choreographic invention,” and Alun Jones, former director of Louisville Ballet, called it “tremendous.” Pointe magazine named KWDP’s video collage of their ballet Transient Memory editor’s choice for August 2008. For several years the company was regularly chosen as a Top Dance Pick of the Week by dance influencer Ann Haskins for its home performances.
In 2012, the company produced The Ballet Project and invited other Los Angeles ballet companies and choreographers to debut new ballets for KWDP’s audience to discover. In 2013 KWDP produced a master class with Arturo Fernandez, esteemed Ballet Master of the legendary Alonzo King Lines Ballet at The Music Center of Los Angeles. This class was an opportunity for dance artists in Los Angeles to work with a master and hone their craft. Since then, KWDP has had Ilaria Guerra of LINES teach master classes several times.
The repertoire of KWDP is a mixture of classical technique and modern sensibility. Kenneth invites the thoughts and ideas of his dancers when creating new works and offers dancers the opportunity to find their own voice within the work. Mr. Walker has created 17 world premieres for the company and introduced 15 works he originally created for other companies. Four ballets in our rep include music created or explicitly produced for the company by artists as far away as Italy and as local as Torrance. His dances are highly eclectic and run the gamut of ballet styles. They are sublime, athletic, quirky, and entertaining and reflect Mr. Walker’s diverse tastes. In 2014 KWDP celebrated 10 years of providing programming to Los Angeles.
Special Thanks
To Google, Ralphs, our donors, and Los Angeles County Arts Commission for their generous continued support. Without their support and yours, KWDP could not continue our mission.