The Assembly Dance
2014 – 2020Greater Los Angeles and Orange County, CA
Assembled live performances from soup to nuts in empty spaces—yoga studios, art galleries, warehouses—using many volunteer hours and funds collected from ticket sales. Commissioned new, original works from choreographers and musicians; gave life to existing work by artists based in Brooklyn and Boise; experimented with improvisation and form; and toured to Atlanta, twice.
Became the company’s sole director and all-hats-wearer in 2016, immediately before embarking on what amounted to a three-year-long road trip. This resulted in interstate collaborations, including “Migrants,” with PNW violinist-looper Joe Kye and dancer Ching Ching Wong; as well as the meandering film project, “Somewhere Same Here,” starring Ailey/Broadway dancer Demetia Hopkins.
After 2019’s “How to Draw an Outline,” which examined the concept of personal boundaries, and the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, the company took an indefinite pause.
How to Draw an Outline
2019 – 2020In a world where women’s bodies and lives have long been considered permeable and literally up for “grabs”, we used dance to find the edges of our ranges of motion and staminas — to draw outlines around ourselves and our lives.
Read more about How to Draw an Outline and Boundaries Practice ︎︎︎
Muckenthaler Cultural Center Artist-in-Residence
Read more about How to Draw an Outline and Boundaries Practice ︎︎︎
Muckenthaler Cultural Center Artist-in-Residence
Somewhere Same Here
2018This on-location short film uses alternating dancers in sharp, angled movements to signal the volatility of identity in an unsteady relationship.
Written and choreographed by Lara Wilson, shot by Kevin Strickland and Alex Gomez with Michael Townsend and Jamie Frasier, edited by Kevin Strickland and Lara Wilson, performances by Demetia Hopkins, Kalynn Marin, Jobel Medina, Isaac Bekker, hair and makeup by Jamie Frasier, music by Joe Kye, produced by The Assembly
Dance in Public Film Festival 2019
Newport Beach Film Festival 2018
Written and choreographed by Lara Wilson, shot by Kevin Strickland and Alex Gomez with Michael Townsend and Jamie Frasier, edited by Kevin Strickland and Lara Wilson, performances by Demetia Hopkins, Kalynn Marin, Jobel Medina, Isaac Bekker, hair and makeup by Jamie Frasier, music by Joe Kye, produced by The Assembly
Dance in Public Film Festival 2019
Newport Beach Film Festival 2018
Migrants
2017Choreographed and co-produced at NAVEL in Downtown Los Angeles, Migrants merged experience and art for an evening of storytelling. Collaborative composition for an active audience also features projections and spoken word.
Produced by Lara Wilson, Ching Ching Wong, and Joe Kye, spoken word by Jason Chu, projection design by Darin Reyes, dance performances by Byron Roman, Chris Emile, Tatiana Barber, Charbel Rohayem, and Lindsey Matheis, choreography by Lara Wilson and Katie Scherman.
Produced by Lara Wilson, Ching Ching Wong, and Joe Kye, spoken word by Jason Chu, projection design by Darin Reyes, dance performances by Byron Roman, Chris Emile, Tatiana Barber, Charbel Rohayem, and Lindsey Matheis, choreography by Lara Wilson and Katie Scherman.
RECESS
2017In Costa Mesa, CA, a set improvisation score leaves room for interpretation and possibility, resulting in a playful interactive evening nostalgic for simpler days.
OC WEEKLY: RECESS by The Assembly was a blast with its serious sort of fun
Produced by Lara Wilson, choreographed by Jobel Medina and Megan Guise, performed at the Westside Museum
OC WEEKLY: RECESS by The Assembly was a blast with its serious sort of fun
Produced by Lara Wilson, choreographed by Jobel Medina and Megan Guise, performed at the Westside Museum
From the Source
2016The Assembly put out a nationwide call to artists to “Make Our Moves.” We selected three existing works by choreographers based in Brooklyn, Boise, and Los Angeles: Marissa Brown’s Wherever you are, this one’s for you, Lauren Edson’s Barbarian Princess, and Andrea Gise’s Her.
Love Moves
2015Choreographed an evening of dance, set to Devendra Banhart’s album, Mala, which we assembled at Crash Labs warehouse in Costa Mesa (RIP). 10 dancers, video projections, a gallery exhibition, set and lighting design, photo and video documentation, and more came together in this sold-out weekend of shows.