Lola MacLaughlin is an urban West Coast choreographer and dancer. Her arresting and original performances combine the geometry of German expressionism with the humour of the commedia dellarte. Among her latest achievements are the premiere of Civilization and The Great Rivers of History at Canada Place; Cadence, a commissioned ensemble work for the Judith Marcuse Company; and Smudge, a duet for dancer and bass clarinetist created in collaboration with composer David MacIntyre. Smudge was presented at INDA 90 in Toronto and at the New Music America Festival in Montréal. In 1990, she created Everyman, a commissioned work for Grant MacEwan College. In 1991, MacLaughlin returned to Montréal to present three works at the Festival International de Nouvelle Danse.
 

She graduated from dance studies at Simon Fraser University in 1980. She continued training at the Merce Cunningham School in New York and with various modern dance teachers in New York, Toronto and Vancouver. In 1987, she went to Germany to study expressionist art, architecture and performance. She has created more than 40 original works in her 12-year career as a choreographer. Many of her early works were performed by EDAM (Experimental Dance and Music), a Vancouver collective which she co-founded. 

Since 1989, she has been the Artistic Director of her own company, Lola MacLaughlin Dance.

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Waterwheel (1992)

World Premiere Eric Harvie Theatre
July 8, 9, 10 & 11, 1992

Choreography: Lola MacLaughlin
Assisted by: Austra Gulens
Music: Hamza el Din Escalay (Nubian meaning: Waterwheel)
Lighting Design: Harry Frehner
Costume co-ordinator: Michelle Latta

The 1992 Festival Dance Company 
in Waterwheel.
Photo: Monte Greenshields