Lauren Edson and Andrew Stensaas

The views and opinions expressed by speakers and presenters in connection with Art Restart are their own, and not an endorsement by the Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts and the UNC School of the Arts. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Partners in life, love and art, dancer/choreographer Lauren Edson and musician/composer Andrew Stensaas founded the remarkable multimedia arts company LED in Boise, ID in 2015 and remain its co-leaders.

Lauren, the company’s artistic director, trained at UNCSA and Juilliard before dancing with the renowned dance company Trey McIntyre Projects for many years. Andrew, LED’s creative director, is a self-taught musician and composer who played with two critically acclaimed bands — one in Portland, OR; the other in Boise, ID — before establishing himself as a teacher and composer/songwriter at Boise Rock School.

Just five years after LED’s founding, Dance Magazine included the company in its influential “25 to Watch” list, but it wouldn’t be accurate to call LED a dance company. Instead, what Lauren and Andrew have created is a creative laboratory that accommodates each their artistic backgrounds and interests and challenges them to keep exploring, whether through live performance, film or community happenings and always with movement and music at the core.

LED has performed in venues all over the Western US, and their most recent short film, “Waters into Wilderness,” screened at festivals all over the world including the prestigious San Francisco Dance Film Festival.

In this interview with Pier Carlo Talenti, Lauren and Andrew discuss how their distinct artistic disciplines combined with their dedicated partnership to create the special sauce that keeps their young company nimble, inventive and exciting to the creative team and their audiences alike.

Choose a question below to begin exploring the interview:

Pier Carlo: How did the two of you decide to launch LED?

Lauren: I had just left Trey McIntyre Project. It was right around a time that I was wanting to fully pursue my own path. Andrew and I had met and talked about collaborating. I had known of his music but hadn’t really gotten to … . I just knew that we would work well together. We were in love, and I also was a big fan of his music, and that was really the kind of, in a crazy way … .

I had gotten an opportunity to create — I was commissioned to create for a festival in New York— and they encouraged original music. So I thought, “I’m just going to ask my lover to create for this.” [She laughs.] And it turned out to be the most incredible collaboration in many ways, and I think personally it felt like I was being pushed in directions choreographically that I hadn’t before. I think in that first collaboration we both felt that there was a seed of something really special, and so from that collaboration in 2013, we then established the company really for the first time in 2015. And then we took work to Seattle and Portland thereafter.

Pier Carlo: So, Andrew, as your lover was commissioning you to write a piece of music for this festival [Lauren and Edson laugh] —

Andrew: For free! It was free. I did it all for free.

Pier Carlo: Oh, wow. If that’s not love, I don’t know what is.

Andrew: Yeah!

Pier Carlo: So in this new collaboration, what creative impulse of yours were you looking to satisfy?

Andrew: I wasn’t even sure. I had lived in Portland right before I moved back to Boise in 2009. I’d been doing music all my life, but it was much more of a personal thing for me. I didn’t take myself as seriously as a musician until I was about 19 and moved to Portland. That’s kind of where I really developed my ability to write songs, I think, and it was a very DIY process for me.

Pier Carlo: Did you have a band in Portland?

Andrew: I did. We toured in the Northwest and then toured the West. We made some big moves, but the one thing I didn’t get to exercise really was this interest in the multiple levels of genre which I was interested in exploring instead of just the one aspect. This indie-rock/progressive-metal vibe that we were doing wasn’t fully satisfying, just because I had other areas I wanted to explore. I had never, ever done anything like what Lauren had suggested that we do together.

It gave me an opportunity to really explore this different vein of my own songwriting, especially since the majority of it was just instrumental, as opposed to singing and vocals. I wrote songs in the band in Portland with a co-writer who was great and also interested in many genres — I was the lead singer as well — but we didn’t have a chance to explore those more. This just opened doors for me to play with what I’d been playing with my whole life, which was melody and rhythm, and in different ways using an electronic vein and then exploring a little bit of more classical instruments but through MIDI software and then manipulating sounds and getting into more of the production aspects of it. That was something entirely new to me.

Pier Carlo: LED is remarkable in that it’s not just a dance company. I think of you as kind of a performance-and-media company. How did you develop what LED was going to become?

Lauren: I think from the very beginning Andrew and I talked about having a container, a creative container, for the work that we’re interested in. We definitely wanted to make sure that we felt like it was so open that it would allow for us to evolve as artists and to evolve as a company.

I had learned from previous experiences that the more that you box yourself in, the more that you’re beholden to those things that you profess that you’re going to do. We really are interested in artmaking and artists, and we wanted to create a space that would allow for there to be many iterations of that.
Lauren Edson

I had learned from previous experiences that the more that you box yourself in, the more that you’re beholden to those things that you profess that you’re going to do. We really are interested in artmaking and artists, and we wanted to create a space that would allow for there to be many iterations of that. For us keeping that open has been really wonderful.

I know personally for me as I’ve moved from creating work for stage and now become really interested in work on-camera, I think that just being open — whether we state that in the company or as artists — it just provides ourselves the ability to grow naturally. I think that’s been a really positive thing too, especially during the pandemic as we’ve been forced to navigate with real ingenuity. Luckily our company was set up to serve that.

Pier Carlo: Talk more about that, about the last two years and how you both remained flexible enough to work through them.

Andrew: I think, for one, going into the pandemic, we initially had planned to do a film, so that part of it was working out, based off of what was happening in the world and what we had planned to do. We just were extra-cautious and made sure that safety came first when we started shooting the film. We only had six days in the Morrison Center, and with the Morrison Center we have to set it up about a year out, so we already had these dates.

Pier Carlo: Oh, so there was no way you were going to reschedule. You had them, and you were going to stick with them.

Andrew: Yes. And through the Morrison Center, there’s an endowment that basically alleviates the cost of the theater for artists and the community.

Pier Carlo: Wow.

Andrew: It was one of those opportunities that we couldn’t push away. We were hoping and praying every time we went in there that tests would come back negative and everybody would be safe, and thank goodness, that was the case. Lauren just did a great job about setting up the specific pods for people, and everybody was very compliant and respectful of that process of keeping themselves quarantined for the most part during the weekends that we shot.

We were able to create this film during the scariest aspects of the pandemic at the time. It was all elusive, this thing that was happening. And so we kept pretty busy.

Lauren: At the very beginning there, for us … we also have two young boys —

Andrew: Oh, yeah.

Lauren: And so there was —

Andrew: That’s a big part.

Lauren: I think that immediacy of … you felt like, “OK, we’re hunkering down. We’re at home.”

Pier Carlo: You had to homeschool, I’m guessing.

Lauren: Yeah. We were fully homeschooling and teaching our son how to read, and it was a really great reminder of how our creative juices can be served in other ways. I think that as difficult as it was, it did, I think, really provide a nourishment as we then got back into creating or imagining spaces of projects. Because initially, yeah, it felt like while there was this kind of safety in being able to pursue this film project we had talked about, there was also just great unknown and fear. I think as artists just having a daily mirror in these little people personally felt like the touchstone that we needed during that time to then imagine that these small things could eventually amount to something bigger.

Pier Carlo: I’d love to talk about the way you co-lead. Co-leadership is becoming more common throughout performing-arts organizations these days, but as you know, your case is remarkable in that not only are you married but you come from different disciplines. I’m curious about how you negotiated how you would both co-lead and how that’s evolved over the years.

I really feel like one thing that makes our work feel wholly unique is the fact that we do come from different backgrounds. ... I feel like just having that integrated from the very beginning makes the works stand out, whether we intend for them to or not.
Lauren Edson

Lauren: I really feel like one thing that makes our work feel wholly unique is the fact that we do come from different backgrounds. Often Andrew’s perspective on what I’m creating forces me to get out of sometimes this dance-feedback loop that I feel, maybe just by nature of being in dance for so long, loving it so much and there’s such a culture there that is so beautiful and rich. And yet I feel sometimes that in the works that I make I’m aspiring to touch on something that the music is providing, either live music or orchestrations or scores, like there’s something that feels just so otherworldly and transcendent, I guess, in what I’m hearing from the music. I feel like just having that integrated from the very beginning makes the works stand out, whether we intend for them to or not. I feel in some ways that it doesn’t feel like it exists necessarily in the dance ecosystem so clearly because it’s coming from a different space.

Then I also feel like being married is, while challenging in and of itself, because we really, we are [they both laugh] ... . I mean, it’s so, so good, but yet, it’s so hard. But it’s worth it. I think that’s the beauty of being collaborators and partners in every sense. Things can get messy, and we can hurt each other’s feelings, but know that they come from love and care and just wanting to make the best thing that we can.

I feel like unfortunately in a lot of collaborations, including ones that I’ve had, you’re so scared to tread in those waters because it might break the relationship. I think we feel, because we’re just partners in every which way and every part of life, we are committed to this both as collaborators and in every other way.

Pier Carlo: How do your company members handle it? Because there must be some times when it’s like, “Uh-oh, mommy and daddy are mad at us.” It must be an odd feeling to be led by a husband-and-wife team.

Andrew: Sure. The band — and there are specific dancers too that we get involved with — and by day two or three, they’re calling me Dad. [Lauren and Andrew laugh.] I don’t know if they do that to Lauren as much, but I come in and say something, and then I’m Dad. But they’re intimately involved in the process, and so I don’t think there’s been ... . The vast majority of what we’ve created hasn’t had many internal conflicts go on within the process of making the work, at least not in a way that we are exposing all the people that are part of it to it.

But sometimes, yeah, it does. I think that friction, especially with us being partners and everything, when we get to those places, I don’t think we passively comb over it and the tension’s still in the air but nothing’s been resolved. Lauren and I will resolve it right there, and people will participate. We’re never like screaming at each other, but there’s definitely this … . I feel like the people involved can feel like it’s safe enough for them to have a suggestion or say something or participate in it, and then we can take that home and figure it out.

But yeah, being married and collaborating and creating art together … I think if we were both choreographers or musicians, it would be more difficult. I think that the fact that we speak these two different languages ... . Because she’ll often — like she said about my take on my perspective on specific movement — she does the same for me musically. But dance is different in the sense that it seems like everybody to some degree with music has some intellectual level of understanding of it. You know when something’s good, when something’s unique, just based off of exposure. Dance is a bit different because it is a more of a niche medium when it comes to just the broad range of art that exists. She’s turned me on to so many different artists over the years that have become influences. And just hearing her unique take on that too.

As far as the partnership’s concerned, I think that the rawness and any of the friction that we have is so exposed that it’s not threatening; it just serves. We’ve learned over the years too how to serve a work, not ourselves in that way. That’s the ultimate goal, right?

Lauren: I would just add that I think the dancers and the artists and the designers and everyone who is a part of any project sees that we really try to just assemble a group that we can trust and who are experts in their own field and then let them kind of, I guess, just trust in that process and know that we have confidence in them. Our company is really just Andrew and I in terms of the fulltime bones of it. Being able to bring on artists project by project, I think, also just inherently makes everybody super-excited about that thing because it’s like we’re bringing the band together for the summer or something to just make this thing. It never feels like you’re in this sort of slog.

We really try to infuse that process the best we can with that sort of fervor that we had when we made our first thing. We’re getting older so I don’t know how successful that is, but it feels definitely like the artists are excited to be a part of whatever project is percolating.

Pier Carlo: I can tell just from the video I’ve seen of your work that some of it has a very queer sensibility. I know you live in a very conservative state, although Boise itself is very creative and varied. I wonder if that creates a friction for you that is useful. Tell me about doing your work in Idaho.

Andrew: Sure.

Lauren: Well, I think, you are right. I think Boise is definitely a progressive place that feels very welcoming and very open.

Andrew: But as far as the politics, yeah, I know what you mean by that too. I don’t think that gives a very fair depiction of Boise itself, just like Portland’s never been a representation of the politics in Oregon, I guess.

Pier Carlo: But I think a lot of artists who go to a conservatory, for instance, think that they’re going to go work in one of the big cities on the coast.

Andrew: Yes. Oh, yeah.

Lauren: Right, right.

Pier Carlo: I’d love to hear about what it’s like to go back and do your work in hometown, Lauren, and what the advantages and disadvantages are.

Lauren: Well, so I feel like the advantages have been that I have a history here. I studied here, I have danced here for so long, and having danced with Trey McIntyre Project, I know a lot of people and there have been a lot of people who have supported me in the company along the way. I think on the flip side, that is a disadvantage as well. [She laughs.] I think that as a hometown person, it feels like people can really celebrate the fact that I’m homegrown, yet also feel, “They can’t be that good if she’s from here!” [They both laugh.]

I feel a little bit — and this is all, I don’t really know, I guess this is my sort of perception — it feels like we are very much about pushing the culture here and really taking big swings and risks, whether we know it or not. We’re really just trying to create work that speaks to us and feels like it’s genuine and coming from an honest place, with the artists involved are taking that leap with us as well.

I’d say that it feels like the response has been sort of … like it’s a balm a little bit. I think a lot of people want work that speaks boldly yet doesn’t, I think, try … . We’re not trying to craft something that is inherently, I guess, cutting-edge. I hate that term, cutting-edge; we’re definitely not trying to do that, but it feels like it’s just been in the makeup of the company and what we want to see. We wanted to create something that we didn’t see here. I feel like that’s an amalgamation of all the places both Andrew and I have lived and worked and also the artists who we really love.

And because Boise is kind of an island in some ways in terms of its lack of proximity to other big cities, with Seattle and Portland maybe being the closest, it feels like we have this ability to harness people’s attention in a way that other cities might not. Because it’s really not very saturated with that many companies or artists. Unfortunately. We want to help build that ecosystem of artists, if we can.

Andrew: Yeah, for sure.

Pier Carlo: LED does not use the planned-season model, which is so common with other performance and dance companies. What lessons do you think you’ve learned that could benefit other contemporary performance companies your size?

Lauren: Well, I think because Andrew and I are the artists and also make the content for almost everything that we do, being project-based allows us the creative space to take on projects that are of real interest to us. I think also from an economical standpoint it has been really a great model because we only take on projects that we can afford to do really.

Andrew: Sustainability.

Lauren: We’re really just trying to be as sustainable as we can and think clearly about what growth looks like. We really believe that the growth comes from just making good-quality art, and so we try with each small batch to make those pieces as good as we can. Inevitably the growth will come, but we want to make sure that we’re prepared in a way that the growth is not beyond our bandwidth and that it’s not asking things of us that we don’t really want to do.

I saw it in a company that I was a part of. As the company grows in its patronage and administration and grants and all those things that are exciting, it can also be unfortunately too much to sustain, and then creatively you end up losing that creative juice. I think for us we’re really just trying to take steps that are cognizant of what we need as a company and as artists.

Andrew: I think it allows us to take bigger ambitious swings too. Our Board is fully supportive of what we choose to do artistically and gives us the captain’s hat for that. But also like with what Lauren says, through developing and having your eyes set on becoming a larger organization, I mean, yeah, that’s obviously a great thing too. It’s just we have a pretty nimble boat that we can flip on a dime when things get messy or hairy. Like we’ve just said before, the sustainability part.

But also we’re able to work with larger organizations in the community in a way that, if we want to do something during their off-season ... we can collaborate with them in the sense of, 'Hey, we have more work for your dancers when they’re not working.'
Andrew Stensaas

But also we’re able to work with larger organizations in the community in a way that, if we want to do something during their off-season — like Ballet Idaho, for example; we’re friends with the artistic director there — we can collaborate with them in the sense of, “Hey, we have more work for your dancers when they’re not working.” Those types of avenues are beneficial too for a company that doesn’t just set their season up right out of the gate.

Pier Carlo: What I’ve heard you say a lot in this interview is that you definitely want to avoid becoming calcified and you wanted to create a company that was going to keep challenging you to evolve.

Andrew: Yes.

Pier Carlo: And so I’m wondering if you can tell me how you’re looking forward to evolving next. Is there a project you’re looking forward to in which you’ll get to flex a new muscle?

Andrew: Yes. [Laughing] I think every project we’ve gone in for the last seven years has required that.

This next work we’re doing, which we’re working out for our November show at the Morrison Center, is going to be unique in that sense as well. It’s going to emphasize — at least we’re talking about it —the music portion of it more, and the way with which we work with dancers in that will be different than what we’ve ever done before. It’s very difficult to try to have the band be right in the middle of where the performing is happening, and so we’re trying to jump on that next evolutionary step with having the band perform as the centerpiece with the movement surrounding that and participating in that way. We’re still talking about it, I don’t want to ... [chuckling] Laurie, we’re still talking about it.

Lauren: [She laughs.] Oh no, I’m in. I’m fully in!

Andrew: I know you are.

Lauren: Recently there was somebody on a Facebook post where we were marketing our film, and a troll wrote, “Dance is cringe.” This has stuck with me. I actually created a work just for Treefort Music Fest last month that explored this idea. It was kind of an awakening for me, which then made me do some deep dives researching, that for some people — which I was unaware of because I’m fully in the dance circle — that dance is cringe and it’s a difficult thing to partake in, I guess, if that’s not part of your being or you feel limited by dance or you’re scared or fearful just from watching someone dance.

Recently there was somebody on a Facebook post where we were marketing our film, and a troll wrote, 'Dance is cringe.' ... That for me felt like a real catalyst to explore how dance can be fully inclusive.
Lauren Edson

That for me felt like a real catalyst to explore how dance can be fully inclusive. How do we bridge that gap between an audience member who feels disconnected or so far from a performer moving and really allow for that person to embrace their own physicality and their own dance? I think this sort of thing just set off in my mind more of how to explore that onstage and on film and in experience.

Pier Carlo: In this recent piece of yours, how did you explore that?

Lauren: It started as a roving experience where we had, essentially, a leader of the dance family who was … it was kind of like a dance cult for lack of a better word.

Andrew: [Laughing] No, it was that.

Lauren: It was a dance cult, yeah.

Andrew: It was fantastic!

Pier Carlo: So you leaned into the cringe thing.

Lauren: We totally leaned into the cringe thing.

Andrew: The name of the piece was “Dance Is Cringe.” We have t-shirts. We’ll have to send you one.

Lauren: This was really one of the first times that I’ve collaborated with someone who wasn’t Andrew. Elijah Jensen-Lindsey is a musician himself, and he was the leader. He actually moves a lot in his performances, just in his own groove. He brought the audience along this journey and in a sort of poking satirical way kind of took the sort of pomp and circumstance or any sort of elitism out of a dance performance. By the end we in invited everybody out onto the stage non-verbally, brought them out onstage to dance. And the response really was remarkable. It was in our tiny little space, and so we packed in maybe 90 people.

We heard from so many people that they have felt kind of at odds with their bodies at times and just spontaneously being brought onto the stage to dance in a way that that they felt like there was zero pressure or judgment or artifice … I think that, to me, felt like an incredibly successful thing. To just watch it happen so organically was really beautiful, and it came from this one seed of someone saying, “Dance is cringe.” I felt like was such redemption in a way. Also, it just felt so good and people needed it, especially after the last two years. It was just really heartwarming to see.

Andrew: Trolls can be an inspiration.

Pier Carlo: Who knew?

Andrew: Right? But it was a truly magical performance to witness. I so rarely ever get to witness anything that our company’s doing because I’m in it. So it was really, it was a special piece. Some people said it was their favorite experience at Treefort, and there’s music from all over the globe in Treefort! So it was really neat.

June 07, 2022