Lelavision co-founders, Ela Lamblin and Leah Mann, began their collaborative efforts in 1992
in Atlanta, GA , using sculpture, music, and movement to develop themes based on myth, nature, and spirit.
In 1996, they founded Lelavision Physical Music in the Seattle, Washington area. They live and create their art
at their home on Vashon Island in the Puget Sound.
Lelavision has been presented by entities such as The New Genre Festival of Tulsa (OK), Boston's Dance Umbrella (MA),
Emory University (Atl, GA), Chattanooga's Barking Legs (TN) and the National Performance Network (US).
Abroad, the company has toured the UK, Italy, Israel, Canada, Singapore and Bangkok with entities such as Teatro della Tosse (Genoa),
Singapore International Children’s Festival, AnTobar Arts Center (the Isle of Mull).
The name Lela is more than a play on the names
of the founders; derived from two Sanskrit terms meaning "creation"
and "creative spark", with references to "play," it denotes the spirit
of the performance group. The company combines modern and aerial dance,
music, theater, and large interactive musical sculptures to create
innovative works of awe and whimsy. Their work is about the transfer
of energy, the emanations of the soul, and the common denominators
of the human experience. Mann and Lamblin work with a synthesis of
form, space, movement, and music in a collaboration that draws on
the unique contribution of each. Ela Lamblin is a sculptor/musician
who is known in Seattle for his past collaborations with the UMO Ensemble.
Lamblin's musical instrument/sculptures represent a harmony of sound,
form, and movement meant not solely to be looked at and walked around
but to be sounded and intimately experimented with. They appeal both
to the ear and to the eye and, because they are thematically indicative,
to the soul and to the consciousness. His work has recently been honored
by a grant from Meet the Composer and a Fellowship by Artist Trust.
One of Lamblin's instruments was toured with the Smithsonian Institute
exhibit entitled "Heart and Hands, Musical Craftsmen of America",
which is included in the Smithsonian Institute 's Touring Exhibition
(SITES) . This instrument is also featured in a photo documentary
of the same name. Lamblin is a featured artist in the 1998 compilation
book and CD , Orbitones, Spoonharps, and Bellowphones, edited by Bart
Hopkin, which also featured John Cage, Tom Waits, Stomp, and Ellen
Fullman among others. Lamblin has recently received a commission to
create a wind powered kinetic musical for a Seattle area community
center. Mann's work is eclectic in form, pulling from many ethnic
and technical genres but always centered in the exploration of dance
as a mind body spirit practice. Her work is enhanced by the use of
props, large visual elements (bungee cords, scaffolding, sets, sculpture,
trapeze, etc). Previously, she founded the award winning arts and
urban outreach program, Moving in the Spirit, for which she remains
artistic director emeritus. Currently Mann administers Lelavision’s
Integrated Music Program bringing a diverse roster of musicians and
singers to wards, clinic and bedsides at Harborview and UW Medical
Centers. This program has been honored with numerous state and national
grants. She also teaches Alzheimer Patients at Vashon Care Center
- developmental movement.
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