Laura Schandelmeier & Stephen Clapp

“Portals just may be the performance to gain you entry into appreciating modern dance. Laura Schandelmeier's and Stephen Clapp's dance is basically an ode to life...There's something in there that everyone can relate to, whether it's a first interaction - as when the life partners coyly communicate through whistles - or merely enjoying human grace, as the couple use each other's bodies to somersault and glide across the floor.”
Kim Gooden, Washington City Paper

“Body action, reaction, urges, conflicting drives, facial expression and even choreography for the characters' tongues conveyed the story. This movement was highly functional as a vehicle for broad narrative and, atop this efficiency, it had sensual luster, dynamic variety and at times a dancey lilt… Achieving the perfect balance between depiction and suggestion in motion narrative is difficult but not impossible…Laura Schandelmeier and Stephen Clapp have made a start.”
George Jackson, Dance View Times

“DC dancers Laura Schandelmeier and Stephen Clapp have long been acclaimed for their grace, verve and strong sense of social responsibility. The pair's latest collaboration, "The Dragons Project: Power Play," … calls forth the literary and popular associations of the mythical beasts.”
The Washington Post Express

“Balancing on one foot, jammed into an outrageous high-heeled platform shoe, [Schandelmeier] seemed physically capable of almost anything."
Paula Durbin, The Washington Post

“Of note was Stephen Clapp's purposeful rumination on what he calls "global unrest" and "the forces that divide us." In his trio, "Endgame," he exhibited his trademark catlike jumps, velvety landings and rubbery rebounds, while Jessica Hirst and Laura Schandelmeier moved with squarely mechanized fervor. The three become collaborators, carrying the weight of war on their guilty outstretched palms.”
Lisa Traiger, The Washington Post

“[Schandelmeier] showed herself to be an extraordinary mover: strong, fluent, quick, vehement."
Tobi Tobias, New York Magazine

“Mr. Clapp, a lithe mover with an exotically etched silhouette and long black warrior hair.”
George Jackson, Dance View Times

“…Facinatingly bizarre…Her small but emphatically feminine gestures are both edgy and strangely elegant – no mean feat…”
J. Cooper Robb, Philadelphia Weekly

"Laura Schandelmeier’s In the Place Where We Live resembled those cards used in personality testing that depict situations but leave the interpretation up to the viewer."
Jennifer Dunning, The New York Times

"Laura Schandelmeier carries in her bones and sinews a dance legacy that stretches back to Mary Wigman."
Elizabeth Zimmer, The Village Voice