Lionel Popkin’s dances are characterized by his blend of humor, subtle sensuality, precision, sly wit, and raw physical power that The Village Voice says, “yields first to the senses” and then to “intimate adventures”.  His work comes from a deeply sensory and unabashed kinesthetic curiosity that places vibrant individuals within an imagistic or abstract landscape, propelling his audience to have a highly visceral and physical experience. Popkin has presented his choreography nationally and internationally at numerous venues including Danspace Project and Dance Theater Workshop in New York City, The Getty Museum, REDCAT, and Highways in Los Angeles, the Jacob’s Pillow Inside/Out Series, On the Boards in Seattle, the Wilma Theater in Philadelphia, Sushi Performance in San Diego, and The Place Theater in London. The New Yorker has proclaimed that his “choreography is flecked with engaging moments” and is “comical, creepy and uncanny”, while Dance Magazine has written that his work “heightened and transformed one’s perception of the theatrical space”. The Seattle Weekly states Lionel “has mastered the new modern aesthetic of short, bursting speedy phrases, tiny articulated gestures, and loose powerful hips”, and The Los Angeles Times has noted that his dances are “weird and sensual”, and “might inspire audiences to coo.”

As a dancer, Lionel has performed throughout the US and Europe in the companies of Trisha Brown (2000-2003), Terry Creach (1996-2000) and Stephanie Skura (1993-1996). From 1999-2000 Lionel was a Choreographer-In-Residence at the Susan Hess Studio in Philadelphia, PA. He has received grants from the City of Los Angeles’ Department of Cultural Affairs, the Danspace Project’s Commissioning Initiative, the Jerome Foundation, the Nonprofit Finance Fund, the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, the New York State Music Fund and the Durfee Foundation. He was commissioned by San Diego’s Lower Left Performance Collective’s Satellite in November 2005. The San Diego Union-Tribune called the work “the most purely beautiful” piece, and San Diego Arts praised it for accomplishing the rare combination where “risks led to beauty as well as complexity.”

Lionel is a certified teacher of Sinner Releasing Technique and has served on the faculty at Bates College, London’s Laban Centre, Sarah Lawrence College, TEmple University and the University of Maryland. Lionel is currently an Assistant Professor of Choreography and Performance at UCLA.