Theories of creation

Nobody ever said getting back into shape after having a baby would be a pirouette in the park. Even for the most physically fit. But for dancer-choreographer Regina Klenjoski, the task was doubly daunting. Not only were the birthing adventure and its aftereffects exhausting for her -- but they were also an injunction to go deeper as an artist.

“The experience of having my son was the most overwhelming, intensive one of my life,” a radiant, toned Klenjoski, 34, said during a recent rehearsal break in Torrance, where the Regina Klenjoski Dance Company is based and has been in residence with the city’s cultural services division since 1999. “Nobody can prepare you for it. I felt that deserved to be honored and remembered. That’s what fueled me to do the solo.”

She was referring to “Lullaby for Cristian,” a seven-minute work she made for herself after the birth of her son in November. The piece is one of two premieres on a three-part program that her company will present when it debuts Friday at the John Anson Ford Amphitheatre.

Dance was not Klenjoski’s original career choice. Born in Vienna and raised by her Macedonian parents in Cleveland, the choreographer -- although she dabbled in Slavic folk dancing at church -- had no intention of pursuing an arts career. In fact, she was studying business at Ohio University when she decided to enroll in a modern dance class.

But the bug bit, and Klenjoski graduated in 1993 with business and dance majors. Her senior dance project earned her a summer workshop scholarship to Columbia College in Chicago and, after completing that program, she decided to make her move to the Windy City permanent. She formed a pickup group that made inroads into the lively local dance scene, and she also met and married Stephen Schmidt, a TV commercial producer. Then, in 1997, Schmidt was offered a job in Los Angeles.

“I felt like L.A. was a blank slate and I could make it my own,” Klenjoskisaid. Two years after the move, she formed her company, which today numbers six dancers ranging in age from 21 to 28. Since turning professional, she has created 19 works (16 are in the company’s repertory), including two inspired by her East European ancestry. “Dear Mimmy,” choreographed for the troupe in 1999, focused on the brutalities of war as seen through the eyes of an 11-year-old Serbian girl. “Little Kukla” (Macedonian for “doll”), a 1997 work she made in Chicago, had its L.A. premiere in 2000.

In 2001, as part of her Torrance residency (which includes teaching), Klenjoski started the Sola Contemporary Dance Festival. A two-night annual event at the James Armstrong Theatre (it will expand to three performances this November), the festival showcases the work of 10 emerging choreographers.

Although there are no honorariums for the participants, Klenjoski says the profits are shared by the artists. “If you put up your work and do the legwork getting an audience, you can make a profit,” she says. “The community was hungry for more dance, and the series gives artists another avenue to get their work out.”

Deborah Brockus, co-producer of the “Spectrum: Dance in L.A.” series, is among those who count Klenjoski as an asset to the Southern California dance scene: “Regina came from Chicago, where she was used to having a stronger base,” Brockus observed. “She made one here, and I’m impressed with what she’s done, from the Sola festival to maintaining and producing a list of modern dance classes.”

Like her solo, Klenjoski’s 45-minute “Love Lies Waiting,” also on the Ford bill, was set to an original score by South Bay composer Mark Fitchett, to be performed by his 10-piece ensemble. “Lullaby,” by contrast, is accompanied by only a cello.

“Live music adds more depth and dimension to my work,” she said. “It’s the difference between buying clothes off the rack and having your own fashion stylist.”

Completing the Ford program will be the second premiere, the edgy 30-minute “Streetscapes.” Accompanied by an original taped sound collage by locally based Drew Schnurr, the piece is a response to the mechanization of contemporary life and was also created after the birth of Klenjoski’s son.

“In a traditional society, everybody lived in the same village,” she explained. “I realized my support system -- my family -- is back in Ohio, and everybody here is so busy. It brought to light how interpersonal communication has lost priority. Having a child brings us back to the basics.”

Marissa Labog, 27, the associate director of Klenjoski’s troupe, has been dancing with it since its inception. “Regina works from life experience, not some grotesque, abstract concept,” she said. “Since the baby, she’s a lot more focused. This is the first time we’ve all connected so well so early in the process of creating a piece.”

Added Klenjoski, whose original concept for “Lullaby” was a film to be shot during her pregnancy: “I had no energy then. My creative juices were all in the belly, not in the head, so I decided to do the piece later. I’m very attached to my son, and it’s been both difficult and ironic. I had to be away from Cristian while I was creating the piece about him.”

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Regina Klenjoski Dance Company

Where: John Anson Ford Amphitheatre, 2580 Cahuenga Blvd. East, Hollywood

When: 8:30 p.m. Friday

Price: $12 to $25

Contact: (323) 461-3673