UC Irvine choreographer revels in 35 years of dance

When Irvine Barclay Theatre opened its doors in 1990, choreographer Molly Lynch brought Ballet Pacifica to its stage. Lynch served as artistic director of Orange County’s only professional ballet company for 15 years. In 2004, she founded the National Choreographers Initiative (NCI) – an annual three-week intensive that pairs choreographers with professional ballet dancers to incubate new work. The Barclay proved an ideal setting for NCI’s summer showcase.

“The Barclay is an intimate venue with enough seating to have good audience energy but no bad seats in the house,” Lynch says. “They’re well equipped for dance with a sprung stage, Marley floor and fly space. We have the ability to reconfigure the space in different ways.”

Now it’s a passing-of-the-baton moment for Lynch, who decided after 35 years it’s time for a new generation of artists to take over. This July’s performance will be NCI’s final curtain call. But it’s hardly Lynch’s last dance. She serves as professor and chair of the Dance Department at UC Irvine – her alma mater – and has no plans to retire.

“When you decide to leave one chapter behind, another opens,” says Lynch, who is already receiving consulting and mentorship offers. “I’m excited about that. It’s the right time for new people to come forward with their passions and keep the art form alive.”

A long list of accomplishments

Every summer, NCI invites four choreographers and 16 professional dancers to develop new, experimental work. Nearly three dozen workshopped pieces have been performed by major dance companies, and 84 choreographers came through the program. NCI launched the careers of many choreographers, several of whom are now directors, including Ma Cong (Richmond Ballet in Virginia), Amy Seiwert (Smuin Ballet in San Francisco) and Melissa Barak (Los Angeles Ballet).

“I founded NCI as both a laboratory and incubator for new work, modeling it after South Coast Repertory’s NewSCRipts,” Lynch says. “These were informal readings of new pieces that gave the playwright feedback from the audience. At NCI, the choreographer gets feedback. They can see their work on stage and tweak it. There’s no pressure. These aren’t commissions.”

Jennifer Backhaus, founder of contemporary dance company Backhausdance, praises Lynch for her contributions to the local artistic community.

“Molly has been one of OC’s most important champions for the creation of new dance, and NCI is a powerful example of what sustained artistic leadership can make possible,” Backhaus says. “The initiative exists to give choreographers and professional dancers dedicated time and space to try ideas, take risks and build brand-new work – then share that creative process with the community and help grow a more engaged dance audience here in Orange County.”

Supporting women

For this summer’s final performance, Lynch invited four choreographers back – all women, and that’s by design. “Supporting women was part of my mission. These choreographers represent a smattering of the past decade – women who are actively pursuing their choreographic careers.”

The returning women include Sarah Tallman (2015), Julia Feldman (2019), Emily Adams (2022) and DaYoung Jung (2024). “They all have their own ideas,” Lynch says. “I selected women with different styles to celebrate the past decade of choreography.”

“The Last Dance!” will take place on July 25. It’s a fitting finale to a long career. “I’m very hopeful when I see past NCI dancers and my UCI students starting their own companies and developing their own projects,” Lynch says. “It’s exciting to watch the next generation take the lead.”