LED at The Dixon
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Have you driven down Chinden Blvd lately? You may have noticed an old building with a fresh coat of white paint and a big, bold new sign reading “LED at The Dixon.” This is LED’s new home – a flexible performance space, an event venue, an artist residency, and a new hub for performing arts. It’s the next chapter in LED’s mission to bring world-class, genre-blending performance to the Boise area. It’s a big space with a big vision. If you already know LED, that won’t surprise you. If you don’t, here’s a quick intro before your first LED experience. Meet LEDLED is a dance company, a music project, and a film studio. Shaped by the artistic vision of husband-and-wife duo Lauren Edson and Andrew Stensaas, LED weaves movement, original music, captivating stories, and striking visuals into cinematic worlds. Named by Dance Magazine as “25 to Watch” and praised as “virtuosic eye-candy that invites the audience into another world,” LED continues to redefine what an artistic encounter can be. Their tagline sums it up: “Art that moves people.” A space of their ownAfter a decade of creating and performing in Boise and across the country, LED was ready for a permanent home. They were previously in a downtown Boise studio space at 1420 W Grove Street, next door to Hops & Bottles. That space was great for rehearsal and hosting intimate performances, but it wasn’t built for presenting. In 2023, friends tipped Andrew and Lauren off to a former warehouse/retail building in Garden City that would soon be on the market. Formerly housed by Dixon Container, it was a little dusty and very ‘70s, but the bones were right. Not to mention the location in Garden City’s Live, Work, Create district felt like a natural fit. What followed was a capital campaign that would test the organization's commitment. LED eventually secured $1.2 million in donations and capital, which is pretty remarkable for a small arts nonprofit. When the total project cost exceeded the capital they’d raised, they thought they could do the building in phases, opening with just the essentials. But the vision demanded more. "We weren't going to do any of the lounge or any of the theater lighting," Lauren recalls. "But then it was like, well, we need all this to really function and to really convey the vision for it." Their contractors stepped up in ways they couldn’t imagine. Opsis Architecture (Portland, OR) led design; Hatch (just down the street in Garden City) shepherded implementation and city approvals. Hatch also does in-house millwork and donated crucial labor and materials to help LED complete the space in one push rather than phasing. “We just really feel like we were blessed to find the right people that saw the vision and wanted to make it happen,” said Andrew. Like most construction projects, it came down to the wire. "There were people, including friends, who'd come in and say, 'I don't know what you guys are thinking. You're never gonna be open,'" Andrew said. "And then three weeks later they'd be like, 'Wow, this looks amazing.'" Inside The DixonLocated at 3300 W Chinden Blvd, The Dixon is made up of three distinct spaces, thoughtfully connected with artistic details throughout. The Lounge. When you first arrive you’ll step into the lounge – a cool, intimate room designed for pre- and post-show conversation, artist meet-ups, and community gatherings. The bar features a curated selection of beer and wine which can be enjoyed at a variety of seating. This space is also available as a venue rental and can comfortably fit around 150 people. The Theater. Where the magic happens. This space is purpose-built and delightfully modular, with telescoping seats to flip between a rehearsal space and performance venue. Full seated capacity with seating is around 150 but it can be configured for a variety of seated or standing performances. The Movement Loft. Above the lounge is a sunlit workshop and rehearsal space. It was built for workshops, residencies, and creative development. Artistic Touches. Throughout the building there’s small nooks filled with photographs from LED’s past performances and smaller pieces of art. Each space also has its own vibe and artistic take, while maintaining a flow between spaces. Even the four bathrooms have their own unique design. The detail work throughout the building is meticulous and intentional. Even the building's name carries intention. When Lauren was in New York doing a residency with Company XIV and seeing Sleep No More at the fictional McKittrick Hotel, she noticed how those companies differentiated between themselves and their spaces. "We really wanted this to exist as its own entity," she said. The space needed its own identity, which is why they kept the name “The Dixon.” Now it reads as "LED at The Dixon," which means when other artists rent the space, they're not performing in LED's theater. They're performing at The Dixon. The neighborhoodI’d be remiss not to shout out the neighbors in this effortlessly cool corner of Garden City. LED is right at home in a neighborhood that’s long been a hub for creativity, art, and community. Right next door to The Dixon is Roots Zero Waste Market, the first zero-waste grocery store in the country. LED even worked out a deal to provide parking for show-goers in Roots’ parking lot. Just down 33rd Street is sPacePort, a cluster of converted Airstreams where artists, freelancers, and creatives work (also the coolest venue at Flipside a few years back, in my opinion. More shows with bonfires in the middle, please). A few blocks away you’ll find Push & Pour, Surel’s Place, Barbarian Brewing, Bardenay, Oldspeak Bar, Telaya Wine Co., and of course, the Greenbelt. Across the street there’s Parcero Wine Bar, Visionkit Studio, and The Common Well. All that to say: this part of Garden City is stacked with movers, makers, and creative risk-takers. LED fits right in. My Strange DarlingThe debut production for The Dixon is My Strange Darling, an original LED work co-created by Lauren and Andrew. It features a hand-built puppet by local artist Jessica Nebeker (with puppetry coaching by her sister, Jamie). The puppet is operated in the Japanese Bunraku style, where a figure is operated by three visible puppeteers (or dancers, in the case of this performance), each manipulating a specific body part to create lifelike movements. The piece is staged in grayscale – like watching a living black-and-white TV – and set inside a 1950s variety show called “The Razzle Dazzle.” It’s a meditation on technology and agency. What can we build, what should we build, and what happens when creation runs ahead of intention? The first performance weekend begins October 17–18 (the October 17th performance is already sold out), with a second weekend October 23–24. You can buy tickets here. A season that mixes “make” and “present”With a true home base, LED can finally do both: premiere their own work and present artists they admire. Here’s what you can look forward to for the 25-26 season at LED:
A decade into LED’s existence, Lauren and Andrew could have scaled differently. They could have chased bigger theaters and national tours – the traditional markers of success. Instead, they chose to invest in something lasting: a home for performance, process, and community. Their goal is simple: to make The Dixon a hub for new work and a platform for artists they believe Boise should see. The Dixon is available to rent for events, weddings, concerts, corporate events, and artistic performances. It’s flexible, beautiful, and intimate. It’s a place where the Treasure Valley’s creative community can gather, create, and be seen. And now it’s ready for its grand reveal – not just as a venue, but as an anchor for Boise’s cultural future. For LED. For artists. And for the community that made it possible. I hope you get to experience it soon. You can buy tickets to My Strange Darling here. Thanks for reading! With love from Boise, Marissa
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