By Kat Guevara
Los Angeles, CA (The Hollywood Times) 7/13/25 – The second annual Performance Lab was a gathering of movement, collective memory, and creative magic. Presented by The Space and Jessie Lee Thorne, who curated the entire event remotely from London while at film school, the event took place July 11–12 at L.A. Dance Project. Dancers were invited for a two-week intensive residency leading up to the performance and short film screenings.
The program featured the premiere of “Clack” by Mike Tyus & Co., a rhythmic eruption of vogue aggression, alongside compelling works by Luca Renzi, Majella Bess, Jennifer Rose, Megan Doheny and Ilya Nikurov, among other choreographers.
The evening opened with a duet by Madison Lucas and Ella Melideo, beginning with the innocence of pat-a-cake, unraveling into a storm of tumbling bodies. Jobel Medina, joined by percussionist Elliot Sellers, delivered a raw reprise of “IMMDED IMMGEWD,” previously performed at The Broad.
Dances drifted beyond the stage, into an SUV and out onto the parking lot, weaving around neighboring spaces like François Ghebaly. A trio moved through themes of betrayal, loss and longing, their passion igniting beneath passion fruit vines in the gazebo.
Mike Tyus & Co. conjured a finale with a haunting vision in the language of beauty horror. Twenty dancers encircled a cold examination table, echoing forgotten rites as they awaited their turn to be pulled and reshaped.
Performance Lab 2025 explored the fragility of modern connection through the rituals we uphold, whether by choice or by habit. In her opening remarks, Thorne reminded the audience: “It takes a village to raise a community.”
