There was a moment when two dancers stood in front of me, their backs facing my point of view. One of the dancers leans his head on the shoulder of the dancer beside him. Surrendering to his exhaustion, dependent on the other. In this moment, it was clear what ANT represented to me: the undoubtable strength in interdependency.
Jacob Jonas The Company – Full cast of “RAIN” by Jacob Jonas – Photo by Kate Kondratieva.
On the evening of July 24, 2025, Jacob Jonas The Company presented ANT, a three part immersive experience showcased at Soundstage in Echo Park. The audience was corralled into the performance space and upon entry, visibility became muffled by heavy fog and bright lights. Before seeing any dancers, I hear them. As their bodies collapsed to the ground, the sound of their limbs hitting the wooden floor were an invitation to come closer. After navigating my way through the crowd to a line of visibility, dancers Alexa Donnelly, Paulina Donnelly, Jordan Plange, Alyse Rockett, Emma Rosenzweig-Bock, Nic Walton, Jill Wilson, and Jarrett Yeary enter and exit the space with a focused walk, found themselves under an overhead light, and collapsed down to the floor. In relation to the piece’s title, ‘RAIN,’ choreographed by Jacob Jonas, the soundscape was swelling with the sound of a heavy storm. There was something communal about this installation work, with the overhead light connecting the dancers through their focus. It was clear that the movement was happening to them rather than because of them.
Jacob Jonas The Company – Full cast of TOUCH, PULSE, SEND by Peter Walker – Photo by Kate Kondratieva.
The installation dissipated and soon entered a poet in residence, Nathan Birnbaum, who offered insight to the interpretation of ANT, mentioning unity within a collective organism and interdependency. What followed was a work choreographed by Peter Walker titled ‘TOUCH, PULSE, SEND’ and performed by Paulina Donnelly, Alyse Rockett, Emma Rosenzweig-Bock, Peter Walker, Jill Wilson, and Jarrett Yeary. With music by Eighth Blackbird, this work had a brighter tone, both choreographically and compositionally. The musicality felt intrinsic to the movement and was expertly performed as if the dancers and the sound were one entity. The piece was technically challenging and emphasized the energetic dependency of the performers to get one another through the work. Standing so close to the performers truly accentuated this aspect of physicality as I could see their sweat fall and their breath become more labored.
Jacob Jonas The Company – Full cast of COYOTE FOX WOLF DRAGONFLY BUTTERFLY BEE EAGLE RAVEN HAWK by Jacob Jonas – Photo by Dylan Schwartz.
Poet Nathan Birnbaum entered and introduced the final piece, choreographed by Jonas, titled ‘COYOTE FOX WOLF DRAGONFLY BUTTERFLY BEE EAGLE RAVEN HAWK’ with music composed by Patrick Watson. Jonas noted in the program that this piece was created at Perry Mansfield in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. A dance haven in the middle of beautiful nature, Perry Mansfield is a place I had the privilege of studying at when I was just fourteen years old. The mention of this brought me back to a time where I stood among a forest, alone with just the crunching of leaves beneath my feet, and a curiosity toward the nature around and within me. He mentions the moment of inspiration for the work, surrounded by Aspen trees when a singular ant crawled along his skin and suddenly, the illusion of isolation dissipated. Throughout the work, this inspiration is clearly communicated through the use of highly physical partnering, fully reliant on the other to support the weight and execution of the movement. The work demonstrated the interweaving of systems in societal structures as the dancers moved in and out of solos, and group work, energetically and physically dependent on the other. The extreme athleticism and physical demand of the work is something I have never seen before. I applaud the dancers’ ability to remain committed to the execution both physically and emotionally. It was abundantly clear at the end of the show that the performers truly gave everything that they had.
Jacob Jonas The Company – Emma Rosenzweig-Back, Jarrett Yeary in COYOTE FOX WOLF DRAGONFLY BUTTERFLY BEE EAGLE RAVEN HAWK by Jacob Jonas – Photo by Elen Glazova.
Jacob Jonas The Company presented a show that, inspired by nature, reflected the human experience in our most vulnerable and powerful selves. The work speaks to the power of needing one another within systems that are much too complex for us to navigate on our own. ANT is a mirror to humanity, a beautiful, raw display of interconnectedness.
To learn more about Jacob Jonas The Company, please visit their website.
Written by Rebecca Lee for LA Dance Chronicle.
Featured image: Jacob Jonas The Company – Paulina Donnelly, Jarrett Yeary in COYOTE FOX WOLF DRAGONFLY BUTTERFLY BEE EAGLE RAVEN HAWK by Jacob Jonas – Photo by Kate Kondratieva.
