Billed as a 50-minute live performance, fusing unconventional percussion, cello, and visceral movement, IMMDED IMMGEWD will appear at L.A. Dance Project on September 5-7, 2024 at 8pm. A dynamic collaborative work by dancer, choreographer Jobel Medina and director, producer, writer, cinematographer, editor, drummer and multi-instrumentalist Elliott “L” Sellers, the press release states that the two artists “engage in a dynamic and intimate dialogue using their bodies and musical instruments, exploring a range of possibilities in their relationship within the piece.” Tickets are on sale now HERE.
Meeting on Zoom for an interview with LADC, the two artists gave me permission to refer to them as Jobel and L, rather than using their last names.
Jobel Medina – Photo by Justin D. Hopkins.
The two met briefly at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (ICALA) where they were two of several artists creating works.
“When we first met, we talked about that and I was one of the artists at ICALA,” he said. “I learned that he was a filmmaker, he’s an incredible filmmaker.” Jobel invited L to film and observe one of his workshops at ICA to see how they worked together. He then found out that L was also a drummer and the two decided to work together.
Jobel was commissioned to present a work on the lower level of The Broad Museum where the work of American conceptual artist John Baldessari was being exhibited. Baldessai’s painting was based around the idea of punk and Jobel used that as an inspiration for his piece. He had just agreed to include L and so the two collaborated to create their work titled IMMDED IMMGEWD performed in March of 2024 at The Broad Museum in Los Angeles.
Elliott “L” Sellers – Photo by Jobel Medina.
At The Broad Museum, the audience came upon the performance by chance as they were moving through the galleries and they were free to surround Jobel and L as they performed and to follow them as they moved to different galleries. “Now the piece has a life of its own,” Jobel said. “We were responding to the theme at The Broad Museum, but now it is totally different.” Although I asked, they did not want to disclose the details of how they were utilizing the different spaces at L.A. Dance Project (LADP).
“To be honest, it would have been nice if people had followed us, but people started applauding as we left and then kind of dispersing,” L stated. “We came in the other entrance and they were like, oh, it’s not over yet. It was kind of like a pump fake.”
What Jobel and L did say was that at LADP L would be playing both drums and the cello.
As you can see the title, IMMDED IMMGEWD, appears to be a bunch of capital letters randomly strung together, so I ask them to explain how they decided on this title.
L began by saying that he and Jobel were scribbling down some ideas and switching around letters to consolidate the concept. “Sort of like my name,” he said, meaning Elliott reduced to L, which is what his family called him. ““The title became a bit of a mantra, or some kind of hope for ourselves, as opposed to worrying about things even as severe as death, that we are still ‘gewd.’,” L added. There was this insecurity around the making of the title. “And so to face it head on, we killed it,” he said. “And then we were good with it. The double M and the caps, it’s just sort of as if our heads and hands were on the keyboard as we wrote it.”
(L-R) Jobel Medina and Elliott “L” Sellers in rehearsal for IMMDED IMMGEWD – Photo by Medina and Sellers.
“Without giving too much away,” Jobel said. “I feel that I am in sort of a transition, and I was sharing that with Elliott. I think that’s a constant thing for me, a desire to always find something different from what I’ve already done.” Jobel feels that over the past few years he has been developing a certain way of working, but that now he is ready to move forward into a different direction. “The second half of the show feels much less than what I would normally show, so in that way it is scary.”
L asked Jobel to explain this transition from what he has been doing to something different, but Jobel said that it was easier for him to demonstrate the difference through movement. L said that Jobel is who he is because he expresses himself through his body rather than through words and that of all the choreographers he has collaborated with, Jobel has done the most to bring him out of his shell. “The more I move and the more I am able to get in touch with my body and not run from it, the more I’m coming into my own, and also finding my own growth and transition,” L said. “That is the thing with the show. By Jobel leading by example, his fearlessness can translate to an entire audience of wanting to go with you. That’s what we hope the show is like.”
Jobel talked about a series of solos that he created called Kill The Monsters that were designed to kill a part of oneself, to find something new. The solos were designed to be a rebirth or baptism. “There is a section in the piece that is exploring that idea of a renewal. So, we started thinking about death and started thinking about a new life.” Ideas were written down on a big board and the two kept crossing things until they arrived at the letter, IMMDED IMMGEWD.
Jobel said that L had come up with another title that he loved, HMMMMM, but L thought that it would not work. “There was a lot of discussion around our piece of how to look at it, or how to describe it. At the end of the day it made it seem like we were uncertain ourselves,” he said. “I think that we are pretty certain about how we feel about it. It is a confrontation not a hesitation.”
(L-R) Jobel Medina and Elliott “L” Sellers in rehearsal for IMMDED IMMGEWD – Photo by Jobel and L.
I asked both artists what was important about this work, IMMDED IMMGEWD, that they wanted to share with our readers.
“There was something that I wanted to get off my chest,” L began. “Someone recently asked me what is most important in a person or relationship, and I didn’t immediately have an answer until I thought of Jobel’s name. Because what he does with people that he’s collaborating with is give a kind of permission to have full freedom of self-expression.”
L had not experienced this with others with which he has worked. He said that it could have been egos or the need to control, but with Jobel there is a constant coercing of encouragement that leads to bigger and better ideas than what they started. “Because we lead with a lot of insecurity first and we’re inching toward an idea and afraid to get hurt or smacked down by judgment from other people,” L said. “And without that strike and more of a pulling closer, it helps me to lean in rather than lean away. I think that is what people will do in the show. There is a lot of confrontation but there is also this encouragement that we will give people permission to feel things that are not common in the stage setting.”
The iconic American musician and composer, John Cage is someone who L was inspired by and who he admires. He said that contributes to Cage for opening a lot of doors in his head. L was inspired to move to New York City by a single statement by Cage, that Beethoven always sounds the same to him, but the traffic always sounded different. In IMMDED IMMGEWD, L explained that although there is a definite structure, there is a lot happening within the work that is up to chance. This is s good reason to attend more than one performance of IMMDED IMMGEWD.
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WHAT: IMMDED IMMGEWD, a collaborative work by Jobel Medina and Elliott Sellers.
WHEN: Thursday, September 5, 2024 | 8pm
Friday, September 6, 2024 | 8pm
Saturday, September 7, 2024 | 8pm
WHERE: L.A. Dance Project studios, 2245 E Washington Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90021
TICKETS: $35 | General Admission – $26 | Students + Seniors + LADP Friend Membership Level.
To purchase tickets, please click HERE.
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About the Artists
Jobel Medina (b. 1990 in Pasig City, Philippines) is a Los Angeles-based choreographer and dancer known for his distinct movement style that merges spectacle with experimental elements in both stage and film. Critics praise his work as “inventive and eye-catching, detailed and wide-ranging.”
Medina’s performances have been presented at prestigious venues such as The Broad, Institute of Contemporary Art Los Angeles, Museum of Contemporary Art, and REDCAT from 2022 to 2024. He currently performs in Dimitri Chamblas’s “Take Me Home” and Benjamin Millepied’s “Grace.” His notable collaborators include Kim Gordon, Alex Prager, Tino Sehgal, Simon McBurney, Christopher Bordenave, Shahar Binyamini, Tom Weinberger, Danielle Agami.
In addition to his performance work, Medina has appeared in commercial campaigns for brands like Calvin Klein, Lexus, OnStar, Adidas, White Claw, and ON. He also appeared in works alongside entertainers such as Zendaya, Anderson Paak, Perfume Genius, and Noah Cyrus.
Medina holds an MFA from the California Institute of the Arts and leads movement workshops at universities across the U.S., sharing his practices with the next generation of artists.
Elliott “L” Sellers is a director, producer, writer, cinematographer, editor, drummer and multi-instrumentalist based in Los Angeles. Sellers has released experimental albums like ‘Glasswerx’ with Chris ‘Mid-Air’ Harbach, made solely with sounds of glass. Ridley Scott hand selected “DREAMS” by Zhu+NERO as a part of Saatchi + Saatchi’s new directors showcase at Cannes Lions. Sellers has directed work for artists such as Raphael Saadiq, Broken Bells, John Legend, Terrace Martin, Simone Biles, Tame Impala, Willow Smith, Lil Miquela, Young Thug, Gunna, Lil baby, 2-Chains, Lil Jon, Offset, Zhu, Ty Dolla $ign, Nico Muhly, Yuna, Lil Wayne, and Portugal the Man.
To learn more about L.A. Dance Project, please visit their website.
To learn more about Jobel Medina, please visit his website.
For more information about Elliott “L” Sellers, please visit his Instagram page.
Written by Jeff Slayton for LA Dance Chronicle.
Featured image: (L-R) Elliott “L” Sellers and Jobel Medina in rehearsal for IMMDED IMMGEWD – Photo by Jobel and L.
