At G-SON Studios on Monday, March 4, 2024, Works In Progress (WIP) presented “Bob” by choreographer, performer and educator Milka Djordjevich (she/hers), and “Property” by Brazilian film, poetry, installation, and performance artist Cade Moga (they/their) and Los Angeles dance artist Ironstone (he/his). Each artist was provided with ten hours of rehearsal time and asked to present twenty-five minutes of work-in-progress. On this night, every seat was occupied and about twenty plus audience were members standing or sitting on the floor at the performance area’s edge.
Founders of WIP (L-R) Belize Wilheim, Stephanie Zaletel, Kate Wallich – Photo by LADC.
WIP was founded by Stephanie Zaletel, Belize Wilheim, and Kate Wallich to “offer artists a low-tech, high-viz space to showcase their evolving choreographies.” Prior to the performances, the three of them provided the audience with a bit of background information about WIP and about the artists on the program.
The set for Milka Djordjevich’s work “Bob” was a large masking taped off diagonal square with a portable ballet barre upstage right and a large portable mirror on upstage left. Djordjevich wore a blue cut off football shirt, gray tights and white knee pads. The music was a rhythmic based electronic score that was the driving force behind the performance, also composed by Djordjevich.
WIP – Milka Djordjevich in her work “Bob” – Photo by LADC.
Because of a few gestures where Djordjevich placed her hands on more intimate areas of her body, “Bob” seemed an odd title for a work that felt very much about Djordjevich and women overall. I would place this work in the minimalist genre not unlike what was presented at The Judson Church, Dance Theater Workshop and other off-the-path venues in New York during the 1960s and ‘70s. “Bob” began with Djordjevich simply walking on the beat both forwards and backwards along the taped border. As the movement developed, her movement created diagonal lines and triangles within the center of her self-created confines. Other than the set, what added layers and meaning to “Bob” was Djordjevich’s reflection in the mirror and her tall shadow along the back wall. Reflections or other personae of herself perhaps.
WIP – Milka Djordjevich in her work “Bob” – Photo by Kate Wallich.
Djordjevich was always moving to and on the beat. Even when she was crawling or lying on the floor slowly turning, the music was an obvious and commanding force not just for her but for the audience. I felt trapped by the constant metallic-like pounding but what eased that pressure was Djordjevich’s extremely powerful and tightly focused performance. The only time she broke away from the rhythmic movement was when she added a bit of comedic relief by opening a can of Monster energy juice and gulped down most of it.
I look forward to seeing more of Djordjevich’s work including the completed “Bob.”
Cade Moga and Ironstone have worked together before including a performance of their collaborative work “2300 She” on REDCAT’s New Original Works (NOW) series in 2023. That performance and the one presented at WIP displays how wonderfully these two queer artists work together.
WIP – (L-R) Cade Moga, Ironstone in “Property” – Photo by LADC.
With costumes that could be described as non-binary, “Property” is about more than just gender. Via the movements in the opening moving tableaux, the theme becomes about willingly or unwillingly manipulating another person. Through spoken work with their faces close together in a narrow amber light, Moga and Ironstone describe how some people or nations devour others (Cultural Cannibalism) and at another time Moga revealed aspects of their private lives without giving away any deep secrets. At one point Moga was trying to hold a portable mic as if interviewing him, but Ironstone continued with his movement making it almost impossible for Moga to succeed. Evasion of being exposed or found out?
Moga and Ironstone made use of the entire space and provided much, if not all, of their own lighting with a portable light stand, one stage lamp and several gel colors that each took turns changing. Each color introduced a new chapter of the work: “Jesus Was No Nepo Baby,” “The Garden of Eden,” and “You Are What You Eat.”
WIP – (L-R) Cade Moga, Ironstone in “Property” – Photo by LADC.
I am always interested in what Moga and Ironstone create, hopefully they will finish and soon find a venue to present what appears to be headed toward an evening-length “Property.”
Thank you Zaletel, Wilheim, and Wallich for creating a format and venue for inspiring dance artists to present their works-in-progress and to receive instant moderated feedback from the audience following the performance.
Wip – (L-R) Cade Moga, Ironstone, Milka Djordjevich, and moderator Jas Lin – Photo by LADC.
The next WIP performance will occur on April 1, 2024 at G-SON Studios featuring Los Angeles based interdisciplinary vocalist and composer Odeya Nini and dancer/choreographer Julia Eichten.
For more information about WIP, please visit their website.
For more information about G-SON Studios, please visit their website.
Written by Jeff Slayton for LA Dance Chronicle.
Featured image: WIP at G-SON Studios – Milka Djordjevich (left) – Cade Moga and Ironstone (right) – Photos by LADC.
