MASS (2015)

“Materials—the body, sound—merge exquisitely in this hourlong dance-song (song-dance?) … the song unravels into something wild, then plain, bodies as they are.” —The New York Times 

“Choreographer Milka Djordjevich and musician Chris Peck have successfully created a rich, multi-faceted collaboration. Peck’s sophisticated sound contextualizes each of Djordjevich’s movement choices, both elements taking their time to mature through the 60 minutes of the piece...The elements of this collaboration are strong enough to stand on their own, and yet they exist in a highly considered equilibrium with one another.”  —Brooklyn Rail

In MASS three female dancers, execute an interdependent score of movement and music choreographed by Milka Djordjevich and composed by Chris Peck. The women are a choir of image, action and voice. Hyper-objectified anonymous forms and three-part harmonies pulse and throb through the artifice of the theater. Performers oscillate between action and inaction, singing and dancing, chanting and swaying. They act as an engine that evolves through space and generates friction over time. MASS unveils the materiality of the moving and sonic female body, unraveling its inherent choreographed codes. Like a prayer, it proceeds without manipulation, loving the flaw.

choreography Milka Djordjevich
music Chris Peck
dancers Jessica Cook, Kyli Kleven and Djordjevich
lighting designer Madeline Best 
scenic designer Sara Walsh 
performance advisor Rebecca Brooks
costumes Naomi Luppescu

Commissioned by the Kitchen, NYC and developed at the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council Swing Space, PACT Zollverein, Essen Germany and Workspace Brussels, Belgium. MASS is a sponsored project of Show Box L.A. funded in part with generous support from the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Los Angeles County Arts Commission and the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs.

Press
“Reviews: Works by Rebecca Davis, Milka Djordjevich, and Lyon Opera Ballet”, NY Times
“Milka Djordjevich puts Dancers on a Pedestal in ‘MASS’”, NY Times
“Coming Home: Milka Djordjevich + Chris Peck’s ‘MASS’  at The Kitchen”, Brooklyn Rail
Heather Kravas & Milka Djordjevich on MASS: Visibly Difficult, Show Box LA

Presentation History
American Realness January 13 - 15, 2016
Show Box L.A. at the Bootleg Theater June 18 &20, 2015
The Kitchen in NYC April 30 - May 2, 2015 world premiere