Mark Stefanos
Jacob Jonas The Company captivated audiences with the world premiere of EYE, presented over two nights on Dec. 12 and 13, at the Charlie Chaplin Stage in Hollywood. Directed and choreographed by Jacob Jonas, the immersive experience transformed the dimly lit soundstage into a space for intimate encounters with movement, encouraging patrons to stand and freely experience the work up close, fostering a shared gaze that mirrored the program’s central theme — the eye.
The evening unfolded in three performances blending contemporary dance with acrobatic elements, original scores, and thematic depth. It began with RAIN, an arrival installation choreographed by Jonas and performed by an ensemble including Alexa Donnelly, Paulina Donnelly, Dahsir Hausif, Emma Rosenzweig-Bock, Nic Walton, Leo Price, Jill Wilson, and Santiago Villarreal. As audiences entered, dancers immersed them in a prelude of atmospheric movement.
Jacob Jonas The Company performs in COYOTE FOX WOLF DRAGONFLY BUTTERFLY BEE EAGLE RAVEN HAWK (Photo: Josh Rose)
The program shifted to ZEBRA, a striking solo featuring guest artist Sara Mearns, principal dancer with the New York City Ballet. Choreographed by Jonas with an original score by Grammy-winning composer Imogen Heap and sound engineering by Damian Taylor, the piece drew inspiration from neuroscientist Robert Sapolsky’s book Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers. Mearns embodied an inward chase where predator-prey distinctions blur, exploring “rupture and renewal, separation from self or other, and the moment fear transforms into courage,” per the program. Themes of rupture, fear turning to courage, and the dissolution of pain through relentless motion were conveyed with intensity, accentuated by Jonas’s scenography and costume design.
The finale, COYOTE FOX WOLF DRAGONFLY BUTTERFLY BEE EAGLE RAVEN HAWK, reunited the full ensemble in a sweeping meditation on ecological interconnections and ancestral guidance. Set to music by Patrick Watson and costumed by Entire Studios, this piece, created at the Perry Mansfield campus in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, evoked a web of symbolic animals representing protection, pollination, migration, and divinity. Dancers navigated motifs of shape-shifting, invisibility, and illumination, surrendering to natural elements while negotiating deeper perceptions of time, home and presence.
Supported by a creative team including executive producer Jill Wilson and producer/art director Emma Rosenzweig-Bock, EYE capped a year of enigmatic performances, and continued Jacob Jonas The Company’s tradition of bold, interdisciplinary work that bridges street dance roots with contemporary innovation.
For more information about Jacob Jonas The Company, visit jacobjonas.org.