La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club will present the world premiere of Birth + Carnage, a dance work by choreographer and director Marla Phelan, December 19–21, 2025, at the Ellen Stewart Theatre, 66 East 4th Street. Tickets range from $30 to $35, with select $10 tickets available in advance online.
The production fuses choreography, astrophysics, and video installation, inspired by the formation of stars. Phelan collaborated with astrophysicist Dr. Blakesley Burkhart to translate computational simulations of star formation into a choreographic framework, creating a performance that mirrors both cosmic and human systems.
“Creation and destruction are never separate. Birth + Carnage lives in that tension,” Phelan said. The performance features a digital backdrop by KLSR and REINFECTED.ME, with an original score by James Newberry. Director Tim Richardson helped shape the immersive visual experience, while a company of dancers enacts the piece against shifting, abstracted fields of astrophysical data.
The project grew from a 2022 residency through the Simons Foundation and Gibney Center’s Open Interval program, and was further developed with support from Brooklyn Academy of Music’s New Directions Choreography Lab.
Phelan, a Juilliard graduate and founder of Movement Museum, has previously presented work at Lincoln Center, The Joyce Theater, and La MaMa. Burkhart, an associate research scientist at the Flatiron Institute, studies galaxy formation and magnetic turbulence, bringing scientific rigor to the production’s cosmic themes.
Performances explore the intersection of the micro and macro, from cellular gestures to galactic phenomena, offering audiences a visceral meditation on life, creation, and destruction.
For tickets and information, visit www.lamama.org.
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