La MaMa to Present BIRTH + CARNAGE Fusion Of Dance And Astrophysics

La Mama Experimental Theatre Club will present the World Premiere of Birth + Carnage, a dance work by choreographer and director Marla Phelan from December 19-21, 2025 at The Ellen Stewart Theatre. Tickets are $35 and $30 for students and seniors (includes fees). Ten tickets to every performance are $10 each, first-come, first-served - in advance, online only. 

Birth + Carnage is a dance work fusing choreography, astrophysics, and video installation. Born from the collaboration between choreographer Marla Phelan and astrophysicist Dr. Blakesley Burkhart, the piece is inspired by the astrophysical phenomenon of stellar birth as both visceral metaphor and choreographic framework.

In collaboration with director Tim Richardson and video artists KLSR and REINFECTED.ME, astrophysical data is abstracted into shifting visual fields that echo cycles of creation. An ensemble of dancers performs against the backdrop of a monolithic digital installation, creating a feedback loop of allegory and sensation. The original score by James Newberry deepens the emotional terrain through epic sonic landscapes.

Birth + Carnage invites audiences into a theatrical abyss where cosmic and human systems mirror one another-bridging the vastness of the universe and the depths of human connection.

Project Background

In 2022, The Simons Foundation partnered with Gibney Center to create Open Interval, a residency that supported the research between astrophysicist Dr. Burkhart and choreographer Marla Phelan. Their collaboration led to the development of Birth + Carnage, where Phelan transposes computational simulations of Star Formation into a unique choreographic process that physically and emotionally mirrors the dynamic systems of stellar birth.