How this L.A. choreographer's cancer diagnosis deepened his connection to dance

“The enactment is astir healing,” choreographer and crab subsister Jacob Jonas said.

We’re sitting against the ceramic partition of a gathering with the prima beating down, a fewer feet from the entranceway to the Los Angeles Ballet workplace successful Sawtelle, wherever dancers successful Jonas’ eponymous institution signifier for “Keeping Score,” a trilogy by Jonas premiering adjacent week astatine the BroadStage successful Santa Monica. They decorativeness rehearsal by stretching and moving done choreography. Music blasts.

Minutes prior, dancers scattered crossed the studio, looking astatine their phones arsenic they tried to prime up creation steps from a video. Incense burned astatine the beforehand adjacent Jonas’ enactment station. Dancer Alyse Rockett tossed her telephone connected the spot adjacent to me, revealing the worldly for which the troupe has been preparing.

The 3 works successful “Keeping Score,” titled “Product of Divorce,” “Nature Sounds While the IV Drips” and “Restart,” papers Jonas’ evolving narration to unwellness pursuing his 2022 diagnosis of Stage 4 lymphoma. The trilogy marks Jonas’ archetypal post-cancer piece, and Jonas reflects connected however his situation affected his beingness before, during and aft cancer.

Coinciding with his precocious published memoir, “Cemented Beauty,” which includes diary entries and photos from his travel done chemotherapy, Jonas, 33, considers “Keeping Score” the last purge of a section that altered his knowing of life, relationships and nature.

As a caller rehearsal transitioned into a tally of “Nature Sounds While the IV Drips,” 7 dancers separated into 2 lines. The portion has 8 sections, representing 8 rounds of chemotherapy. A caller performer enters each round. They statesman moving, rapidly shifting from 1 airs to the adjacent and slamming their hands and bodies against the crushed to make an audible bushed that cuts done the sounds of rainfall and upwind coming from the speakers — similar IV drips.

Dancers with Jacob Jonas the Company signifier drills with Jonas’ canine Sam astatine his creation workplace earlier an upcoming show astatine BroadStage.

(Brian Feinzimer / For The Times)

“Cancer is truly beautiful,” Jonas said. “There’s a batch of trauma, and there’s a batch of pain, but there’s besides a batch of household and quality on the way. It’s profound to beryllium capable to revisit the deepest parts of yourself and humanity successful that struggle, and effort to marque consciousness of it and signifier it successful the process of making work.”

Jonas’ lymphoma developed arsenic a broadside effect of the medicine helium was taking for Crohn’s disease. Looking back, helium believes his unwellness is deeper than that — tied to his science and aboriginal puerility experiences. “Keeping Score” is inspired by Bessel van der Kolk’s book, “The Body Keeps the Score,” which details however trauma manifests successful the assemblage done illness. Jonas reflects this thought process successful his choreography by unpacking his acquisition arsenic a kid of divorce.

“I deliberation the crushed I person illness successful my body, successful immoderate part, is due to the fact that of the stresses, traumas and pains that are stored successful my body, successful ample portion due to the fact that of the situation that I was raised successful increasing up,” helium said.

“Keeping Score” culminates enactment developed from 3 years of store material. It began successful the summertime of 2023 during a residency with Orsolina28 Art Foundation successful Italy. Jonas went into remission that April and instantly dove into his originative process, mounting “Restart” alongside a antecedently developed portion titled “Mind Cry.”

“Restart” investigates ungraded and the cycles of Earth’s ecosystems to bespeak connected what it means to statesman again post-cancer. Over the years of creation, Jonas learned to clasp loneliness, thing helium grew accustomed to during treatment, and the enactment of continuing.

Jacob Jonas works with members of his eponymous creation company. His newest trilogy, premiering astatine BroadStage, explores his crab diagnosis and recovery.

(Brian Feinzimer / For The Times)

“In watching waves clang successful the ocean, it ne'er stops,” Jonas said. “The tides shift, the unit of the waves changes, but it ever continues. I look astatine my narration to my enactment the same. It’s ever conscionable continuing to happen, and if I wanted to halt oregon tally away, the stresses of beingness wouldn’t stop.”

In caller years, Jonas developed a question connection called “The System” that aims to merchandise symptom and trauma successful the assemblage done carnal look and an effort to merchandise vigor into the universe. This results successful percussive sounds of assemblage parts clapping against 1 different and the ground. The System is inspired by randomness wrong quality and the somatic elements of breakdancing, which Jonas grew up doing successful Venice Beach. His signifier tin beryllium intentionally repetitive, reflecting the monotony of crab treatment, and inspires viewers to meditate with the movement.

His dancers find inspiration successful the patterns.

“I determination from a feelings benignant of place, but successful this environment, you person to hide feelings sometimes,” Rockett said. “I consciousness similar dense machinery, wherever you conscionable person to property the fastener and the instrumentality comes on. It challenges maine to get and spell and not trust truthful overmuch connected my feelings.”

“I didn’t bash thing similar that before,” dancer Marco Palomino added. “You [usually] person to find the feeling wrong the movement; [here] the question creates the feeling.”

Back successful the rehearsal room, Jonas focuses connected laying retired the operation earlier helium stitches the pieces unneurotic into a cohesive trilogy. This is 1 rehearsal of galore arsenic the troupe plans to conscionable for 8 hours, 5 days a week, starring up to the last show.

Jacob Jonas with members of his creation company, arsenic good arsenic his dog. The troupe is performing a caller trilogy astatine BroadStage successful Santa Monica.

(Brian Feinzimer / For The Times)

“This process is refreshing due to the fact that we’ve travel precise prepared with a batch of systems and techniques and radical behaviors,” dancer Emma Rosenzweig-Bock said.

Jonas’ crab acquisition impacted his relationships and his consciousness of what question tin communicate, separating his beingness into earlier and aft illness.

In 2020 Jonas received backlash for an Instagram station helium made successful solidarity with Black Americans pursuing the execution of George Floyd, amid increasing Black Lives Matter protests. A representation helium posted of a Black dancer being supported by a achromatic constabulary serviceman was considered by immoderate to person missed the mark. That was a hard infinitesimal for Jonas, who says the harsh effect progressive untrue statements astir his quality and intentions, “I person ever stood for community,” helium says.

Today Jonas feels grounded and astatine peace. He watches arsenic his dancers parse done a conception successful the studio, repeating a operation until they are successful unison. Standing successful a line, they autumn into syncopated steps, dilatory coming unneurotic for a azygous enactment and hunch. He explained that crab doesn’t conscionable impact the 1 idiosyncratic going done treatment, but everyone astir them. “Keeping Score” is an enactment of exposing the deepest and darkest sides of him for each to see.

“Everyone is successful pain, and everyone needs love,” Jonas said. “I deliberation it’s truly that simple. The much we support our vulnerabilities, the little entree we person to connect. I deliberation the much we stock what’s truly going on, adjacent if it’s uncomfortable for those listening, it gives america each a deeper understanding.”

The upcoming Broad performances are a homecoming of sorts. Jonas grew up connected 11th Street successful Santa Monica adjacent the BroadStage, and ever skated adjacent to the theater. He received his crab treatments astatine the UCLA Santa Monica Medical Center. This geographical footprint is important to him arsenic helium punctuates this chapter.

Jonas looks around, taking successful each item of the trees, entity and gravel. Dancers periodically interrupt our chat, waving and hugging Jonas arsenic they leave. The prima dilatory moves against our skin. At the extremity of the interview, helium smiles and closes his eyes.

Following a infinitesimal of silence, listening to the upwind and rustling leaves, helium says, “The prima is healing us.”