Max Martin & Mandolin Burns - lover's piece

From lovers Max Martin and Mandolin Burns:

“Lover’s Piece” is a commitment that will last as long as our relationship does, in doing so we are giving it a soul, the piece presented at Highways is the product of an ongoing choreographic research experiment that we have been developing together for the last year. Our research has included creating an ancestral lineage of pairs of lovers that have come before us, who inspire us. We are looking into their work and how it was formed as a product of their partnerships, and how this breathed a certain life into their art. We are not making a dance about being in love– we are making a dance out of the concept of what it means to create together as two people who are in love. Why were the works of John Cage and Merce Cunnigham, Marina and Ulay, John and Yoko so effective and what did their relationships have to do with it? How can we apply these same principles to our own work, what will happen to the product? To our relationship? We are interested in translating this concept through performance, photo, collage, video and text. 

Max Martin (they/them) is a German-American multidisciplinary artist with a focus in choreography, performance, improvisation– having trained and performed globally in Los Angeles, Paris, Berlin, and Crete. They are a graduate from the CalArts school of Dance with a focus in site-specific performance and queer performance theory. They are a co-founder of CRAWLSPACE LA, a performance venue and studio in the Arts District of Los Angeles, where they curate experimental performance and community gatherings. Their recent works have been presented at venues such as Barnsdall Gallery Theater in LA, Le Centre National De La Danse in Paris, The Firehouse in Joshua Tree, California, and in Agios Ionnes, Crete. They were a 2023 Artist in Residence with Ghostlight Residency, and a 2024 artist in residence with Mudhouse residency. As a freelance dancer / performer they have performed the works of Yvonne Rainer, Isadora Duncan, Barack Marshall, sam wentz, and Zoe Scofield at venues such as REDCAT LA, LA Dance Project, Night Gallery, and the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. They work globally, though they are currently based in Los Angeles working as a freelance artist. @maxvo1um3

Mandolin Noelani Burns (they/them) is a Los Angeles based multidisciplinary artist, originally from Portland Oregon, who has trained and performed globally in Los Angeles, Paris, and New York. They received their BFA in Dance from California Institute of the Arts, with a focus in film and dance on camera. They are a Co-Founder of CRAWLSPACE LA, a performance venue in the Arts District of LA that aims to foster artistic community and provide space for emerging artists. Their notable works include a series of narrative dance films documenting the queer experience, choreography for various music videos with pop music artists, as well as a number of editorial works including movement direction for a “Gay Times'' cover shoot. They have performed the works of major dance artists such as Yvonne Rainer, Trisha Brown, Barak Marshall, and Rosanna Gamson at venues such as, LA Dance Project, REDCAT LA, and Le Centre National De La Danse. They are currently on contract as a collaborator and dancer with company Zoe|Juniper.