LOS ANGELES — Dancers stand on a tilted plywood board, pulling heavy ropes. They wear simple brown pants, functional shoes and plain t-shirts. They lean back, arms fully extended, hanging almost parallel to the floor. Then they straighten up. Sometimes they stand and rest with their bodies tilted. Although it’s only 10 minutes and the performers seem weightless, they exert enormous force. It’s like a military exercise

The eponym of Simone Forti personal exhibition at MOCA presents some of its nine Dance builds, made possible by volunteer artists and cultural workers. Four times a day, on Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays, they defy gravity with the board, swing lazily from ropes suspended from the ceiling and crawl over each other in groups. The show also includes videos, drawings, ephemera, and holograms.

Forti is a choreographer, but despite this terminology, used throughout his career and the exhibition, I would not classify the works of MOCA only in dance. Although she also has many modern dance performances in her oeuvre, the museum has chosen to present her studies in motion, which forgoes the beauty and structure of formal dance. Throughout his works, Forti crawls like a polar bear, writhes with newspapers and wanders his reactions to current events.

While Forti’s most famous works are collaborative, she also performed on her own, often as a means of researching a particular subject. A childhood visit to the zoo spurred a lifelong fascination with animals, especially those in confinement. She researched encounters with elephants, bears and seals, drawing studies of the creatures. In “Solo Number 1” (1976) and “Planet” (1976), she crosses a stage on all fours, turns in circles and vigorously shakes her head. In these performances, the artist breaks down the boundary between human and non-human animals. All mammals lie on their backs, scratch their itch and shiver when something irritates their skin.

Many of Forti’s solo performances go like News Animations, a series inspired by his father’s attention to world events. After reading reports of fascism and Mussolini’s rise to power, he moved their Jewish family out of Italy, ensuring their safety years before the Holocaust. In “News Animation Improvisation” (1986), Forti uses his whole body to express his fear and anxiety over the growing hostilities within the Reagan and Bush administrations and nations around the Persian Gulf that would eventually lead to the Gulf War. She cowers in a corner, then hits the ground, writhing. She speaks in a stream of consciousness, linking her father’s prescience of anti-Semitic violence to the anti-Arab rhetoric of the media. In a more recent article, “Zuma News” (2013), Forti, now white-haired and in his late 70s, rolls in the sand with newspapers and seaweed. She grapples with a life of rage directed against the dark world events reported in the newspapers. Her reactions are less instructive and more instinctive, as if her body could only scream.

While her solo performances are highly emotional, Forti’s choreographic work has the objective tone of a science experiment. Dance builds (1960-1961), perhaps his most famous work, requires performers to follow strict instructions and interact with props like ropes and plywood stages. The MOCA exhibits three of the nine constructions: “Huddle”, “Slant Board” and “Hangers.“In each of these performances, the dancers keep their expressions blank, looking past the audience and each other and showing no reaction when they touch each other.

In “Hangers,“Three dancers stand in a loop of sturdy braided rope suspended from the ceiling, like a seesaw, while other performers walk around them, weaving into their space, constantly bumping into them. The suspended performers swing lazily from the ceiling. “Inertia. All the dancers in “Huddle” gather in a tight group, then crawl one at a time across the top of the pile and meet on the other side. Forti allows his performers to show off their effort. is the only crack of emotion that crosses their faces, but it reveals that seemingly simple gestures take a lot more work than they look.

Forti, who now has Parkinson’s disease, asked his longtime collaborator, Carmela Hermann Dietrich, to choreograph this iteration of Dance builds, and most MOCA performers have studied with Forti. Forti is known for bringing together people from non-traditional dance backgrounds. the artist herself began as a painter (some paintings are exhibited at MOCA) so it’s only natural that she would turn other artists and cultural workers into dancers. With shared interests, intimate instruction, and rigorous work, everyone in her orbit folds into a close community. She goes beyond performance and into another medium – relationship art – which has continued to develop into her own genre, with her influence at the forefront.

Socially engaged artists such as Patrisse Cullors and Emily Johnson/Catalyst dance in their practice to connect more deeply with their collaborators. Cullors, an activist and co-founder of Black Lives Matter, organized a global night of electric dance, an act of resistance through the expression of joy. Johnson, a Yup’ik choreographer, engages audiences in her performances through processions, healing ceremonies, or quilt circles that produce sets. Dancing is a fun and enthusiastic way to build trust in relationships. All movers become dumb and vulnerable, regardless of experience or training.

The choreography can be transmitted from one teacher to another, like an inheritance. Even if Parkinson’s disease robs Forti of his mobility, his groundbreaking performances will endure with his students and beyond. Each gesture is an imprint of his relationship with his community.

Simone Forti continues at MOCA (250 South Grand Avenue, Downtown, Los Angeles) through April 2. The exhibition was curated by Associate Curators Rebecca Lowery and Alex Sloane, Associate Curator, with Jason Underhill, Guest Curator, The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles.