Monthly Archives: October 2012

Kyle Abraham.in.Motion at Swarthmore 11/6 – 11/11

The Department of Music and Dance at Swarthmore College and the William J. Cooper Foundation present Kyle Abraham’s PAVEMENT on Friday November 9, 2012 at 8PM in the Lang Performing Arts Center’s Pearson-Hall Theater.  Abraham’s latest piece of work, PAVEMENT, pays homage to the bold, 1990’s backward-jeans-and-high-top-fade era in hip-hop, while examining a culture with a history plagued by discrimination, genocide, and a constant quest for a way out.

Inspired by John Singleton’s groundbreaking film Boyz N The Hood (1991) and essays of W.E.B DuBois’ The Souls of Black Folk (1903), Abraham’s PAVEMENT tells the story of a group of friends struggling to stay together while their community is being torn apart.  Set in the historically black neighborhoods of Pittsburgh, PAVEMENT depicts scenes of violence, love, male bonding, arrests, physical and emotional pain, all combined with sound bites from the film and operatic music.

Kyle Abraham — the 2012 Jacob’s Pillow Dance Award recipient and 2010 Bessie Award-winning choreographer — first discovered his love of performance at the Civic Light Opera Academy in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  He then went on to receive his BFA from SUNY Purchase and MFA from New York University Tisch School for the Arts. Abraham has collaborated with David Dorfman Dance, Mimi Garrard Dance Theater, Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company, and is currently choreographing for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.

Kyle Abraham/Abraham.In.Motion will also be involved in several residency activities during the week with Swarthmore students and the public.  These activities include a screening and discussion of Singleton’s film Boyz N the Hood on November 6 at 7PM, a Lecture/Demonstration on November 7 at 7PM, a Dance as Identity workshop on November 11 at 1PM.

For further information about these events, contact Tara Webb at 610-328-8260 or lpacevents@swarthmore.edu. The performance is free and open to the public without reservations.

 

 

Making Moves with idiosynCrazy

Making Moves

This fall Swarthmore College’s Dance Program continues an exciting partnership with Philadelphia dance/theater company, idiosynCrazy productions.  Performers from idiosynCrazy productions will work collaboratively with Swarthmore students in the exploration and discussion of methodology, performance, practice, and creation of dance.  This year, the focus will be on the process of dance creation and rigorous performance tools.  The project will culminate in a Spring semester showing/sharing in Troy Dance Studio.

Beginning in November 2012, this project will span both the Fall and Spring semesters. The process will create an opportunity for involved Swarthmore dancers to: develop meaningful relationships with professionals in the city, experiment with dance and performance collaboratively in a concentrated environment, and deepen understanding of what it means to be a professional dance artist.

Credit is available for those who are involved in this unique repertory opportunity.  A dance technique course should be taken concurrently.

Participants should expect rigorous creation and practice of movement material and compositional structures, utilization of vocal techniques in relation to movement practices, use of both set and improvised material within performance structures, and engagement of theatrical sensibilities.  Several directed sessions/workshops will be included with professional choreographers from Philadelphia and NYC, including Kyle Abraham of Abraham.In.Motion and Jane Comfort of Jane Comfort and Company.

All dancers are invited to join the Dance Program and idiosynCrazy productions for a conversation about the project on Monday, October 8th, at 9pm in Troy Dance Studio.  You may also consult dance faculty member Jumatatu Poe at jpoe1@swarthmore.edu for more information.