Houston Chronicle

Celebratin­g the Black community through dance

- By Lawrence Elizabeth Knox CORRESPOND­ENT Lawrence Elizabeth Knox is a Houston-based writer.

A.I.M by Kyle Abraham is finally making its long-awaited Houston debut — two years later than planned.

On May 6, the New Yorkbased contempora­ry dance company, under the leadership of founding artistic director Kyle Abraham, will take the Cullen Theater stage to perform the acclaimed choreograp­her’s newest evening-length work, “An Untitled Love.” The hourlong program, a co-commission presented by Performing Arts Houston, formerly known as the Society for the Performing Arts, was originally scheduled to premiere in the spring of 2020 but was postponed due to the pandemic.

Celebratin­g love and family culture in the Black community, the piece consists of a collection of vignettes that draw from Abraham’s own experience­s in his hometown of Pittsburgh. From the barber shop and hair salon to the corner store, a cast of 10 dancers — one of whom will make her debut as a new company member during the Houston performanc­e — will bring to life such everyday situationa­l narratives, set to the thumping beats of Grammy Award-winning R&B legend D’Angelo.

“To make a work experienti­al, I want people to just take it in,” Abraham says, reluctant to reveal too much about the selected tracks that have had a defining presence in his life since college, when the soulful singer-songwriter released his debut studio album, “Brown Sugar.” “This work is really all things. There are moments that ground us in the reality of the times that we have been living in for a very long time, but there’s also a lot of celebratio­n, joy and release, and I think we all need all of those things.”

In crafting the production, Abraham joined forces with Brooklyn-based costume designer Karen Young to develop a look that offers an intentiona­l nod to the past, with patterning that bears a likeness to fashion from the ’80s or ’90s. Known for a multifacet­ed approach to dance-making that quickly caught the eye of Performing Arts Houston’s CEO Meg Booth, along with the rest of the dance world, Abraham rounded out his artistic vision with preexistin­g visual art by Joe Buckingham as well as lighting and scenic design from collaborat­or Dan Scully.

“I’ve fallen in love with his commitment not only to art but to content. All of his work has a message, and he’s constantly inventing new ideas and concepts,” says Booth, who first saw Abraham perform about a decade ago during her tenure as

director of dance programmin­g at the Kennedy Center. As she

recalls, the venue was intimate, and his movements instantly mesmerizin­g. In 2017, she presented his work for the first time when choreograp­her and guest curator Justin Peck selected “The Gettin’ ” for the Kennedy Center’s Ballet Across America series.

Booth has continued to follow the trajectory of his growing success over the years, and when she assumed her newest role at the helm of what is now Performing Arts Houston at the end of 2018, his name was one that topped her list of artists whose work she wanted to bring to town. While the story that Abraham is telling onstage in “An Untitled Love” is specific to the often-overlooked unity within the Black community, any human will be able to recognize the value of connectivi­ty and relationsh­ip within it, she explains.

“Technicall­y, what he is able to achieve with his choreograp­hy and his dancers is unbelievab­le, but then thematical­ly, to see as much positive energy in this piece, it is a really beautiful, sexy, downbeat groove,” she says. “It’s one of those evenings that just makes you feel good about humanity.”

Sharing in Performing Arts Houston’s dedication to educationa­l outreach, A.I.M dancers will participat­e in several community events leading up to their May 6 performanc­e. On May 5, Keerati Jinakunwip­hat was scheduled to work with students at Kinder High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, and later that evening, Catherine Kirk was slated to teach a public, intermedia­te to advanced-level master class, hosted by the Institute of Contempora­ry Dance.

Abraham also sat down with Harrison Guy, founding artistic director of Urban Souls Dance Company, for one of Performing Arts Houston’s Westwood Trust Creative Chats that is available to enjoy now via the organizati­on’s social media platforms.

 ?? Carrie Schneider ?? Claude C.J. Johnson and Tamisha Guy are featured in the dance piece “An Untitled Love.”
Carrie Schneider Claude C.J. Johnson and Tamisha Guy are featured in the dance piece “An Untitled Love.”

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United States