Kyle Abraham

Last updated

Kyle Abraham
Born (1977-08-14) August 14, 1977 (age 46)
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Occupation Choreographer

Kyle Abraham (born August 14, 1977) [1] is an American choreographer and dancer. He founded his own company A.I.M by Kyle Abraham (formerly Abraham.In.Motion) in 2006 in New York City and has produced many original works for A.I.M such as The Radio Show (2010), Absent Matter (2015), Pavement (2012), Dearest Home (2017), Drive (2017), INDY (2018), Studies on Farewell (2019), and An Untitled Love (2021). Kyle has also been commissioned to create new works for international dance companies such as Untitled America (2016) for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, The Runaway (2018) for New York City Ballet, The Bystander (2019) for Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Only The Lonely (2019) for Paul Taylor American Modern Dance and Ash (2019).

Contents

Early life and career

Kyle Abraham was born in Lincoln-Larimer Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1977. He began dancing when he was young at the Civic Light Opera Academy and the Pittsburgh Creative and Performing Arts School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He continued his dance studies in New York, receiving a BFA from SUNY Purchase and an MFA from the NYU Tisch School of the Arts, [2] and an honorary Doctorate in Fine Arts from Washington Jefferson College. After graduating with his MFA, Abraham was approached by David Dorfman to dance in his company. He went on to perform with the following dance companies: Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company, The Kevin Wynn Collective, Nathan Trice/Rituals, Dance Alloy and Attack Theatre. [1]

A.I.M by Kyle Abraham

Abraham established his company A.I.M by Kyle Abraham (formerly Abraham.In.Motion) in 2006 with the mission to create a body of dance-based work that is galvanized by Black culture and history. Abraham creates work for his company that draws from his personal experiences, often exploring themes of Black life, emotion, and the relationship between visual art, music and dance.

A.I.M by Kyle Abraham has been presented around the United States and abroad. US venues include Fall for Dance Festival at New York City Center, Lincoln Center, Brooklyn Academy of Music, The Joyce Theater, The Los Angeles Music Center, Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, Harlem Stage, On The Boards, Danspace Project, Dance Theater Workshop, Bates Dance Festival, and more, as well as The Andy Warhol Museum, The Byham and The Kelly-Strayhorn Theater in Abraham’s hometown of Pittsburgh, PA. International venues include Théâtre de la Ville, Sadler’s Wells, Maison de la Danse, Tanz Im August, Dublin’s Project Arts Center, The Okinawa Prefectural Museum & Art Museum located in Okinawa Japan, and more.

Choreographic works and career milestones

Works for A.I.M by Kyle Abraham

The first choreographic work Abraham created for A.I.M in 2006 was Fading into Something Tangible, premiering in Pittsburgh. In 2010 Abraham created The Radio Show, where he "delves into identity and personal history....Creating an abstract narrative around the loss of communication, he investigates the effects of the abrupt discontinuation of a radio station on a community and the lingering effects of Alzheimer's and aphasia on a family. Abraham mixes recordings of classic soul and hip-hop with contemporary classical compositions to create an eclectic score that evokes fond memories and a passion for what is lost." [3]

Some of Abraham's other choreographic works include A Ramp to Paradise, Op. 1, Live! The Realest MC, and Pavement. A Ramp to Paradise, was commissioned by THPAC and is about a true story by Alex Smith that describes the history of the black gay underground club called Paradise Garage, which was the "it" place in the New York City 1970s and '80s dance world. Op. 1 is a performance inspired by photographer Eadweard Muybridge's art. Live! The Realest MC is inspired by Walt Disney's Pinocchio in an industrial environment. It consists of a journey to find "realness" and includes hip hop karaoke. The work was commissioned by The Kitchen, The Kelly Strayhorn Theater (world premiere), Miami Dade, On The Boards, Bates Dance Festival, Dance Place, 651 ARTS and NPN. Pavement, premiered at Harlem Stage in November 2012, is inspired by the 1991 film Boyz n the Hood. It includes a wide variety of music, ranging from Bach to Sam Cooke, to express the themes of violence, love, and pain in Pavement. Seen from the perspective of a group of friends struggling to stay together while their community is tearing apart, critics were struck by this piece, Andrew Boynton of The New Yorker saying: "Pavement is a hard, unforgiving thing, but for some people it's also home." [4]

Abraham was the 2012–14 Resident Commissioned Artist at New York Live Arts, [5] and created two new works for the Live Arts stage. The Watershed premiered at New York Live Arts on September 23, 2014, with scenic design by visual artist Glenn Ligon and a score from a contemporary cello suite to Otis Redding. [6] The second work developed at Live Arts was When the Wolves Came In and it premiered on October 25, 2014, also with scenic design by Glenn Ligon. It featured music from We Insist! by Max Roach as well as an original composition by Robert Glasper. [7]

Drive (2017), choreographed by Abraham in collaboration with A.I.M, was commissioned by New York City Center for the 2017 Fall for Dance Festival. Drive is frequently included in A.I.M by Kyle Abraham’s touring of mixed repertory performances. In 2018, Abraham created Show Pony, a solo work set to musician Jlin’s song “Hatshepsut” and as was described by Brian Seibert in The New York Times as capturing “the pressures of being on display and having to deliver.” [8]

INDY, a 2018 work commissioned by the Joyce Theater, was the first full-length solo choreographed and performed by Abraham in nearly ten years. The dance features original music by Jerome Begin and visual art by Abigail DeVille. Abraham choreographed another solo work entitled Cocoon in 2019. This piece infuses contemporary and modern dance styles with elements of hip-hop and street dance. At the world premiere, a chorus of singers accompanied Abraham’s movements. [9]

In 2019, Abraham created Studies On A Farewell in collaboration with his dancers from A.I.M by Kyle Abraham, commissioned by The Joyce Theater Foundation’s Artist Residency Center. It is a tender work featuring nine dancers set to a classical score by Nico Muhly, Sebastian Bartmann, and Ludwig van Beethoven.

Abraham served as a visiting professor in residence at UCLA’s World Arts Cultures in Dance program from 2016 to 2021. [10] In 2021, he was named the Claude and Alfred Mann Endowed Professorship in Dance at The University of Southern California Glorya Kaufman School of Dance. Abraham currently sits on the advisory board for Dance Magazine and the artist advisory board for Hubbard Street Dance Chicago.

An Untitled Love (2021), is an evening-length work generated by Abraham through residencies at the Pillow Lab at Jacob’s Pillow; the August Wilson African American Cultural Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and the National Center for Choreography at the University of Akron. The work draws from the catalog of Grammy Award-winning R&B legend D’Angelo and pays homage to the complexities of self love and Black love, while serving as a thumping mixtape celebrating our culture, family and community.

In 2021, Abraham also developed the evening-length work Requiem: Fire in the Air of the Earth, in collaboration with pioneering producer, composer, and EDM artist Jlin. This piece explores death, folklore, and reincarnation through a reimagining of Mozart’s Requiem in D minor.

Commissioned works outside of A.I.M by Kyle Abraham

In addition to creating work for his company, Abraham has also been commissioned to create new works for prominent dance companies including Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, [11] New York City Ballet [12] and The Royal Ballet. Another Night, commissioned for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, premiered at New York's City Center in December 2012. Of this piece, Rebecca Bengal of Vogue writes: "What Abraham brings to Ailey is an avant-garde aesthetic, an original and politically minded downtown sensibility that doesn't distinguish between genres but freely draws on a vocabulary that is as much Merce and Martha as it is Eadweard Muybridge and Michael Jackson." [13] Abraham served as a choreographic contributor for Beyonce’s 2013 British Vogue cover shoot. Abraham collaborated with New York City Ballet principal dancer Wendy Whelan to create a duet entitled The Serpent and the Smoke that premiered at Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival in 2013 and toured in 2016. Untitled America, also commissioned for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, is a 3-part work that premiered in 2016.

Abraham has choreographed for film as well, including the 2017 feature-length film The Book of Henry directed by Colin Trevorrow. Abraham premiered the Bessie-nominated The Runaway for New York City Ballet at the 2018 Fall Fashion Gala, which was recognized as one of the "Best Dance of 2018" by The New York Times . [14]

In fall 2019, he choreographed Ash, a solo work for American Ballet Theatre Principal Dancer Misty Copeland; Only The Lonely,  the last commissioned choreographic work selected by Paul Taylor himself before his passing for Paul Taylor Dance Company; and The Bystander, a new commission for Hubbard Street Dance Chicago to rave reviews. In 2020 Misty and Kyle reunited for an intimate conversation as part of A.I.M's 2020 Virtual Homecoming Gala Sponsored by The Skin Deep program {The And}. [15]

Abraham premiered to be seen, a new solo for American Ballet Theatre Principal Dancer Calvin Royal III, for the 2020 virtual Fall For Dance Festival. Abraham collaborated with New York City Ballet Principal Dancer Taylor Stanley on Ces noms que nous portons (2020), a Lincoln Center and NYCB commissioned solo; choreographed the music video for Sufjan Stevens’ Sugar (2020); and choreographed Unto The End We Meet (2021), commissioned by the National Ballet of Cuba. Abraham premiered When We Fell in 2021, his third creation for New York City Ballet.

Abraham received two international commissions from The Royal Ballet for 2021 and 2022. Abraham’s work, Optional Family, a divertissement premiered in May 2021 as part of their 21st Century Choreographers program. He was also commissioned to be the first Black choreographer to create a one-act ballet for The Royal Ballet, set to premiere in spring 2022.

Selected works

Critical acclaim

In 2009, Abraham was listed in Dance Magazine ′s "25 to Watch" where he was described as, "equal parts power and grace." [16] In 2010, he was awarded a Bessie Award for his piece The Radio Show, [17] and won a Princess Grace Award for Choreography. In 2011, OUT Magazine labeled Abraham as the “best and brightest creative talent to emerge in New York City in the age of Obama.”

In 2012, Abraham was named the Jacob's Pillow Dance Award recipient, [18] and a USA Ford Fellow. [19] He became the New York Live Arts Resident Commissioned Artist for 2012–2014. [20] In 2013, the choreographer was awarded a prestigious MacArthur Fellowship. [21] In 2014, he received an Honorary Doctorate in Fine Arts from Washington & Jefferson College. [22] In 2015, Abraham was named Choreographer in Residence by New York City Center. In 2015, he was the recipient of another Princess Grace Foundation accolade, a Special Project Award, [23] and in 2016 he won the Doris Duke Performing Artist Award. [24] In 2017, Abraham’s hometown of Pittsburgh declared November 10 Kyle Abraham Day. [25]

In 2018, the choreographer won a Princess Grace Statue Award. [26] Also that year, Abraham's work The Runaway for the New York City Ballet’s 2018 Fall Fashion Gala was recognized as a “Best Dance of 2018” by The New York Times . [27] The New York Times applauded Abraham for his virtual work at the 2020 Fall for Dance Festival saying “how skilled he has become at mingling the ballet vernacular with other forms, from hip-hop to West African movement” and his unique talent for “finding the person within the dancer and the bodies within a body.” [28] In 2020, he was selected to be Dance Magazine’s first-ever Guest Editor. [29] In 2022, Abraham was selected to be an inaugural member of the Black Genius Brain Trust, [30] and was selected by the Kennedy Center to be one of their Next 50 Cultural Leaders, an honor celebrating individuals who are lighting the way forward through art and action. [31]

Awards and recognition

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alvin Ailey</span> American dancer and activist (1931–1989)

Alvin Ailey Jr. was an American dancer, director, choreographer, and activist who founded the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (AAADT). He created AAADT and its affiliated Alvin Ailey American Dance Center as havens for nurturing Black artists and expressing the universality of the African-American experience through dance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joffrey Ballet</span> Ballet company (founded in 1956)

The Joffrey Ballet is an American dance company and training institution in Chicago, Illinois. The Joffrey regularly performs classical and contemporary ballets during its annual performance season at the Civic Opera House, including its annual presentation of The Nutcracker.

Gawain Garth Fagan, CD is a Jamaican modern dance choreographer. He is the founder and artistic director of Garth Fagan Dance, a modern dance company based in Rochester, New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mia Michaels</span> American choreographer and judge

Mia Michaels Melchiona is an American choreographer and judge on the television show So You Think You Can Dance. She has worked with Tom Cruise, Celine Dion, Gloria Estefan, Madonna, Ricky Martin, Prince, and Catherine Zeta-Jones. In 2005 she choreographed Cirque du Soleil's world tour Delirium and Celine Dion's A New Day..., for which she received an Emmy Award nomination. In 2007 she won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Choreography for her routine on "Calling You" during season two of So You Think You Can Dance. She won another Emmy Award during season five in 2010. She was a judge during season 7 with Adam Shankman and Nigel Lythgoe. She choreographed the dance sequence for "Get Happy" in the episode "Bombshells" of the television series House.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Judith Jamison</span> American dancer and choreographer (born 1943)

Judith Ann Jamison is an American dancer and choreographer. She is the artistic director emerita of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater</span> Modern dance company based in New York City

The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (AAADT) is a modern dance company based in New York City. It was founded in 1958 by choreographer and dancer Alvin Ailey. It is made up of 32 dancers, led by artistic director Robert Battle and associate artistic director Matthew Rushing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tina Ramirez</span> American dancer (1929–2022)

Ernestina Ramirez was an American dancer and educator, best known as the founder and artistic director (1970–2009) of Ballet Hispanico, the premier Latino dance organization in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nacho Duato</span> Spanish ballet dancer and choreographer

Juan Ignacio Duato Bárcia, also known as Nacho Duato is a Spanish modern ballet dancer and choreographer. Since 2014, Duato has been artistic director of the Berlin State Ballet. He is openly gay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dwight Rhoden</span>

Dwight Rhoden is an American choreographer and artistic director of Complexions Contemporary Ballet who began dancing at the age of 17 while studying acting. He has performed with the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, Les Ballet Jazz de Montréal and was a principal dancer with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. He has appeared in numerous television specials, documentaries and commercials throughout the United States, Canada and Europe and has been a featured performer on many PBS Great Performances specials.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Garland</span>

Robert Garland is the artistic director of the Dance Theatre of Harlem, where he was a principal dancer and their first official resident choreographer. He has also choreographed for the New York City Ballet, The Royal Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, and the Oakland Ballet, among many others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carmen de Lavallade</span> American dancer and actress (born 1931)

Carmen de Lavallade is an American actress, choreographer and dancer.

Robert Battle is a dancer, choreographer and the Artistic Director of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.

Dancer and choreographer Ronald K. Brown founded the dance company Evidence in New York in 1985. Brown's work incorporates modern dance, Senegalese Sabar and other West African movement vocabularies, Afro-Caribbean dance, and contemporary urban dance from around the world. He has choreographed numerous works for his own company, as well as for Philadanco, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, the Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, the Maimouna Keita West African Dance Company, and many others. Brown has received numerous awards, including a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Bessie Award, a Black Theater Alliance Award, and an Audelco Award for the choreography of Regina Taylor's musical Crowns. He has also been a guest artist at The Sharon Disney Lund School of Dance at CalArts. He studied dance with Mary Anthony.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Mitchell (photographer)</span> American photographer

Jack Mitchell was an American photographer. He photographed American artists, dancers, film and theatre performers, musicians and writers. His portraiture, lighting skill, and ability to capture dancers in what he termed "moving stills" made him one of the most important dance photographers of the 20th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Camille A. Brown</span> American dancer

Camille A. Brown is a dancer, choreographer, director and dance educator. She is the Founder & Artistic Director of Camille A. Brown & Dancers, and has congruently choreographed commissioned pieces for dance companies, Broadway shows, and universities. Brown started her career as a dancer in Ronald K. Brown’s Evidence, A Dance Company, and was a guest artist with Rennie Harris Puremovement, and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Brown has choreographed major Broadway shows such as Choir Boy, Once on This Island and Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert! that aired on NBC. Brown also teaches dance and gives lectures to audiences at various universities such as Long Island University, Barnard College and ACDFA, among others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jacqulyn Buglisi</span>

Jacqulyn Buglisi is an American choreographer, artistic director, dancer, educator, and founder or co-founder of multiple dance institutions. Buglisi, with Terese Capucilli, Christine Dakin and Donlin Foreman, founded Buglisi Dance Theatre in 1993/94.

George W. Faison is an American dancer, choreographer, teacher, and theater producer, and winner of a 1975 Tony, a Drama Desk Award, and a 1991 nominee for the Emmy Award for choreography. He was a featured dancer with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, founder of the George Faison Universal Dance Experience, and co-founder/producing artistic director of the Faison Firehouse Theater.

Sarah Swenson is an American modern dance choreographer, dancer, and teacher. She trained in early modern dance forms, and later studied postmodern dance. She began her career in the late 1980s in New York City. Swenson began as a student and later, a teacher at the Alvin Ailey School, and was Rehearsal Director and Performance Coach for the Alvin Ailey Student Performance Group, for which she created her first works. She was also the Associate Artistic Director of Seraphim Dance Theatre, founded by the late Raymond C. Harris.

Kathryn Posin is an American choreographer known for her musical and sculptural fusing of ballet and modern dance genres. In addition to choreographing, she has also taught technique and composition at several American universities. Her most recent season with The Kathryn Posin Dance Company commissioned by 92nd Street Y in February 2016 received an award from the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council and an Arts Works Grant from the NEA in 2017.

Hope Boykin is an American dancer, choreographer, educator, director, writer, and speaker who is a former member of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Her mission is to create and share "within an environment of acceptance, brings new levels of awareness. Exploring, developing, and teaching a sound and healthy approach to movement and expression, promotes growth. Lifting and leading young and aspiring artists to a secure foundation and a concrete understanding evolves a confidence and an assurance which will be unmatched. There are no limits." She has inspired many with her journey to sharing her continued explorations with others on her path to search for hope. She continues to exhibit that her voice is indeed relevant and continues to remain significant within the dance community and world today.

References

  1. 1 2 Potter, Julie (February 18, 2011). "Owning it: Kyle Abraham in fast and slow motion". The San Francisco Bay Guardian. Retrieved September 27, 2017.
  2. ↑ "Kyle Abraham". New York Live Arts. Retrieved September 25, 2017.
  3. ↑ "Radio Show / Abraham.In.Motion". Abrahaminmotion.org. Retrieved April 18, 2014.
  4. ↑ Boynton, Andrew (November 11, 2012). "Boyz n the Hood Reimagined As Dance". The New Yorker. Retrieved November 20, 2013.
  5. ↑ "RCAII PressRelease FINAL.pdf" (PDF). New York Live Arts. Retrieved April 18, 2014.
  6. ↑ "The Watershed". New York Live Arts. Retrieved October 6, 2017.
  7. ↑ "When the Wolves Came In". New York Live Arts. Retrieved October 6, 2017.,
  8. ↑ Seibert, Brian (October 16, 2019). "Review: Kyle Abraham, Looking Gorgeous While Stuck in Place". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved February 22, 2022.
  9. ↑ custom. "Cocoon – Out & About NYC Magazine" . Retrieved February 22, 2022.
  10. ↑ Burke, Anne Marie. "Kyle Abraham, dancer-choreographer and MacArthur Fellow, to join UCLA faculty". UCLA Newsroom. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
  11. ↑ La Rocco, Claudia (December 7, 2012). "Ailey Offers Premiere of Another Night by Kyle Abraham". The New York Times. Retrieved November 20, 2013.
  12. ↑ Burke, Siobhan (September 21, 2018). "The Choreographer Kyle Abraham Mixes Things Up at City Ballet". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved April 23, 2019.
  13. ↑ Bengal, Rebecca (December 7, 2012). "Behind the Scenes of Another Night: Choreographer Kyle Abraham's Alvin Ailey Debut". Vogue. Retrieved September 27, 2017.
  14. ↑ Macaulay, Alastair; Kourlas, Gia; Seibert, Brian; Burke, Siobhan (December 7, 2018). "Best Dance of 2018". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved April 23, 2019.
  15. ↑ Even As Successful Black Artists, We're Underdogs | {THE AND} | Misty & Kyle , retrieved February 22, 2022
  16. ↑ Sucato, Steve. "25 to Watch". Dance Magazine. Retrieved September 25, 2017.
  17. 1 2 "Award Archive". The Bessies.
  18. ↑ "Jacob's Pillow Dance Award". Jacob's Pillow. Retrieved February 22, 2022.
  19. ↑ "United States Artists » Kyle Abraham" . Retrieved February 22, 2022.
  20. ↑ "KYLE ABRAHAM + A.I.M". New York Live Arts . Retrieved February 22, 2022.
  21. ↑ "Kyle Abraham". www.macfound.org. Retrieved February 22, 2022.
  22. ↑ "ADP President, CEO to Deliver Keynote Address at W&J Commencement". Washington & Jefferson College. April 24, 2014. Retrieved February 22, 2022.
  23. ↑ "Kyle Abraham". Princess Grace Foundation-USA. Retrieved February 22, 2022.
  24. ↑ "2016 Doris Duke Artist Awards". www.ddcf.org. Retrieved February 22, 2022.
  25. ↑ Sucato, Steve. "Kyle Abraham and company return for their first show here in four years". Pittsburgh City Paper. Retrieved February 22, 2022.
  26. ↑ "2018 Award Winners". Princess Grace Foundation-USA. Retrieved February 22, 2022.
  27. ↑ Macaulay, Alastair; Kourlas, Gia; Seibert, Brian; Burke, Siobhan (December 7, 2018). "Best Dance of 2018". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved February 22, 2022.
  28. ↑ Kourlas, Gia (October 27, 2020). "Review: Calvin Royal III and Dormeshia Glow at Fall for Dance". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved February 22, 2022.
  29. ↑ Stahl, Jennifer (November 15, 2020). "Kyle Abraham Is Dance Magazine's Guest Editor This Week". Dance Magazine. Retrieved February 22, 2022.
  30. ↑ "Black Genius Brain Trust". The Black Genius Foundation. Retrieved February 22, 2022.
  31. ↑ "Kyle Abraham | Kennedy Center". The Kennedy Center. Retrieved February 22, 2022.
  32. ↑ "Kyle Abraham". Princess Grace Foundation USA. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
  33. ↑ "Kyle Abraham". USA Artists. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
  34. ↑ "Jacob's Pillow Dance Award". Jacob's Pillow. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
  35. ↑ "Kyle Abraham". MacArthur Foundation. September 25, 2013. Retrieved January 9, 2014.
  36. ↑ "Kyle Abraham". Creative Capital. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
  37. ↑ "President and CEO of ADP Delivers Keynote Address at 215th Commencement". May 21, 2014.
  38. ↑ "Kyle Abraham". Doris Duke Foundation. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
  39. ↑ Davidson, Lauren (October 14, 2021). "Pittsburgh Native Kyle Abraham Shows Hometown Love in a Hometown Show". Pittsburgh Magazine. Retrieved November 14, 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.