Kyle Abraham produces works that give voice to underserved communities
Choreographer Kyle Abraham performs in Pavement. Photo by Steven Schreiber. Kyle Abraham is a choreographer, the artistic director of A.I.M. dance company, and a professor in the UCLA Department of World Arts and Cultures/Dance. He was invited to submit this opinion piece as part of USA Today's Leaders of Change project.
I choreograph to support and represent my culture.
As the artistic director of a touring dance company, A.I.M., I’m often thinking about what stories or reality I'm putting on stage. How is the work viewed, and who’s relating to my version of storytelling?
These questions — especially important as the nation grapples with issues such as the killing of unarmed Black men and women and problems of mass incarceration — have been at the forefront of my choreographic identity since I was first exposed to dance at the age of 17 in my hometown of Pittsburgh.
Within that first year, I was exposed to dance titans such as Bill T. Jones, Donald Byrd and Ulysses Dove. Each of these Black, male choreographers give audiences a glimpse into their world by tackling issues such as the Civil War, failed race relations in the U.S., traditional notions of gender, Black love, religion and loss. To varying degrees, I saw my choreographic career following theirs.
And as a Black gay teenager in the 1990s, I saw the possibility for a future in which Black men were leading companies and talking openly about love, race and queer identity — without shock value but rather as a way to share and show a commonality of love and loss.
Their work spoke of their families, their communities and beyond. And most important, it spoke to and for communities that might not have always felt supported or properly represented.
Their outlook paved the way for so much of my choreographic voice. Studying and admiring their work and the works of Bebe Miller, Ralph Lemon and Ishmael Houston-Jones only furthered my ideals about what could be achieved. Miller, Lemon and Houston-Jones gave me permission to be experimental and theatrical and to use improvisation.
Since forming my company, I’ve addressed police brutality, mass incarceration and disparities and joys that come with the Black and queer experiences in America — issues facing my community that it seems others have only begun to notice.
— Kyle Abraham, Aug. 30, 2020
Top Image: Kyle Abraham. Photo by Tatiana Wills, courtesy of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
This post is an excerpt. Read the full article on the USA Today website.
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