Review: Kyle Abraham, Walking on Air
UCLA Professor Kyle Abraham is a 2016 Doris Duke Artist Award recipient, a 2015 City Center Choreographer in residence, and a 2013 MacArthur Fellow. His dance company, Abraham.In.Motion (A.I.M), is performing at the Joyce Theater this weekend, through May 6.
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"The choreographer Kyle Abraham is changing things up this season. His company, originally called Kyle Abraham/Abraham.In.Motion, has been rebranded: Just call it A.I.M.As evident at the Joyce Theater this week, he’s also introducing outside choreographers. Does the dance world really need another repertory company? Mr. Abraham, through a press representative, said he doesn’t have a plan to transition into a repertory group; instead, for this season at least, he wants to feature his dancers in the works of other choreographers to show off their individuality and range. This season, those dance-makers — chosen because they inspire Mr. Abraham — are Andrea Miller, Bebe Miller and Doug Varone.
Of course, Mr. Abraham’s choreography is on display as well. (And it’s increasingly in demand: This fall, he will create a premiere for New York City Ballet.) What the Joyce season revealed, on Tuesday and Wednesday, was how his dancers could be challenged more — even by Mr. Abraham himself.
The only dance to leave a lasting impression was Mr. Abraham’s new solo, “INDY.” What makes it so memorable is the presence of Mr. Abraham. Whether you buy into the sheer emotionalism of his choreography is a matter of taste; his skill as a dancer is a fact.
In “INDY,” his first solo in nearly 10 years, Mr. Abraham circumnavigated the stage with a birdlike swoop; his glorious costume (by Karen Young) — a black tunic and pants, with the entire backside covered in fringe — revealed a person solid and strong when viewed from the front, but frazzled, even traumatized, from behind.
As he moved to a score by Jerome Begin, his accents and corkscrew angles quickened or dissipated with such fleetingness that his dancing carried the sensation of walking on air. Morphing into different personas, Mr. Abraham transformed himself from a voguer, silkily turning the stage into a runway, into an old man and a troubled boy. They were like ghosts trying to escape."— Gia Kourlas, May 3, 2018
This post is an excerpt, read the full article on the New York Times website.
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