Choreographic Fellow | February 6 – 16, 2012
Pavement
While in residence, Abraham began developing Boyz N The Hood: Pavement (working title). The work draws its inspiration from John Singelton's 1991 film of the same name and W.E.B Dubois's classic essay, The Souls of Black Folk, and is set to a sound score that mixes Philippe Jaroussky’s operatic score, Carestini: The Story of a Castrato with the sounds of an urban city. Reimagined as a dance work, Boyz pays comedic homage to the bold Kris Kross/backward jeans and high top fade era in Hip-Hop while reflecting on the growths and losses of Pittsburgh's historically black neighborhoods, Homewood and the Hill District.
Abraham investigated movement vocabulary, and explored how the layers of film, dance, and community may be integrated into the work. He met with Dr. Hernan Ramirez, Assistant Professor in FSU's Department of Sociology and Dr. Alisha Gaines, Assistant Professor in FSU's Department of English, to explore some of the themes in his work including race and minority relations. Additionally, collaborator and Abraham.In.Motion Public Programs Developer, Maritza Mosquera joined Abraham to brainstorm about the development of an educational program, which may tour in conjunction with the work. Students engaged with Abraham and his collaborators on multiple levels during the residency - attending an open rehearsal, discussing local community engagement strategies, and participating in a structured jam session. Abraham concluded his residency by sharing the material generated to date, including a section that was performed at the Danspace Project's Parallels series March 22-24, 2012.
Maggie Allesee
