Program
An Untitled Love is Kyle Abraham’s newest evening-length work. Drawing from the catalogue of Grammy Award-winning R&B legend D’Angelo, this creative exaltation pays homage to the complexities of self love and Black love, while serving as a thumping mixtape celebrating our culture, family and community.
Choreography: Kyle Abraham in collaboration with A.I.M
Music: D’Angelo & The Vanguard
Lighting Design: Dan Scully
Costume Design: Karen Young and Kyle Abraham
Sound Editing: Sam Crawford
Duration: 60 minutes, no intermission
Photo by Carrie Schneider
ABOUT THE COMPANY
Founded in 2006 by choreographer Kyle Abraham, A.I.M by Kyle Abraham is a Black-led contemporary dance company that provides multifaceted performances, educational programming, and community-based workshops. The mission of A.I.M by Kyle Abraham is to create a body of dance-based work that is galvanized by Black culture and history. The work, informed by and made in conjunction with artists across a range of disciplines, entwines a sensual and provocative vocabulary with a strong emphasis on music, text, video, and visual art. While grounded in choreographer Kyle Abraham’s artistic vision, A.I.M draws inspiration from a multitude of sources and movement styles.
Since A.I.M’s founding, Artistic Director Kyle Abraham has made more than 15 original works for and with the company. In 2018, A.I.M began commissioning new works and performing existing works by outside choreographers to expand its repertoire and offer a breadth of dance work to both the dancers and audiences. The repertory now includes works by Trisha Brown, Andrea Miller, Bebe Miller, Doug Varone, and A.I.M dancer and early-career choreographer Keerati Jinakunwiphat.
A.I.M’s audience base is as diverse as A.I.M’s movement vocabulary, which ranges from hip-hop to formal ballet technique. As Abraham says, “I’m interested in a really wide range of folks from the brother who owns the corner store to the woman who has never even heard of a corner store. I want those people to interact, and I want them to be sitting next to each other sensing the other person’s experience. And then, I want them to stick around for the post-performance discussion and hear the other person’s perspective and learn more about each other. That’s what is most exciting for me.”
FUNDING CREDITS
Leadership support for An Untitled Love is generously provided by Denise Littlefield Sobel.
An Untitled Love was made possible by the National Endowment for the Arts; and New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Dance Project, with lead funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and the Harkness Foundation for Dance.
An Untitled Love was created in part through residencies at the Pillow Lab at Jacob’s Pillow; the August Wilson African American Cultural Center in Pittsburgh, PA; the National Center for Choreography at the University of Akron; and during a “bubble” residency at Kaatsbaan Cultural Park and LUMBERYARD, made possible by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. An Untitled Love was created in part to benefit Dancers Responding to AIDS with generous support from Legacy Sponsors Rockefeller Brothers Fund and The SHS Foundation, in loving memory of Tom Morgan.
Commissioning support for An Untitled Love comes from American Dance Festival with support from the Doris Duke/SHS Foundations Award for New Works; August Wilson African American Cultural Center; Brooklyn Academy of Music; Society for the Performing Arts Houston; Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival; The Performing Arts Center at Purchase College, Director Seth Soloway; Seattle Theater Group; and White Bird, Portland, Oregon, made possible through White Bird’s 2020 Barney Choreographic Prize.