A.I.M by Kyle Abraham
June 14, 2021
"If We Were a Love Song (2021), set to Nina Simone, steers its way … through love and heartache as Simone’s voice seems to pour out of the dancers’ bodies."
— The New York Times
Works
6 Lost Labors
MotorRover
2x4 (world premiere)
If We Were a Love Song (set to songs by Nina Simone)
Co-sponsored by the Black Cultural Center
One of the world’s most visionary contemporary dance companies returns to the Moss. Led by the acclaimed choreographer and artistic director, A.I.M by Kyle Abraham draws inspiration from a multitude of sources and movement styles.
This mixed repertory program features a diverse range of works, including new additions If We Were a Love Song, set to songs by Nina Simone, and the world premiere of 2x4. Abraham’s unique vision and illumination of poignant and relevant issues set him apart from his generation of choreographers as a leading creative force in dance. A.I.M extends this vision and amplifies surrounding artistic voices to share movement and community-based work with audiences around the world.
About the Company
Considered “one of the most consistently excellent troupes working today” (The New York Times), A.I.M provides multifaceted performances, educational programming, and community-based workshops across the globe. The innovative work is galvanized by Black culture and history, features the rich tapestry of Black and Queer stories, and is grounded in a conglomeration of unique perspectives; it is described by Abraham as a “post-modern gumbo” of movement exploration.
A.I.M is one of the most active touring dance companies in the United States, with an audience base as diverse as its movement vocabulary. Since A.I.M’s founding in 2006, Abraham has created more than 30 original works for and with the company. To expand its repertoire and offer a breadth of dance work to audiences, A.I.M commissions new works and performs existing works by outside choreographers such as Trisha Brown, Bebe Miller, Andrea Miller, Doug Varone, Paul Singh, A.I.M alums Rena Butler and Maleek Washington, and current A.I.M dancer Keerati Jinakunwiphat.
If We Were a Love Song
If We Were a Love Song is a series of poetic vignettes created by Abraham in collaboration with A.I.M and set to some of Nina Simone’s most intimate songs. Melding the intricate qualities and musicality of Abraham’s movements with Simone’s seminal silky voice creates the atmosphere for this work. Composed primarily of solos and duets with versions created for both stage and screen, the work unfolds like a series of living portraits, deepening our reflections on community, love, and one’s self.
5 Minute Dance (You Drivin'?)
A new quartet, 5 Minute Dance (You Drivin’?) was created in part during Abraham’s first semester working with the Glorya Kaufman School of Dance at the University of Southern California (USC). After exploring a new duet in the studio with A.I.M dancers Keerati Jinakunwiphat and Kar’mel Antonyo Wade Small, Abraham brought this work-in-progress to his students at the USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance. Assigning the students different variations of the work, the duet has now become a quartet. Music by pioneering electronic musician and past A.I.M collaborator Jlin scores the dynamic work.
Kyle Abraham, Artistic Director
Princess Grace Statue Award Recipient (2018), Doris Duke Award Recipient (2016), and MacArthur Fellow (2013) Kyle Abraham began his dance training at the Civic Light Opera Academy and the Creative and Performing Arts High School in Pittsburgh. After graduating from Schenley High School, Abraham continued his dance studies in New York, earning a bachelor of fine arts from SUNY Purchase and a master of fine arts from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. Abraham later received an honorary doctorate in fine arts from Washington Jefferson College. Abraham is currently the Claude and Alfred Mann Endowed Professor in dance at the University of Southern California (USC) Glorya Kaufman School of Dance. Prior to USC, Abraham served as a visiting professor in residence at the University of California, Los Angeles’ (UCLA) World Arts Cultures in Dance program (2016-2021).
Abraham serves on the advisory board for Dance Magazine and in 2020 was selected to be its first-ever guest editor. Abraham also sits on the artistic advisory board for Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the inaugural Black Genius Brain Trust, and the inaugural cohort of the Dorchester Industries Experimental Design Lab, a partnership between the Prada Group, Theaster Gates Studio, Dorchester Industries, and Rebuild Foundation.
In addition, Abraham was named a Kennedy Center Next 50 Leader (2021), a list of leaders who exemplify the center’s mission to help shape culture and society through the arts. Abraham was named to the inaugural 100 ArtDesk magazine (2022) for “pushing new frontiers in creative work” and was one of Native Son’s 101 Class of 2022 honoring “Black gay men who have had an impact this year.” He was a recipient of a 2022 Dance Magazine Award, one of the field’s highest honors, and was called a “voice of a generation” by the magazine.
A.I.M by Kyle Abraham first performed at the Moss Arts Center in 2016.
This performance is supported in part by gifts from Kelli Whitfield and Ruth Waalkes and Jeffrey C. Cole.
Photos by Alexander Diaz, Tony Turner, and Carrie Schneider