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Cynthia Oliver
Turn.Turning.TURNT.
Presented at New York Live Arts
a trilogy of tumultuous dance works negotiating the discord between time, play, and an uncertain future.
Turn.Turning.TURNT. is a tryptic of three experimental performance works from the acclaimed choreographer Cynthia Oliver, made before, during and “after” (if such a thing exists) the global pandemic. The Afrofuturist Tether, a meditation on Black girls’ creativity as drawn from double dutch practice as life skill training, dates back to 2019. That work’s two distinct sections offer demanding yet playful instruction and the possibility of its physical props tying dancers together or holding them apart. 2021’s Fallow captures the post-pandemic malaise of ever-changing threats and the existential desire to pivot quickly and persistently while simultaneously needing a moment to slow and stop. In the evening’s concluding work, Summon. Sow. Reap., Oliver actualizes clarity after tumult: spirits are summoned, seeds are sown and our just rewards are reaped. Collectively, these works – part of a still-in-process full evening project – fiercely reflect and evoke states of remembering, hoping, and recovering ourselves for the world anew.
SCHEDULE
Monday, January 13 @ 6PM
Run time: 40 minutes
Get notified when tickets go on sale:
VENUE
Live Artery | New York Live Arts
219 W 19th Street, between 7th & 8th Ave,
NYC, NY 10011
Access:
Live Arts’ entrances are located on the street level, as is the main entrance to the theater. Box Office staff is available for assistance at either the single revolving door or pair of push bar doors. The elevator provides access to theater seating at the front of the audience, administrative offices, and the studios. Studios and bathroom entrances have ADA push button swing doors.
CREDITS
Choreographer and Director: Cynthia Oliver
Cast: Leslie Cuyjet, Angie Pittman, Oluwadamilare (Dare) Ayorinde, Nik Owens, Kendra Portier, Jessie Young, Paige Cunningham Caldarella (understudy)
Composer and Arranger: Jason Finkelman
Additional music: Opening by Marvin Gaye; Piano by Joy Yang
Costumes: Susan Becker
Projections: John Boesche
Lighting: Amanda Ringger
Visuals: Stacey Robinson
Stage Manager: Valerie Oliveiro
Company Manager: Cornelio Casaclang
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Cynthia Oliver is a Bronx-born, Virgin Island-reared dance maker and scholar. Her work incorporates textures of Caribbean performance with African and American aesthetic sensibilities. She has danced with David Gordon Pick Up Co., Ronald K. Brown/EVIDENCE, Bebe Miller, Tere O’Connor Dance and in theater works by Laurie Carlos, Ntozake Shange, and Deke Weaver. She earned a PhD in performance studies from New York University, is widely published, and has won numerous awards including a New York Dance and Performance (BESSIE) Award, United States Artist, Doris Duke and Guggenheim Fellowships. She is a Gutgsell Professor of Dance and Special Advisor to the Chancellor for Arts Integration at the University of Illinois, Urbana – Champaign.
CREATION + FUNDING
Presented in Partnership with Live Artery | New York Live Arts, this work is supported in part by Bates Dance Festival and BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music).
