Kyle Abraham
The Harlem Renaissance was the birthplace of black dance and music in that it became a place where both black and white New Yorkers brought together dance and music that was enthralling and lively. Not only did dances such as the Charleston, Lindyhop, and the Jitterbug come from these areas, but also Jazz music. Because of the Harlem Renaissance, its influence in music and dance in the 1920s spread later on to Europe.
It was disheartening to see sometimes black dancers such as Josephine Baker as not popular in America during her time period because of racial tension that continued to marginalize the form of art. However, through time, black dancers continued to progress their artistic movement, and eventually Buddy Bradley became the first African-American to run a British white company.
It is interesting to see that Kyle’s Abraham’s approach to black dance is one that is influenced by hip-hop culture of the late ’70s, and its goal is to delve into identity in relation to a personal history. His works are inspired by historical events such as the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation in “The Watershed” and the 20th anniversary of the abolishment of apartheid in South Africa in “When the Wolves Came In. ” Abraham currently wants “The Watershed” to give the audience thoughts about what the gains and losses that we’ve had. “When the Wolves Came In” has a ceremonial vibe, but is really about perception, race, and identity.
Abraham admits to the interviewer that being a choreographer, it’s hard for him to tell stories that aren’t too abstract to the audience. When the audience sees a black man and a black woman, or a black man with a white man there is immediately politics involved in the situation. Abraham brings into question the racial tension that exists in modern day society that not only permeated from historically influenced plays. According to him during the Watershed scene, the audience feels tension as two black men dance intimately while a white man cuts a watermelon in half. His artwork brings light to our current expectations of certain scenarios, and hopes that we can make sense of them. He tries to incorporate many different sources into his works of dance. Indeed according to him, he is “drawing a line between history and a contemporary aesthetic as well.”
From what I see, it seems as if you are also very fond of Kyle Abrahams. Similarly, I found that Abrahams put a lot of meaning and passion into his work, to create a lot of depth. Ultimately, it seems as if all dance has so much depth, due to the histories and backgrounds that they all come from. I wonder if you found the path that black dance went through very interesting and intriguing. I personally thought it was truly inspiring, especially to see someone like Kyle Abrahams being so influential and prominent today.
Dancing has brought communication to a whole different level that words cannot convey. Kyle Abrahams has really pushed the boundaries what dancing can say, especially when it comes to issues that exist in our society. There are so many things that influence dance such as: history, experiences, emotions, and stories. Our generation probably won’t appreciate this type of dancing until we get a lot older and have more knowledge. Most things aren’t appreciated until it dies off, only then people truly understand the meaning behind the work that once existed.
I liked your discussion of Kyle Abrahams. To really understand and enjoy modern dance, one has to figure out what the dancers are communicating. They can do that through so many different techniques and communicate a lot of different messages. Understandably, this is difficult for a choreographer to do. However, not every audience member is looking for a meaning. The dance can simply be visually appealing, and they’ll be enthralled in the motions of the dance.
You bring up a good point on the tragedy of Josephine Baker’s reception in America. Clearly she was a talented artist as seen by her many merits and accomplishments in Europe, yet despite her efforts, she was not able to gain traction in America because of its racist ideals. When approaching art, I feel like it is important to view it through a colorblind lens. An artist’s skin color does not impact the effectiveness of his art and as such it is an irrelevant criteria by which to judge art. Doing so will only limit one’s sensitivity to a medium and minimize an artworks impact needlessly.
It is interesting how we both underline the the progression of this dance movement. It begs the question, what come next? I am very curious what the next for of artistic dancing is going to be, namely what with the work of Kyle Abraham influence? Kyle Abraham and Pearl Primus became famous for displaying the struggles of their societies, so it is safe to assume that as problems arise, so will artistic expression. Perhaps, the next great dancer/choreographer inspired by Abraham and/or Primus will make a dance form the reflects the struggle of ending war or protecting our planet.