Live! The Realest MC

Press

“[‘Live! The Realest MC’] is about the suicide of a 13-year-old exposed to cyber-mobbing, about navigating gender roles, about oppression, pain and overcoming it, about finding one’s own identity. Knowing that is helpful, but not essential. Because this is also about dance, which works wonderfully just as it is – and that is what distinguishes the piece as high quality. The way new dance elements are gleaned from hip hop, how its movement patterns are brought closer to classical ballet. The way Abraham succeeds in creating images of absolute beauty while still drawing on subcultural elements. […]”    
Neue Presse, 1 September 2018

Preview text

Kyle Abrahams’ festival debut two years ago was noted by one critic for the defiant beauty of its dance language. Now Abrahams and his New York company A.I.M are back in Hanover with “Live! The Realest MC”, showing more compelling scenes crossing glitter, grit and grace. Inspired by Disney’s Pinocchio, this latest piece is a danced parable about the individual’s struggle for recognition and belonging. Seven accomplished dancers tell the both personal and universal story about dealing with the “other”, whether defined by gender, skin colour or sexual orientation, in a digitalised world. And all the while, the hip hop attitude is brilliantly showcased in fast-paced group scenes and concentrated solos. The result is an emotionally charged, darkly humorous tale that builds a bridge between urban and classical dance.

(approx. 60 mins)

Watch a video on Vimeo

cast & credits

Choreography: Kyle Abraham in collaboration with A.I.M
Dance: Matthew Baker, Kayla Farrish, Tamisha Guy, Claude “CJ” Johnson, Catherine Ellis Kirk, Marcella Lewis, Jeremy “Jae” Neal
Costume Design: Kyle Abraham & Kristi Wood, assisted by Maribeth Maxa,
Liz Prince and the staff of Perry Mansfield
Filmmaker: Carrie Schneider
Editing Advisor: Alexandra Wells
Lighting: Dan Scully
Music: Kyle Abraham, Alva Noto, James Blake, Mariah Carey, Bill Evans, Ben Frost, Mika Vainio, Pan Sonic and Slick Rick
Mixing: Herman “soy sos” Pearl

Production: A.I.M, New York

Created with support from: The MAP Fund & Doris Duke Charitable Foundation/ The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation/ Princess Grace Foundation-USA/ Rockefeller Brothers Fund/ David DeMuro & Chris Longobucco (all based in New York)/ National Performance Network Creation Fund (NPN), New Orleans/ Miami Dade College in partnership with On the Boards, Seattle, Bates Dance Festival, Lewiston, Dance Place, Washington DC and 651 ARTS, New York

Creation period residencies at: Bates Dance Festival, Lewiston/ Institute for Curatorial Practice in Performance - Wesleyan University, Middletown/ Mark Morris Dance Center, New York/ The Joyce Theater Foundation, New York

This engagement is supported by Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation through USArtists International in partnership with theNational Endowment for the Arts, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the Howard Gilman Foundation.