Premiere New York Premiere
Production Language English
Country of Origin United States
Description Inspired by the Zimbabwe-born, Brooklyn-based choreographer’s complex relationship with her absentee father and preoccupied more broadly with fraught assumptions about black masculinity, nora chipaumire’s portrait of myself as my father features chipaumire (Miriam, 2012 Next Wave) and extraordinary Senegalese dancer Pape Ibrahima Ndiaye, known as Kaolack (formerly of Compagnie Jant Bi, Les escailles de la memoire, 2008 Next Wave). The two perform within a makeshift boxing ring—complete with Shamar Watt as ringmaster—with viewers on four sides. Rooted in chipaumire’s signature fusion of traditional African and contemporary dance, portrait uses the metaphor of sports to explore the question: how are men displayed and how are they consumed? It is at once aggressive, playful, personal, and furious, compelling viewers to engage with what scares and intrigues us about a male body which happens to be black. portrait of myself as my father is part of BAM’s new Brooklyn-Paris Artist Exchange with Théâtre de la Ville, Paris and will be performed at Théâtre des Abesses from Sep 28—Oct 1.
Identifier 2016f.00940
