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Friday, October 20, 2017

In Context: Virago Man-Dem







Choreographer Cynthia Oliver and four performers excavate layers of racial and gender performance through the shared lens of their Afro-Caribbean and African-American ancestries. Context is everything, so get even closer to the production with this curated selection of related articles and videos. After you've attended the show, let us know what you thought by posting in the comments below and on social media using #BAMNextWave.

Program Notes

Virago Man-Dem (PDF)

Read

Archival Collection
Cynthia Oliver (Leon Levy BAM Digital Archive)
Browse this collection in the new Leon Levy BAM Digital Archive for photographs, audiovisual materials, and ephemera from Cynthia Oliver’s many BAM appearances over the years. 

Interview
"They all toss and tumble masculinity and wring it out so that by show's end, the trajectory of each individuals' notion (including that of the audience) of masculinity has been thrown into question," says Oliver.

Interview
Black Kirby NOW: An Interview with John Jennings (PopMatters)
John Jennings—one half of the visual art collective “Black Kirby” whose work appears in Virago-Man Dem—on comics, speculative worldmaking, and Afrofuturism.

Article
Cynthia Oliver: A choreographer uses calypso to explore her Caribbean identity (TimeOut)
“I’m a storyteller. It doesn’t have to be linear and I’m almost more interested in nonlinear story, but I’m also interested in what exceeds physical movement.”

Watch & Listen

“First of all the audacity of me as a woman trying to address masculinity has been something of concern for me.” Movement, research, and perspective on Virago-Man Dem.

Video
Cynthia Oliver: DTW Commissioned Artist Profile (YouTube)
In Virago-Man Dem Cynthia Oliver celebrates the infinite variety and nuance of black masculinities. Here she speaks about storytelling, movement, and her decades-long inquiry into “the complexity of black female life,” in advance of a previous work, BOOM!

Video
Cynthia Oliver's BOOM! (YouTube)
An excerpt of Cynthia Oliver's BOOM! at NYLA.

Now your turn...

How did you enjoy the show? Likes? Dislikes? Surprises? Tell us what's on your mind in the comments below and on social media using #BAMNextWave.

1 comment:

  1. I enjoyed the show. Found it an interesting look a black maleness. It was also funny.

    ReplyDelete

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