August 17, 2025 The Best Source of News, Culture, Lifestyle for Culver City, Mar Vista, Del Rey, Palms and West Los Angeles

MacArthur Fellow Kyle Abraham’s “Abraham In Motion” at The Broad Stage

Kyle Abraham has created a repertoire of dance thatentwines a sensual and provocative vocabulary, touching on race, identity and personal history. From the birth of #BlackLivesMatter, to the ongoing issue of police brutality among the African American community, to apartheid-era South Africa, Abraham’s works point towards the past, but look to the future.

Raised in one of Pittsburgh’s historically black neighborhoods, Abraham studied classical music while listening to the burgeoning hip-hop scene of the 1980’s.  However, it wasn’t until Abraham saw Joffrey Ballet perform, to the music of Prince, that dance barged into his life.  “That opened my eyes more to a lot of the possibilities of movement,” Abraham said.

His piece Untitled America was performed by Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater at The Music Center this March. Lewis Segal said, in the Los Angeles Timesreview, “For an uncompromising choreographic vision [that] also managed to be a powerful company showpiece, it was Kyle Abraham’s Untitled America that triumphed, first to last.” Robert Battle, Ailey’s Artistic Director says of Abraham, “Watching him in studio, it’s like watching an artist doing sketches; you can’t tell where a movement begins and where it ends.”

Abraham’s repertoire for The Broad Stage includes the California premieres ofThe Quiet Dance and Absent Matter and The Gettin’. 

The Quiet Dance (2011) – California Premiere

The Quiet Dance is an introspective, suspenseful 12 minute quintet set to a rendition of Bernstein’s “Some Other Time”. An experience in subtly, and “what goes unsaid”, dancers and movement contrast and connect quietly but expressively.

Absent Matter (2015) – California Premiere

Absent Matter explores the perceived posthumous grandeur of death and violence in urban communities throughout the US through sound and movement, tracing the racial epithets in songs of Grief, Love, an Death by artists ranging from Notorious B.I.G. to Tupac to contemporary rap artists like Kendrick Lamar and Drake.  The work explores hip-hop’s lineage to create an abstracted dialogue about race in America through the lens of those who feel unacknowledged or without value.

The Gettin’ (2014)

Created during Abraham’s tenure as a Resident Commissioned Artists at New York Live Arts, this piece draws inspiration from jazz legend Max Roach’s seminal album, We Insist! Max Roach’s Freedom Now Suite.  The album, originally intended to be released in 1963 to mark the centennial of the Emancipation Proclamation, was released in the fall of 1960 due to the severity sparked by the sit-ins in Greensboro, NC, and the urgency of the growing civil rights movement in the United States and in South Africa. In Roach’s Freedom Day he asks “Freedom itself was so hard to grasp…we don’t really understand what it really is to be free.”

GETTIN - 0861-Tamisha Guy by Jerry and Lois Photography HIGH RES Kyle Abraham 2015_The Quiet Dance_Matthew Baker, Penda N'diaye_Ellen Crane Photography2[1] 2015_Absent Matter_Tamisha Guy_Ellen Crane Photography6[1]

Related Posts

Suspect Arrested in UCLA Hate-Crime Investigation Over Stolen Black History Posters

August 16, 2025

August 16, 2025

University Police Say the Individual Was Found Inside Haines Hall With a Stun Gun UCLA police arrested a suspect on...

Two Arrested in Culver City E-Bike Shooting; Cache of Guns, Suspected Cocaine Seized

August 16, 2025

August 16, 2025

Victim Wounded After Resisting Robbery on Sepulveda Boulevard Two women have been arrested in connection with the Aug. 4 shooting...

Tesla Diner Slashes Menu Weeks After Grand Opening in Hollywood

August 16, 2025

August 16, 2025

Diner Narrows Offerings, Faces Protests and Lawsuit Amid Early Hype Tesla’s new retro-style diner and drive-in has already deep sixed...

Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream Debuts  All-Black Ice Cream in Collaboration With Artist Cj Hendry

August 15, 2025

August 15, 2025

Limited-Edition Flavor Opaque and All Black Cones Launch on Aug. 14 Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams is stripping away the usual...

Drivers Take Note: Major Street Closures Planned for CicLAvia in Culver City and Venice

August 15, 2025

August 15, 2025

Major Roads in the Area Will Shut Down From 9:00 a.m. To 4:00 p.m. Culver City and Los Angeles will...

Fire at Beverly Hills’ Funke Prompts Evacuation, No Injuries Reported

August 15, 2025

August 15, 2025

Blaze in Exhaust System Forces Temporary Closure Flames erupted in the exhaust system at Funke Restaurant on Tuesday night, prompting...

ICE Raids Rattle Westside Businesses Amid Reports of Arrests, Ambush Tactics

August 14, 2025

August 14, 2025

Masked Men Targeted Car Washes, Home Depots: 30 People Missing ICE and Border Patrol raids on Los Angeles’ Westside this...

Fiery 10 Freeway Chase Ends in Multi-Car Crash, Five Injured After Suspects Toss Batteries

August 14, 2025

August 14, 2025

Deputies Say a Stolen SUV Caused Chaos, Ending Car Explosion Car-chase suspects tossing car batteries from a stolen Lexus SUV...

405 Freeway Closure Rescheduled: Sepulveda Pass to Shrink to Three Lanes August 22–25

August 14, 2025

August 14, 2025

Extended 405 Closure to Snarl Traffic Through Sepulveda Pass  The major closure of the 405 Freeway through the Sepulveda Pass...

Concert in the Courtyard: Israeli Band The Peatot Brings High-Energy Sound to Adat Shalom Synagogue

August 14, 2025

August 14, 2025

Event in Westwood Will Feature Live Music, Food, and Family-Friendly Community Celebration Adat Shalom Synagogue will host a summer evening...

Sweet Wheat Bakery & Bistro Opens in Downtown Culver City August 18

August 14, 2025

August 14, 2025

French Brothers Open Bakery with Authentic Parisian Pasteries A new bakery and bistro from two French-born brothers is set to...

Sidecar & Van Leeuwen Unite for One-Night-Only Doughnuts à la Mode

August 14, 2025

August 14, 2025

Limited-Time Collab Pairs Iconic Doughnuts With Artisanal Scoops Sidecar Doughnuts, the purveyors of some of Los Angeles’ best doughnuts, is...

Mr. Charlie’s Brings Plant-Based Fast Food to 26th Street With Grand Opening Giveaway

August 13, 2025

August 13, 2025

Plant-Based Favorite Opens Brentwood Adjacent Spot With Opening Day Perks Mr. Charlie’s, the fast-growing plant-based fast-food chain known for its...

Drag Bingo Returns to The Godfrey Hotel Hollywood With “The Bingo Babe” Roxy Wood

August 13, 2025

August 13, 2025

About Last Knife Hosts a Night of Games, Prizes, Followed by Late-Night Happy Hour About Last Knife, the signature restaurant...

Bánh Mì Pop-Up Returns: Chef Tra An Serves Pork & Mushroom Versions After Months-Long Hiatus

August 13, 2025

August 13, 2025

Following Four Sold-Out Events, Pre-Orders are Live for The Next Delicious Pop-Up Private chef Tra An, celebrated for making what...