DANSPACE PROJECT PRESENTS
Vinson Fraley + Bebe Miller Company
a shared evening
Part of Platform 2024: A Delicate Ritual
curated by Kyle Abraham
Thursday, June 6 | 7:30PM
Friday, June 7 | 7:30PM
Saturday, June 8 | 7:30PM
Bebe Miller Company
Indifferent Forest
early iteration
Developed by: Bebe Miller, Michelle Boulé, Angie Hauser, Darrell Jones
Performers (Danspace Project iteration): Bebe Miller, Angie Hauser, Darrell Jones
Music: Michael Wall, Unisons, Tiny Voice; J.S. Bach, Partita #2 for Violin in D Minor
Text: excerpt from Katie Mack, The End of Everything (Astrophysically Speaking)
Costumes: Mary McMullen
Lighting Designer: Kathy Kaufmann
Thanks to: David Gray, Lila Hurwitz/Doolittle+Bird. Materials for this work were developed during Bebe’s 2023 residency at MacDowell; many thanks for its community of fellow artists and staff.
The world doesn’t wait for an explanation, and yet we persist. Our living together depends on the generative rub between us, in relation to the moment at hand; our dancing together depends on the same. We’re counting on the ground between us all to take us home.
Vinson Fraley
pneuma
Created/directed/set by Vinson Fraley
Accompanist/DJ: Aku Orraca-Tetteh
Music: Aku Orraca-Tetteh, Duke Ellington, Ryoji Ikeda, Natalia Beylis, Steve Reich, Herb Ellis, Vinson Fraley
Video: Eva Davidova
Costume: Julio Delgado
Makeup: Marcelo Gutierrez
Lighting Designer: Kathy Kaufmann
Text: Natalie Cook, Audre Lorde
Special thanks to Kyle Abraham, Issey Miyake, Motion Capture at ONX Studio, Callie Day, Catherine Kirk, Pierre Rougier, Brontë Velez, Nick Hallett, Andrew Lustman, and my family.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Indifferent Forest
Bebe Miller’s vision of dance resides in her faith in the moving body as a record of thought, experience, and beauty. Her aesthetic relies on the interplay of a work’s idea, its physicality, and the contributions of Bebe Miller Company members to fashion its singular voice. Seeking to expand the language of dance, BMC’s creative work encompasses choreography, writing, film, video and digital media. Archival projects aim to share its creative practice, including two ebooks: Dance Fort: A History and How Dancing is Built: The Making of In A Rhythm. BMC also convenes gatherings to facilitate inter-artist dialogue and exchange, such as Vault (vault-project.org).
Bebe formed Bebe Miller Company in 1985 to pursue her interest in finding a physical language for the human condition. Since then, she has created more than 50 dance works for BMC that have been performed worldwide. BMC has been commissioned and presented by leading venues including 651 ARTS, BAM Next Wave, DTW, Jacob’s Pillow, Joyce Theater, PICA, REDCAT, Walker Art Center and Wexner Center for the Arts. Her choreography has been performed by A.I.M by Kyle Abraham, Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, Oregon Ballet Theater, Boston Ballet, Philadanco, Repertory Dance Theater, the UK’s Phoenix Dance Company, PACT Dance Company of Johannesburg, South Africa, and others.
Named a Master of African American Choreography by the Kennedy Center in 2005, Bebe is an inaugural Doris Duke Artist Award recipient, a Movement Research honoree, and a Danspace Project Gala honoree. She has received four New York Dance and Performance “Bessie” awards, the David R. White Award from New York Live Arts, and honorary doctorates from Ursinus College and Franklin & Marshall College. Bebe is a Distinguished Professor Emerita in The Ohio State University’s Department of Dance and is currently living in a forest on Vashon Island, WA.
Angie Hauser is a “Bessie” Award-winning dancer and performance maker. Her work is grounded in improvisation and collaboration and reflects her ongoing movement and choreographic research with key collaborators Chris Aiken, Bebe Miller, and Darrell Jones. She is a principal collaborator with Bebe Miller Company, contributing to the creation and performance of the company’s work since 2000. She holds the influences of many important collaborators including Kathleen Hermesdorf, K.J. Holmes, Nancy Stark Smith, Jennifer Nugent and teachers Ishmael Houston Jones, Diane McIntrye, and Vickie Blaine. Presented by ADF, Bates Dance Festival, iDance Japan/Hong Kong/Taiwan, Freiburg International Festival, and SFDI, she is a sought-after teacher who creates classes in performance, choreography, contemporary dance technique, contact improvisation and other forms of making and sharing. Her choreographic work has received commissions and funding through NPN, Mass Cultural Council, iDance (Asia), A.P.E. Gallery, and university dance programs. At the heart of Hauser’s creative work is her endless curiosity with how culture and imagination show up in the body. She calls Northampton, MA, her home, where she teaches and directs the MFA program in Dance at Smith College.
Darrell Jones is a performer, educator, researcher, and choreographer. He has performed extensively across the United States and globally, in all kinds of venues, including Links Hall in Chicago, Danspace Project, Dance Box—Kobe, Japan, and the Venice Biennale. He maintains long-term collaborative relationships with Bebe Miller Company and Ralph Lemon. Additional foundational experiences have included working with Min Tanaka, Ronald K. Brown, Kokuma Dance Theatre (Birmingham, UK), and Urban Bush Women. Jones is a two-time “Bessie” Award recipient and has received grants and awards including the 3Arts Award, Chicago Dancemakers Forum Lab Artist, Foundation for Contemporary Arts, and the MAP Fund. He is a tenured faculty member at The Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago where he teaches classes in physical practice, performance, and improvisational techniques. He holds an MFA in Dance from Florida State University.
After 21 years in NYC, Michelle Boulé relocated to Missoula, MT, where she runs an international coaching and healing practice and continues dancing, in her natural surroundings and with her long-standing collaborators. She has received commissions and presentations from multiple New York venues and beyond, including The Chocolate Factory, Danspace Project, Triple Canopy, Baryshnikov Arts Center, Summer Stages Dance ICA/Boston, River to River Festival, The Met Breuer (with Okkyung Lee), and ISSUE Project Room. Awards received include: Distinguished Legacy Award from the University of Illinois; NYFA Choreography Fellowship; Boekelheide Creativity Award; Jerome Foundation Travel & Study Grant; New Music USA Grant; and residencies from Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, MacDowell, Yaddo, Bemis Center, Movement Research, Dance Ireland, and MT Open AIR. She is also a “Bessie” Award-winning performer, having collaborated with Miguel Gutierrez, Bebe Miller, John Jasperse, Deborah Hay, John Scott, and Aine Stapleton, amongst others. She has danced, taught, and choreographed in over 25 countries, and has a deep passion for helping creatives, artists, and leaders prosper in their authentic creative expression. She has been featured in The New York Times, The New Yorker, Dance Magazine, Bloomberg Businessweek, Thrive Global, and The Today Show. With nearly 30 years of practice in somatic therapies, energy medicine, mindset psychology, Human Design, and spirituality, the heart of all her work is devotion and LOVE. michelleboule.com, @michelle.boule
Kathy Kaufmann (Lighting Designer) is a New York City native, and two time Bessie recipient. She designs regularly for Dorrance Dance, Joanna Kotze, Koma Otake, The Bang Group, Mariana Valencia, Ephrat Asherie Dance, Vicky Shick, Mina Nishimura, and Music From The Sole. It’s been a pleasure to collaborate with Bebe and Vinson this past week.
pneuma
Vinson Fraley is a New York City based artist. He was born in Statesville, North Carolina and raised in Atlanta, Georgia. He began his formal training in voice and drama at DeKalb School of the Arts. He started dancing at the age of 14 at DanceMakers of Atlanta. Fraley received his BFA in dance from NYU Tisch in 2015. During his final year of college he became a member of Kyle Abraham’s A.I.M (Abraham. In.Motion) and later joined the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company in 2017. Some of Vinson’s collaborators include Carrie Mae Weems, Sterling Ruby, Damien Jalet, Kohei Nawa, Bobbi Jene Smith, Holland Andrews, Sara Mearns, Terri Lynn Carrington, Boysnoize, Mario Sorrenti, Collier Schorr, Janet Biggs, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The American Modern Opera Company, and Arts at CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research), and MIT.
He has had the opportunity to present works in the US, Germany, and France. Recently his work has been seen at The Joyce Theater, Lincoln Center, New York Live Arts (Fresh Tracks Artist 2024) The Water Mill Center, Harlem Stage, and The Peter Brant Foundation. His movement direction has been seen in videos by Calvin Klein, Burberry, Serpentwithfeet, Madonna, Vogue, Vanity Fair, Nike, and Pattern Beauty. Vinson contributed an original music composition for the Bill T. Jones/ Arnie Zane Company’s work titled Afterwardsness. His work has been written about and featured in various publications including The New York Times, The New Yorker, Interview Magazine, Vanity Fair, System Magazine, I-d Magazine, Highsnobiety, Document Journal, and Dance Magazine. He has also appeared in worldwide campaigns and commercials for Calvin Klein and Apple.
Aku Oracca-Terreh is a multi-talented musical force, a DJ, producer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, as well as being a key member of the Grammy-nominated band Florence and the Machine as a pianist (they were introduced by mutual friend Mark Ronson). He remains a musical accomplice (DJ/bass/keys) to the critically acclaimed American indie pop rapper/singer Santigold. For the past 15 years, he has lent his talents and collaborates regularly with Saul Williams, Florence Welch, TV on the Radio and Massive Attack. Recently, he was asked by Bill T. Jones to accompany his NY Live arts dance company. His band, Dragons of Zynth, was inspired by a mentorship with the jazz legend Yusef Lateef at his alma mater, Amherst College, which set the path for life consumed by making a difference in the world through music and all art mediums...
Eva Davidova explores behavior, ecological disaster, and the social implications of technology through performative works rooted in the absurd. She questions what we give for granted, and explores possibilities for agency through uncertainty and play. Davidova often deliberately “misuses” technology in order to disturb its acceptance, and that of the prevalent emotional manipulation that both physical and informational architecture exert. Davidova has exhibited at Museum of the Moving Image, the Bronx Museum, the Everson Museum, the AKG Buffalo Art Museum, MACBA Barcelona, CAAC Sevilla, Instituto Cervantes and La Regenta among others.
Julio Cesar Delgado is a highly regarded Stylist and Creative Consultant based in New York City. His career journey includes some major fashion editorials with renowned and prestigious fashion publications such as Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Interview Magazine and WSJ Magazine. As the VIP Stylist and costume designer for artists such as Moses Sumney, Paloma Elsesser, and Kali Uchis, Julio has showcased his unique creativity in projects ranging from music videos like Kali Uchis' Solita to editorial features in CR Fashion Book, Interview Magazine and Harper’s Bazaar. A recent career highlight of his was working with director George Miller for Long Beach Opera’s Isola (2024) where he collaborated with the Issey Miyake team in designing the costumes. Another recent career highlight was working with installation artist Haegue Yang for The Malady of Death (2023) that premiered at the Guggenheim Museum this past winter in collaboration with Performa NYC. His other costume design work can be seen in Serpentwithfeet's Heart of Brick (2023) for Kampnagel Hamburg, Solange Knowles’ Bridge-S (2019) for the Getty Museum, and We Might Appear as Forest Fires (2023) for the Berggruen Institute with director George Miller in Los Angeles, California. He has also worked with American opera singer Davóne Tines, most recently in collaboration with the Louisville Kentucky Orchestra to celebrate and honor the late and beautiful, Breonna Taylor. In addition to his work as a Stylist and Creative Consultant, Julio has contributed his expertise as a Wardrobe Coordinator for Solange Knowles' When I Get Home Tour in 2019 and various other high-profile fashion and entertainment events.
Marcelo Gutierrez is a New York based makeup artist. Born in Colombia, his family immigrated to Florida when Marcelo was a young child. Surrounded by creativity from a young age, Marcelo’s mother and father were both artists, he was encouraged to express himself artistically through drawing. He naturally began a fine arts degree in California; but later moved to New York to pursue the promise of opportunities after completing an artists residency in Brooklyn. Thanks to his insatiable desire for creative exploration and colorful nights out in the underground scene, Marcelo began to explore the realm of makeup as a career that also provided creative fulfillment. Translating what he had learned as a multidisciplinary fine artist, Marcelo quickly transferred his skills and began to collaborate with photographers and stylists. From the very beginning, Dame Pat McGrath lent Marcelo her support and helped bolster his talent. Marcelo regularly collaborates with photographers such as Renell Medrano, Campbell Addy, Petra Collins, and Tyler Mitchell. Marcelo’s work has been featured in publications such as Vogue US, Harper’s Bazaar, CR Fashion Book, I-D, Vogue Italia and W Magazine and campaigns including Louis Vuitton, Chanel, MAC, H&M, Calvin Klein, Christopher John Rogers, Luar, Dion Lee, Glossier, Milk Makeup & Bvglari. Additionally he has worked with artists including Dua Lipa, Anitta, Troy Sivan, Lily Rose-Depp, Paloma Elsesser, Rosalia, Lourdes Leon, Halsey, Alexa Demie and Dev Hynes. Marcelo continues to explore his artistic practice, taking on the role of filmmaker, writer and performance artist. He is a strong advocate in supporting the BIPOC & LGBTQI+ community while pushing for diversity and visibility in the industry, not only in front of the camera but behind the scenes as well.
Natalie Cook is a filmmaker and poet. Natalie’s poetry film, BACKWARDS GOD, is the 2020 Grand Prize Winner of the AT&T Film Awards. She is a 2021 Screenwriting Development Fellow at the NYU Production Lab, and was selected for the Directing the Actor Lab with the Alliance of Women Directors. Born and raised in Atlanta, Natalie began showcasing her gift for poetry at a very young age. And because poetry had such a positive impact on her life, she founded Atlanta Word Works, a 501c3 nonprofit organization, when she was only sixteen in hopes that young people would find ways to express themselves through creative writing and spoken word poetry, just as she had. Natalie served as the Executive Director and Artistic Director of Atlanta Word Works for eight years. Atlanta Word Works merged with VOX ATL in 2016. Natalie earned her Master's degree at NYU where she designed an interdisciplinary program that combines Film, Black Studies, and Art Education. She is also a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison where she earned degrees in both English with an Emphasis in Creative Writing and Afro-American Studies. She is an alumna of the First Wave Hip Hop Theatre Ensemble, the BARS Workshop at The Public Theater, and the Gates Millennium Scholars Program.
ABOUT PLATFORM 2024: A DELICATE RITUAL
Click here to see the Platform calendar & purchase tickets
Danspace Project’s sixteenth Platform is guest-curated by Kyle Abraham, the Princess Grace and McArthur grant-awarded choreographer, performer, and Artistic Director of A.I.M. by Kyle Abraham.
A loving and loyal friend to Danspace, Abraham’s first evening-length work, the Bessie Award-winning The Radio Show, was commissioned and presented by Danspace Project in 2010.
Platform 2024: A Delicate Ritual reflects Abraham’s interest in performers’ rituals, desires, and artistic exchanges. Abraham invited artists Nicholas Ryan Gant & Shamel Pitts, taisha paggett & David Roussève, and Vinson Fraley & Bebe Miller to be in conversation with one another in a process of artistic and intergenerational exchange with the following questions in mind:
How does nature’s relationship with humanity communicate/jostle/live in your body?
How present is a history of love in your relationship to or ritual of prayer?
How does change affect your relationship to ritual and prayer?
Alongside the performances and exchanges, the Platform will honor Abraham’s dear friend and mentor, the choreographer and teacher Kevin Wynn. A series of Saturday morning dance classes in the style of Wynn will be taught by his former student and friend, choreographer, teacher, and actor Jason Rodriguez. A memorial for Wynn will take place on May 11.
The Platform 2024 print catalogue includes conversations between the featured Platform artists along with unlikely “blind date” exchanges between choreographer Beth Gill & photographer Carrie Schneider; director Charlotte Brathwaite & ecologist Marisa Prefer, arborist Ethan Woods & acupuncturist Steve Pang. To these thoughtful pairings, Abraham posed questions on “location in relationship with healing, connections to home, water, ritual, prayer, and love in a creative practice.” Photographer Gioncarlo Valentine responds to Abraham’s prompts in images.
SUPPORT FOR PLATFORM 2024
Thank you to our major institutional supporters the Howard Gilman Foundation and the Lambent Foundation for their critical support of this Platform.
Danspace Project programs are made possible in part through public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts; the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature; the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council.
Danspace Project pays respect to Lenape peoples. We acknowledge that this work is situated on the Lenape island of Manhattan (Mannahatta) in Lenapehoking, the Lenape homeland. We pay respect to Lenape land, water, and ancestors past, present and future.
ABOUT DANSPACE PROJECT
Danspace Project presents new work in dance, supports a diverse range of choreographers in developing their work, encourages experimentation, and connects artists to audiences.
For 50 years, Danspace Project has supported a vital community of contemporary dance artists in an environment unlike any other in the United States. Located in the historic St. Mark’s Church in-the-Bowery, Danspace shares its facility with the Church, The Poetry Project, and New York Theatre Ballet. Danspace Project’s Commissioning Initiative has commissioned nearly 600 new works since its inception in 1994.
More about our staff, our mission, and values
For information on our funders, visit danspaceproject.org/support
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