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Dynamic dance company Abraham.In.Motion performs at the ICA

Colette Greenstein
Colette Greenstein has been a contributing arts & entertainment writer for the Banner since 2009. VIEW BIO
Dynamic dance company Abraham.In.Motion performs at the ICA
Dance company Abraham.In.Motion. (Photo: Carrie Schneider)

Author: Carrie SchneiderDance company Abraham.In.Motion.

Called the “best and brightest creative talent to emerge in New York City in the age of Obama” by OUT Magazine in 2011, Kyle Abraham is a creative force in the world of dance. He is the 2012-2014 Resident Commissioned Artist for New York Live Arts, a 2012 USA Ford Fellow and a 2013 MacArthur “Genius” Fellow.

Influenced by hip-hop in the late ’70s and the rave culture of the ’90s, Abraham began his formal dance training and education at the Civic Light Opera Academy and the Creative and Performing Arts High School in his hometown of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He pursued his dance studies in New York, receiving a Bachelor of Fine Arts from State University of New York at Purchase College and a Master of Fine Arts from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts.

In 2006, he founded his company, Abraham.In.Motion.

The company recently premiered two new programs — The Watershed and When the Wolves Came In — at New York Live Arts. The weekend of October 10–12, Boston’s Institute of Contemporary Art will present the second of the two works, When the Wolves Came In.

Inspired by Max Roach’s seminal 1960 album, We Insist! Max Roach’s Freedom Now Suite, Abraham’s When the Wolves Came In explores the legacies of the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, the Civil Rights Movement in America and the 20-year anniversary of the abolishment of apartheid in South Africa, through a trio of works: Hallowed, The Gettin’, and When the Wolves Came In. The works feature collaborations with acclaimed conceptual artist Glenn Lignon and Grammy Award-winning jazz artist Robert Glasper, who created original music for The Gettin’.

Abraham.In.Motion’s mission is to create an evocative interdisciplinary body of work through a representation of dancers from various disciplines and diverse personal backgrounds.

Author: Carrie SchneiderDance company Abraham.In.Motion.

Reflective of this mission are dancers Matthew Baker and Tamisha Guy, who both recently joined the dance company and will appear in Abraham.In.Motion’s ICA show in October. Both spoke to the Banner recently by phone.

Baker will be performing in two of the pieces, When the Wolves Came In and The Gettin’.

Originally from Ann Arbor, Michigan, Baker came to dance by way of gymnastics and sports. He grew up as an athlete and started taking ballet to help with his flexibility but it wasn’t until he attended college at Western Michigan University, where he was exposed to modern and contemporary dance, that he truly fell in love with dance. In 2008, Baker earned a BFA in Dance and upon graduation made his way east to New York City.

Since 2009, he has been creating and performing with the dance company Keigwin + Company and in 2012 he became a member of Abraham.In.Motion. Kyle has helped him to see movement in a whole new different way, Baker says. “It’s been really interesting to see how one can grow and expand where it previously wasn’t thought possible.”

Tamisha Guy, who performs in all three works in the upcoming show, knew she wanted to pursue dance when she was in high school. The native of Trinidad and Tobago began her formal dance training at Ballet Tech, the New York City Public School for Dance, and says that her family was supportive, especially her mom.

“She said whatever I wanted to do, she would definitely be there for me,” Guy says.

A 2013 honors graduate of SUNY at Purchase College with a double major in Dance and Arts Management, Guy is also a dancer with the Martha Graham Dance Company. This year marks her first season with Abraham’s company.

She noted clear differences between the two companies in technique and style.

With Abraham, she says, she has more freedom and she can play different character roles.

“I have more of an input. I can vocalize it if something feels more natural to me,” she explains.

At Martha Graham, the learning is more structured.

“It’s a codified technique. It has to look a certain way,” she says. “It’s about the way you hold your hands, the way you hold your back. It’s very specific.”

When asked what it means to be a part of Abraham.In.Motion, Matthew Baker says, “It’s been such a wonderful opportunity. It’s been inspiring to see Kyle get so much notoriety and recognition for his work because I know how few and far between those things are in the dance world. He’s such a hard worker, driven and passionate about the company.”

Tamisha Guy says, “It means the world to me. It’s been a dream of mine to be a part of an organization like this. [Kyle] is a genius.”

The ICA and World Music/CRASHarts presents Kyle Abraham and Abraham.In.Motion Friday, October 10 and Saturday, October 11 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, October 12 at 3 p.m. Tickets: $40 members and $50 nonmembers. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.icaboston.org.