SJSU School of Music & Dance Debuts A.I.M by Kyle Abraham

The SJSU School of Music & Dance gives the South Bay its first look at the wildly popular, highly acclaimed New York dance troupe A.I.M under the Artistic Direction of Kyle Abraham, Doris Duke Artist Award winner and recipient of the MacArthur "Genius" Fellowship. The program at Hammer Theatre Center will present five brilliant works including acclaimed choreographer Doug Varone's "Strict Love" and Bebe Miller's "Habits of Attraction," plus three contemporary works by Abraham: "Drive," "Meditation: A Silent Prayer," and "Continuous Relation." Abraham's highly physical dance vocabulary reflects the youthful energy of hip-hop and urban dance as well as a strong grounding in modern dance technique. The company's "lush movement, infectious music and magnetic dancers" (The New York Times) explore important contemporary issues, such as race and violence, with a clarity and beauty that resonates with a wide range of audiences. A.I.M will perform 7:30pm, Friday, February 1 & Saturday, February 2 at the Hammer Theatre Center, 101 Paseo De San Antonio, San Jose. For more information and tickets, the public may visit www.hammertheatre.com or call (408) 924-8501.

A.I.M's San Jose debut will include two nostalgic works by postmodern choreographer Doug Varone and multiple Bessie Award-winning dancemaker Bebe Miller. Varone's "Strict Love" (1994) is set to radio broadcasts of popular music from the 1970s. Highlighting precise, nuanced movements, the company's premiere in May 2018 was called "excellent" and "masterful" by Dance Informa. Meanwhile Miller's "Habits of Attraction," an excerpt from "The Habit of Attraction" from 1987, takes on a more primal feel, with a pair of duets depicting the beauty of how we are drawn to one another and interact in romantic partnerships.

Abraham's "Drive" and "Meditation: A Silent Prayer" are two original works billed as collaborations between the choreographer and the company's dancers. "Drive" (2017) is a fierce, mesmerizing work set to Mobb Deep and house music by Theo Parrish, accompanied by fog and artfully crafted lighting design by Dan Scully. In creating the work, which was commissioned by New York City Center for the 2017 Fall for Dance Festival, Abraham encouraged input from the dancers-incorporating their ideas and fun, agile movements into the choreography. "Meditation: A Silent Prayer" (2018) explores the sobering subjects of police brutality, gun violence, and the senseless deaths of young African-Americans. This "serious and timely" (The New York Times) dance unfolds in front of visual art by Titus Kaphar representing the faces of recent victims Tamir Rice, Eric Garner, Trayvon Martin, and Michael Brown. Arts Air called it "a gut check on our collective humanity...one of Abraham's finest works to date." His weaving of various musical genres with the emotions of his performers is evident, which earned high praise from critics. The Guardian raved, "Abraham's creative range is too wide and too buoyant for him to feel constrained by the role of angry black choreographer. His dances may be political but they are also aspirational, complex and upbeat." Also on the program is Abraham's "Continuous Relation" (2013), presented as part of his residency at SJSU School of Music and Dance. Students will be selected by audition to present this stylish work featuring Abraham's signature fusion of street and modern dance styles, set to a static-infused electronic score by Finnish group Pan Sonic. A.I.M's appearance at the Hammer Theatre Center is made possible in large part due to the Virginia Ann Choreographer in Residence program.

A.I.M's stunning contemporary works explore the relationship between identity and personal history through a unique hybrid of traditional and vernacular dance styles, sparking inspiration for a new generation of dancers and audiences. Formerly known as Abraham.In.Motion, the mission of A.I.M is to create an evocative interdisciplinary body of work. Born into hip-hop culture in the late 1970s and grounded in founder Kyle Abraham's artistic upbringing in classical cello, piano, and the visual arts, the goal of the movement is to explore identity in relation to a personal history. The work entwines a sensual and provocative vocabulary with a strong emphasis on sound, human behavior, and all things visual in order to create an avenue for personal investigation and exposing this process on stage. Including dancers from various disciplines and diverse personal backgrounds, the performances come together to create movement that is manipulated and molded into something fresh and unique. The New Yorker raved, "it's been a long time since I've seen a group of virtuoso dancers look as natural, as human, as Abraham's company."

Kyle Abraham is a 2018 Princess Grace Statue Award Recipient, 2017-18 Joyce Creative Residency Artist, 2016 Doris Duke Recipient, and 2015 City Center Choreographer in Residence, as well as a 2013 MacArthur Fellow. He received a BFA from SUNY Purchase, an MFA from NYU Tisch School of the Arts, and an honorary Doctorate in Fine Arts from Washington Jefferson College, and currently serves as a visiting professor in residence at UCLA. His choreography has been presented throughout the United States including Fall for Dance Festival at New York City Center, Lincoln Center, Brooklyn Academy Of Music, The Joyce Theater, The Los Angeles Music Center, and Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival; as well as The Andy Warhol Museum, The Byham, and The Kelly-Strayhorn Theater in his hometown of Pittsburgh. Internationally, his works have been presented in Montreal, Italy, Germany, Sweden, France, Jordan, Ecuador, Dublin, and Okinawa, among others. Out Magazine called Abraham "the best and brightest creative talent to emerge in New York City in the age of Obama," while DanceTabs noted, "Abraham is a stylish, highly formal dancemaker, but his dances have a touch of real life and grit to them, and it's that quality that captures our attention."

The Hammer Theatre Center is a distinctive, state-of-the-art performance venue in the heart of downtown San José. Owned by the City of San José and newly operated by San José State University (SJSU), the Hammer Theatre's mission is to serve the community through artistically and educationally excellent programming that is expressive of the unique characteristics and diverse cultures that comprise Silicon Valley. The broader vision of the Hammer includes arts, innovation, and technology programming on the Paseo de San Antonio, creating a vibrant pathway between SJSU and the Tech Museum and bridging the urban spaces from Saint James Park down to the South of First Avenue cultural district. The Hammer also aims to connect SJSU's more than 37,000 faculty, students, and staff with the downtown cultural and economic corridors.