Returning to Cal State Long Beach’s Carpenter Center, A.I.M. by Kyle Abraham launches into its almost annual demonstration of why it and he are two of the hottest tickets in contemporary dance today. Premiering a new work, co-commissioned by the Carpenter Center and choreographed by Jermaine Spivey, the company will also reprise two dances from its internationally toured repertory. There will be one show on Saturday, Dec. 13, at 8 p.m.
Abraham also recently made a new dance for just-retired ballerina Misty Copeland that is connected to the Hollywood release of the blockbuster “Wicked for Good.” However, in this Long Beach production, a sextet from the company will perform “The Gettin’” (2014), set to music created by Grammy Award-winning jazz artist Robert Glasper and his trio. This accompaniment is a re-imagining of Max Roach’s “We Insist Freedom Now Suite.”
Two movers from the dynamic ensemble will then bring us a section from “Dearest Home” (2017). This excerpt is described in promotional materials as an “intimate journey into love, longing and loss.”
Spivey’s world premiere, “In the act of undoing,” reveals “the essence of what moves people.” Using terms like rigor, unity, diversity, loosening, broadening, reducing, strengthening, deepening, restructuring and interpreting, the creator says, “Task is paramount and, at times, should welcome discomfort.”
After having received a MacArthur Genius Grant in 2013, Abraham and company have gone on to extensive worldwide exposure to great acclaim. A native of Pittsburgh, the artist divides his time between extensive touring, a Brooklyn base and a teaching commitment at the Glorya Kaufman School of Dance at USC.
—Benn Widdey, Culture Spot LA
LOCATION:
6200 E. Atherton St., Long Beach 90840
TICKETS:
$35-$65 plus service fee ($3.75)
INFO:
Photo credit: Tatiana Wills