BAM, 651Arts, and Théâtre de la Ville (Paris, France) present
portrait of myself as my father
nora chipaumire
Part of Brooklyn-Paris Exchange and Tandem Paris-New York
In this visceral exploration of African masculinity, Zimbabwe-born, Brooklyn-based choreographer Nora Chipaumire (Miriam, 2012 Next Wave) is joined by the specters of her estranged father (performed by Senegalese dancer Pape Ibrahima Ndiaye, also known as Kaolack, and Jamaican-born dancer Shamar Watt). In a makeshift boxing ring, under the harsh glow of halogen worklights, the three trade jabs steeped in Chipaumire’s trademark synthesis of contemporary African movements. Clad in boxing gloves, football pads, and sacred West African gris-gris (or talisman), they teeter between combat and play, exploding and exploiting stereotypes of black manhood in an uncompromising exchange.
Commissioned by Peak Performances @ Montclair State University. Co-commissioned by MDC Live Arts in partnership with Miami Light Project, Georgia Institute of Technology, 651 ARTS, Dance Center of Columbia College and company nora chipaumire. Development and production was funded in part by The Map Fund, supported by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, and New York State Council on the Arts.
nora chipaumire leads this workshop to help dancers develop an individual artistic voice and address questions of masculinity, portraiture, and the black/African body.
Every Wednesday this fall, celebrate pathbreaking performance with Next Wave artists and audiences alike in the lower lobby of the BAM Fisher.
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