Événement

Okwui Okpokwasili - Bronx Gothic

A solo creation at the intersection of theater, dance and visual art installation, Bronx Gothic gives palpable force to the charged relationship between two girls on the verge of adolescence in 1980s Bronx, New York City--where Newports are bought in singles at the corner deli, sex-saturated notes are passed in class, and Orchard Beach erupts in flame.

Okwui returns to the Bronx where she was raised to perform the final two performances at BAAD! which is on the campus of St. Peters Episcopal Church where she had her confirmation. The acclaimed "Bessie" award-winning piece has been hailed as a breakthrough work. Hers is a performance of psychic and physical collisions that threaten to break the bodyan unflinching look into the exquisite turbulence of one womans memory. Created in collaboration with director and visual designer Peter Born, Bronx Gothic draws inspiration from Victorian-era novels and West African griot storytelling to reveal a dark and powerful tale of sexual awakening, the body in transformation and the humor, love, strangeness and even terror that accompany it.

The North American Tour of Bronx Gothic is produced by MAPP International Productions. Bronx Gothic was co-commissioned by Performance Space 122, Danspace Project, and Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (LMCC) and the Jerome Foundation with residency support from Park Avenue Armorys Under Construction Series, New York Live Arts, Baryshnikov Arts Center, and LMCCs Extended Life Dance Development program. Additional commissioning support provided by Le Maillon in Strasbourg, Théâtre de Gennevillers in Paris, Théâtre Garonne in Toulouse, and Zagrebacko Kazalite Mladih in Zagreb, as part of PS 122 GLOBAL program.