…reminding us of the many unexpected ways to be seen.
Aisha Sasha John begins her three-year residency with Dancemakers by remounting an entirely revised version of her first full-length solo performance “the aisha of is”—a show whose previous presentations include the Whitney Museum (2017), MAI (2018) and SummerWorks Festival (2018).
In this latest iteration of an essentially mutable work, live musical environments created by collaborators Victoria Cheong and Amy Manusov provide the atmosphere wherein Aisha Sasha John is both Wizard and Dorothy—here the wizardry is one of reception, and the home being sought is perpetually found: “the aisha of is” has and continues to be a laboratory for arrival. Welcome to is. Where arrival has a sensual imperative—rhythm.
Team
Victoria Cheong & Amy Manusov | Music
Adam Kinner & Justine A. Chambers | Outside Eyes
Tina Fushell | Curatorial Support
Yehuda Fisher | Lighting Design
Artists
In the summer of 2015, I went to sleep with a question and woke to the memory of a vivid dream of Diana Ross on Broadway, dancing in the center of a sea of other Black dancers, everyone wearing magnificent rose gold costumes of various materials. It felt like an instruction—like a call.
In DIANA ROSS DREAM we are dancing the following:
Feeling cherished.
Verve.
The Quiet.
Pure channel.
Psychic boldness.
Affection.
Awe.
Relaxedness.
Encounter.
Bewilderment.
Miracle.
Mystery.
Black being-together.
Vesselhood.
Tone.
Team
Choreography & concept: Aisha Sasha John
Performance: Aisha Sasha John, Tyra Temple-Smith, Devon Snell, Marcus “Ademi” Paris-Johnson
Outside eye: Dedra McDermott and Evan Webber
Lighting design: Sam Skynner
Sound/Music: New Chance (Victoria Cheong) and Amy Manusov
Costumes: Nyda Kwazowsky
Production Management: Evan Webber & Vishmayaa Jey
Curation: Amelia Ehrhardt (in 2019 as part of the Dancemakers 3-year Residency Program)
Artists
Amelia Ehrhardt
From 2015-2019 Amelia Ehrhardt was the Curator at Dancemakers fostering international success for many of the artists engaged in the Incubation Production House model.
Aisha Sasha John
Aisha Sasha John is a performer, choreographer and poet.
Nyda Kwasowsky
Nyda Kwasowsky is a multi-disciplinary performing artist and emerging choreographer of Indo-Caribbean, British and Ukrainian ancestry.
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