Kyle Abraham (born August 14, 1977) is an American

choreographer Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...

and

dancer Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoire ...

. He founded his own company A.I.M by Kyle Abraham (formerly Abraham.In.Motion) in 2006 in New York City and has produced many original works for A.I.M such as ''The Radio Show'' (2010), ''Absent Matter'' (2015), ''Pavement'' (2012), ''Dearest Home'' (2017), ''Drive'' (2017), ''INDY'' (2018), ''Studies on Farewell'' (2019), and ''An Untitled Love'' (2021). Kyle has also been commissioned to create new works for international dance companies such as ''Untitled America'' (2016) for the

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (AAADT) is a modern dance company based in New York City. It was founded in 1958 by choreographer and dancer Alvin Ailey. It is made up of 32 dancers, led by artistic director Robert Battle and associate a ...

, ''The Runaway'' (2018) for

New York City Ballet New York City Ballet (NYCB) is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company. Léon Barzin was the company' ...

, ''The Bystander'' (2019) for Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, ''Only The Lonely'' (2019) for Paul Taylor American Modern Dance and ''Ash'' (2019) a solo for American Ballet Theater principal dancer

Misty Copeland Misty Danielle Copeland (born September 10, 1982) is an American ballet dancer for American Ballet Theatre (ABT), one of the three leading classical ballet companies in the United States. On June 30, 2015, Copeland became the first African Ameri ...

Early life and career

Kyle Abraham was born in Lincoln-Larimer Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1977. He began dancing when he was young at the Civic Light Opera Academy and the

Pittsburgh Creative and Performing Arts School Pittsburgh Creative and Performing Arts 6–12 (CAPA) is a magnet school located in the Cultural District of Downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. CAPA is one of four 6th to 12th grade schools in the Pittsburgh Public Schools. It was formed from a me ...

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsyl ...

. He continued his dance studies in New York, receiving a BFA from

SUNY Purchase The State University of New York at Purchase (commonly Purchase College or SUNY Purchase) is a public liberal arts college in Purchase, New York. It is one of 13 comprehensive colleges in the State University of New York (SUNY) system. It was fo ...

and an MFA from the NYU

Tisch School of the Arts The New York University Tisch School of the Arts (commonly referred to as Tisch) is the performing, cinematic and media arts school of New York University. Founded on August 17, 1965, Tisch is a training ground for artists, scholars of the a ...

, and an honorary Doctorate in Fine Arts from Washington Jefferson College. After graduating with his MFA, Abraham was approached by

David Dorfman David Dorfman (born February 7, 1993) is an American attorney and former actor. He portrayed Aidan Keller in the 2002 horror film remake '' The Ring'', and its 2005 sequel ''The Ring Two''. His other film roles include Sammy in ''Panic'', Joey ...

to dance in his company. He went on to perform with the following dance companies: Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company, The Kevin Wynn Collective, Nathan Trice/Rituals, Dance Alloy and Attack Theatre.

A.I.M by Kyle Abraham

Abraham established his company A.I.M by Kyle Abraham (formerly Abraham.In.Motion) in 2006 with the mission to create a body of dance-based work that is galvanized by Black culture and history. Abraham creates work for his company that draws from his personal experiences, often exploring themes of Black life, emotion, and the relationship between

visual art The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography, video, filmmaking, design, crafts and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual art, and textile ar ...

music Music is generally defined as the The arts, art of arranging sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Exact definition of music, definitions of mu ...

and dance. A.I.M by Kyle Abraham has been presented around the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

and abroad. US venues include Fall for Dance Festival at

New York City Center New York City Center (previously known as the Mecca Temple, City Center of Music and Drama,. The name "City Center for Music and Drama Inc." is the organizational parent of the New York City Ballet and, until 2011, the New York City Opera. and ...

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 millio ...

Brooklyn Academy of Music The Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) is a performing arts venue in Brooklyn, New York City, known as a center for progressive and avant-garde performance. It presented its first performance in 1861 and began operations in its present location in ...

, The Joyce Theater, The Los Angeles Music Center,

Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival Jacob's Pillow is a dance center, school and performance space located in Becket, Massachusetts, in the Berkshires. The organization is known for a Summer dance festival. The facility also includes a professional school and extensive archives a ...

, Harlem Stage,

On The Boards On the Boards (OtB) is a non-profit contemporary performing arts organization in Seattle, Washington, founded in 1978. Originally located at Washington Hall in the Central District, the organization moved in 1998 to their current location in U ...

, Danspace Project,

Dance Theater Workshop Dance Theater Workshop, colloquially known as DTW, was a New York City performance space and service organization for dance companies that operated from 1965 to 2011. After a merger it became known as New York Live Arts Located as 219 West 19th ...

, Bates Dance Festival, and more, as well as

The Andy Warhol Museum The Andy Warhol Museum is located on the North Shore of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is the largest museum in North America dedicated to a single artist. The museum holds an extensive permanent collection of art and archive ...

, The Byham and The Kelly-Strayhorn Theater in Abraham’s hometown of Pittsburgh, PA. International venues include

Théâtre de la Ville (meaning the City Theatre) is one of the two theatres built in the 19th century by Baron Haussmann at Place du Châtelet, Paris, the other being the Théâtre du Châtelet. It is located at 2, place du Châtelet in the 4th arrondissement. Incl ...

, Sadler’s Wells, Maison de la Danse,

Tanz Im August Tanz im August (; "Dance in August") is an annual festival for contemporary dance in Berlin. It was founded by Nele Hertling in West Berlin in 1988, and is now presented by the Hebbel am Ufer (HAU) theatre company on various stages in Berlin. ...

, Dublin’s Project Arts Center, The Okinawa Prefectural Museum & Art Museum located in Okinawa Japan, and more. A.I.M by Kyle Abraham has a strong focus on social justice and a commitment to activism, through the company’s artistic work as well as an initiative called “A.I.MforChange.�
A.I.MforChange
is a dancer organized initiative that seeks to share a multitude of resources that support and advocate for the betterment of the Black community.

Choreographic works and career milestones

Works for A.I.M by Kyle Abraham

The first choreographic work Abraham created for A.I.M in 2006 was ''Fading into Something Tangible'', premiering in Pittsburgh. In 2010 Abraham created ''The Radio Show'', where he "delves into identity and personal history....Creating an abstract narrative around the loss of communication, he investigates the effects of the abrupt discontinuation of a radio station on a community and the lingering effects of

Alzheimer's Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As ...

and

aphasia Aphasia is an inability to comprehend or formulate language because of damage to specific brain regions. The major causes are stroke and head trauma; prevalence is hard to determine but aphasia due to stroke is estimated to be 0.1–0.4% in t ...

on a family. Abraham mixes recordings of classic soul and hip-hop with contemporary classical compositions to create an eclectic score that evokes fond memories and a passion for what is lost." Some of Abraham's other choreographic works include ''A Ramp to Paradise, Op. 1, Live! The Realest MC'', and ''Pavement''. ''A Ramp to Paradise'', was commissioned by THPAC and is about a true story by Alex Smith that describes the history of the black gay underground club called

Paradise Garage Paradise Garage, also known as "the Garage" or the "Gay-rage", was a New York City discotheque notable in the history of dance and pop music, as well as LGBT and nightclub cultures. The club was founded by sole proprietor Michael Brody, and ...

, which was the "it" place in the New York City 1970s and '80s dance world. Op. 1 is a performance inspired by photographer

Eadweard Muybridge Eadweard Muybridge (; 9 April 1830 – 8 May 1904, born Edward James Muggeridge) was an English photographer known for his pioneering work in photographic studies of motion, and early work in motion-picture projection. He adopted the firs ...

's art. ''Live! The Realest MC'' is inspired by

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

Pinocchio Pinocchio ( , ) is a fictional character and the protagonist of the children's novel ''The Adventures of Pinocchio'' (1883) by Italian writer Carlo Collodi of Florence, Tuscany. Pinocchio was carved by a woodcarver named Geppetto in a Tuscan vil ...

in an industrial environment. It consists of a journey to find "realness" and includes hip hop karaoke. The work was commissioned by

The Kitchen The Kitchen is a non-profit, multi-disciplinary avant-garde performance and experimental art institution located at 512 West 19th Street, between Tenth and Eleventh Avenues in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. It was foun ...

, The Kelly Strayhorn Theater (world premiere), Miami Dade,

, Bates Dance Festival, Dance Place, 651 ARTS and NPN. ''Pavement'', premiered at Harlem Stage in November 2012, is inspired by the 1991 film

Boyz n the Hood ''Boyz n the Hood'' is a 1991 American coming-of-age hood drama film written and directed by John Singleton in his feature directorial debut. It stars Cuba Gooding Jr., Morris Chestnut, Ice Cube, Laurence Fishburne, Nia Long, Regina King, ...

. It includes a wide variety of music, ranging from

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the ''Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wo ...

to Sam Cooke, to express the themes of violence, love, and pain in ''Pavement''. Seen from the perspective of a group of friends struggling to stay together while their community is tearing apart, critics were struck by this piece, Andrew Boynton of ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issue ...

'' saying: "''Pavement'' is a hard, unforgiving thing, but for some people it's also home." Abraham was the 2012–14 Resident Commissioned Artist at New York Live Arts, and created two new works for the Live Arts stage. ''The Watershed'' premiered at New York Live Arts on September 23, 2014, with scenic design by visual artist

Glenn Ligon Glenn Ligon (born 1960, pronounced Lie-gōne) is an American conceptual artist whose work explores race, language, desire, sexuality, and identity.Meyer, Richard. "Glenn Ligon", in George E. Haggerty and Bonnie Zimmerman (eds), ''Gay Histories a ...

and a score from a contemporary cello suite to

Otis Redding Otis Ray Redding Jr. (September 9, 1941 – December 10, 1967) was an American singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the greatest singers in the history of American popular music and a seminal artist in soul music and rhythm and blue ...

. The second work developed at Live Arts was ''When the Wolves Came In'' and it premiered on October 25, 2014, also with scenic design by

. It featured music from ''

We Insist! ''We Insist!'' (subtitled ''Max Roach's Freedom Now Suite'') is a jazz album released on Candid Records in 1961. It contains a suite which composer and drummer Max Roach and lyricist Oscar Brown had begun to develop in 1959 with a view to its p ...

'' by

Max Roach Maxwell Lemuel Roach (January 10, 1924 – August 16, 2007) was an American jazz drummer and composer. A pioneer of bebop, he worked in many other styles of music, and is generally considered one of the most important drummers in history. He wo ...

as well as an original composition by

Robert Glasper Robert Andre Glasper (born April 6, 1978) is an American pianist, record producer, songwriter, and musical arranger with a career that bridges several different musical and artistic genres, mostly centered on jazz. To date, Glasper has won fou ...

., ''Drive'' (2017), choreographed by Abraham in collaboration with A.I.M, was commissioned by

for the 2017 Fall for Dance Festival. ''Drive'' is frequently included in A.I.M by Kyle Abraham’s touring of mixed repertory performances. In 2018, Abraham created ''Show Pony'', a solo work set to musician Jlin’s song “Hatshepsut” and as was described by Brian Seibert in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' as capturing “the pressures of being on display and having to deliver.” ''INDY'', a 2018 work commissioned by the

Joyce Theater The Joyce Theater (“The Joyce") is a 472-seat dance performance venue located in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York City. The building opened in 1941 as the Elgin Theater, a movie house, and was gut-renovated and reconfigured in 1981-82 to ...

, was the first full-length solo choreographed and performed by Abraham in nearly ten years. The dance features original music by Jerome Begin and visual art by

Abigail DeVille Abigail DeVille (born 1981) is an artist who creates large sculptures and installations, often incorporating found materials from the neighborhoods around the exhibition venues. DeVille's sculptures and installations often focus on themes of th ...

. Abraham choreographed another solo work entitled ''Cocoon'' in 2019. This piece infuses contemporary and modern dance styles with elements of hip-hop and street dance. At the world premiere, a chorus of singers accompanied Abraham’s movements. In 2019, Abraham created ''Studies On A Farewell'' in collaboration with his dancers from A.I.M by Kyle Abraham, commissioned by The Joyce Theater Foundation’s Artist Residency Center. It is a tender work featuring nine dancers set to a classical score by

Nico Muhly Nico Asher Muhly (; born August 26, 1981) is an American contemporary classical music composer and arranger who has worked and recorded with both classical and pop musicians. A prolific composer, he has composed for many notable symphony orchestras ...

, Sebastian Bartmann, and

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...

. Abraham served as a visiting professor in residence at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a Normal school, teachers colle ...

’s World Arts Cultures in Dance program from 2016 to 2021. In 2021, he was named the Claude and Alfred Mann Endowed Professorship in Dance at The University of Southern California Glorya Kaufman School of Dance. Abraham currently sits on the advisory board for ''

Dance Magazine ''Dance Magazine'' is an American trade publication for dance published by the Macfadden Communications Group. It was first published in June 1927 as ''The American Dancer''. ''Dance Magazine'' has multiple sister publications, including '' Poin ...

'' and the artist advisory board for Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. ''An Untitled Love'' (2021), is an evening-length work generated by Abraham through residencies at the Pillow Lab at Jacob’s Pillow; the August Wilson African American Cultural Center in

; and the National Center for Choreography at the

University of Akron The University of Akron is a public research university in Akron, Ohio. It is part of the University System of Ohio. As a STEM-focused institution, it focuses on industries such as polymers, advanced materials, and engineering. It is classified ...

. The work draws from the catalog of Grammy Award-winning R&B legend D’Angelo and pays homage to the complexities of self love and Black love, while serving as a thumping mixtape celebrating our culture, family and community. In 2021, Abraham also developed the evening-length work ''Requiem: Fire in the Air of the Earth'', in collaboration with pioneering producer, composer, and EDM artist Jlin. This piece explores death, folklore, and reincarnation through a reimagining of Mozart’s Requiem in D minor.

Commissioned works outside of A.I.M by Kyle Abraham

In addition to creating work for his company, Abraham has also been commissioned to create new works for prominent dance companies including

and

The Royal Ballet The Royal Ballet is a British internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, England. The largest of the five major ballet companies in Great Britain, the Royal Ballet was founded ...

. ''Another Night'', commissioned for

, premiered at New York's City Center in December 2012. Of this piece, Rebecca Bengal of ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

'' writes: "What Abraham brings to Ailey is an avant-garde aesthetic, an original and politically minded downtown sensibility that doesn't distinguish between genres but freely draws on a vocabulary that is as much Merce and Martha as it is Eadweard Muybridge and Michael Jackson." Abraham served as a choreographic contributor for Beyonce’s 2013 ''

British Vogue British ''Vogue'' is a British fashion magazine published based in London since autumn 1916. It is the British edition of the American magazine ''Vogue (magazine), Vogue'' and is owned and distributed by Condé Nast, Condé Montrose Nast. Bri ...

'' cover shoot. Abraham collaborated with

principal dancer

Wendy Whelan Wendy Whelan (; born May 7, 1967) is an American ballet dancer. She was principal dancer with the New York City Ballet and performed with the company for 30 years, and toured in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. Whelan has also been an influential gu ...

to create a duet entitled ''The Serpent and the Smoke'' that premiered at

in 2013 and toured in 2016. ''Untitled America'', also commissioned for

, is a 3-part work that premiered in 2016. Abraham has choreographed for film as well, including the 2017 feature-length film '' The Book of Henry'' directed by

Colin Trevorrow Colin Trevorrow (;) is an American filmmaker. He made his feature directorial debut with the science fiction comedy ''Safety Not Guaranteed'' (2012) to critical and commercial success. Trevorrow achieved mainstream recognition for his work on the ...

. Abraham premiered the Bessie-nominated ''

The Runaway Runaway, Runaways or Run Away may refer to: Engineering * Runaway reaction, a chemical reaction releasing more heat than what can be removed and becoming uncontrollable * Thermal runaway, self-increase of the reaction rate of an exothermic proce ...

'' for

at the 2018 Fall Fashion Gala, which was recognized as one of the "Best Dance of 2018" by ''

''. In fall 2019, he choreographed ''Ash'', a solo work for

American Ballet Theatre American Ballet Theatre (ABT) is a classical ballet company based in New York City. Founded in 1939 by Lucia Chase and Richard Pleasant, it is recognized as one of the world's leading classical ballet companies. Through 2019, it had an annual ei ...

Principal Dancer

; ''Only The Lonely'', the last commissioned choreographic work selected by Paul Taylor himself before his passing for

Paul Taylor Dance Company Paul Taylor Dance Company, is a modern dance company, formed by dancer and choreographer Paul Taylor (1930—2018). The modern dance company is based in New York, New York and was founded in 1954. Taylor originally performed in the companies of ...

; and ''The Bystander'', a new commission for Hubbard Street Dance Chicago to rave reviews. In 2020 Misty and Kyle reunited for an intimate conversation as part of A.I.M's 2020 Virtual Homecoming Gala Sponsored by The Skin Deep program . Abraham premiered ''to be seen'', a new solo for

Principal Dancer

Calvin Royal III Calvin Royal III (born 1988/89) is an American ballet dancer. He is the third black dancer to be a principal dancer with the American Ballet Theatre. Early life and training Royal is from Tampa, Florida. He first studied in piano, and had appear ...

, for the 2020 virtual Fall For Dance Festival. Abraham collaborated with

Principal Dancer Taylor Stanley on ''Ces noms que nous portons'' (2020), a

and NYCB commissioned solo; choreographed the music video for

Sufjan Stevens Sufjan Stevens ( ; born July 1, 1975) is an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He has released nine solo studio albums and multiple collaborative albums with other artists. Stevens has received Grammy and Academy Award nomi ...

’ ''Sugar'' (2020); and choreographed ''Unto The End We Meet'' (2021), commissioned by the National Ballet of Cuba. Abraham premiered ''When We Fell'' in 2021, his third creation for

. Abraham received two international commissions from

for 2021 and 2022. Abraham’s work, ''Optional Family, a divertissement'' premiered in May 2021 as part of their 21st Century Choreographers program. He was also commissioned to be the first Black choreographer to create a one-act ballet for

, set to premiere in spring 2022.

Selected works

* 2006 ''Inventing Pookie Jenkins'' – Kyle Abraham * 2006 ''Fading Into Something Tangible'' – A.I.M by Kyle Abraham * 2007 ''Another Building Dancing # Quarantine'' (Film - Short) – Danz Isa * 2010 ''The Radio Show'' – A.I.M by Kyle Abraham * 2010 ''Op. 1'' – A.I.M by Kyle Abraham * 2010 ''The Corner'' –

* 2011 ''Live! The Realest MC'' – A.I.M by Kyle Abraham * 2011 ''The Quiet Dance'' – A.I.M by Kyle Abraham * 2011 ''Addition Incorporated'' (Film – Documentary) – Acapella Pictures, Dune Road Films * 2012 ''Pavement'' – A.I.M by Kyle Abraham * 2012 ''Another Night'' –

* 2012 ''A Ramp to Paradise'' – A.I.M by Kyle Abraham * 2012 ''Continuous Relation'' – Second Avenue Dance Company * 2012 ''Outsider'' – Kyle Abraham, Liv O’Donoghue, Ryan O’Neill, Philip Connaughton, and Rebecca Reilly * 2013 ''The Serpent and the Smoke'' – Kyle Abraham and

* 2013 ''Hallowed'' – A.I.M by Kyle Abraham * 2013 ''Kollide'' – BODYTRAFFIC * 2013 ''Blood on the Leaves, Voyeur, Our Love Comes Back, I Am Sold, Retrograde, Digital Lion, Overgrown'' (New Media) – Collaboration with

Carrie Schneider Carrie Schneider (born 1979 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American visual artist who works in photography and film. Biography Schneider attended Carnegie Mellon University (BFA), The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (MFA), the Skowhegan Scho ...

* 2013 ''When We Take Flight'' – A.I.M by Kyle Abraham * 2014 ''The Watershed'' – A.I.M by Kyle Abraham * 2014 ''When the Wolves Came In'' – A.I.M by Kyle Abraham * 2014 ''The Gettin’'' – A.I.M by Kyle Abraham * 2014 ''Lamentation Variation'' –

Martha Graham Dance Company The Martha Graham Dance Company, founded in 1926, is known for being the oldest American dance company. Founded by Martha Graham as a contemporary dance company, it continued to perform pieces, revive classics, and train dancers even after Graham's ...

* 2014 ''Frail'' – Kyle Abraham * 2014 ''Counterpoint'' – Hubbard Street Dance Chicago * 2015 ''Absent Matter'' – A.I.M by Kyle Abraham * 2015 ''Non sequitur paramour'' – A.I.M by Kyle Abraham * 2015 ''The Book of Henry'' (Feature Film) –

Naomi Watts Naomi Ellen Watts (born 28 September 1968) is a British actress. After her family moved to Australia, she made her film debut there in the drama ''For Love Alone'' (1986) and then appeared in three television series, '' Hey Dad..!'' (1990), '' ...

, Lee Pace, and

Jacob Tremblay Jacob Tremblay ( ; born October 5, 2006) is a Canadian actor. He is the recipient of various accolades, including a Canadian Screen Award, a Critics' Choice Movie Award, a Young Artist Award, and nominations for a Screen Actors Guild Award, t ...

* 2015 ''Elevada'' (Play) –

Yale Repertory Theatre Yale Repertory Theatre at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut was founded by Robert Brustein, dean of Yale School of Drama, in 1966, with the goal of facilitating a meaningful collaboration between theatre professionals and talented student ...

* 2016 ''Untitled America'' –

* 2016 ''Restless Creature'' (Film-Documentary) –

* 2016 ''Candle'' – TU Dance * 2016 ''Wire'' – Karli Scott,

Purchase College Purchasing is the process a business or organization uses to acquire goods or services to accomplish its goals. Although there are several organizations that attempt to set standards in the purchasing process, processes can vary greatly betwe ...

* 2016 ''Grey'' – Marcella Lewis,

* 2017 ''Drive'' – A.I.M by Kyle Abraham * 2017 ''Dearest Home'' – A.I.M by Kyle Abraham * 2018 ''Show Pony'' – A.I.M by Kyle Abraham * 2018 ''Meditation: A Silent Prayer'' – A.I.M by Kyle Abraham * 2018 ''

'' –

* 2018 ''INDY'' – Kyle Abraham * 2018 ''Chapter Song'' – L.A. Dance Project * 2019 ''Ash'' –

Principal Dancer

* 2019 ''Big Rings'' – A.I.M by Kyle Abraham * 2019 ''Cocoon'' – Kyle Abraham * 2019 ''Only The Lonely'' – Paul Taylor American Modern Dance * 2019 ''Studies on Farewell'' – A.I.M by Kyle Abraham * 2019 ''The Bystander'' – Hubbard Street Dance Chicago * 2020 ''Ces noms que nous portons'' – Kyle Abraham and Taylor Stanley for

and

* 2020 ''to be seen'' –

Principal Dancer Calvin Royal II * 2020 ''And let the air no more'' – Opera Ballet Vlaanderen * 2020 ''Sugar'' (Music Video) – Sufjan Stevans * 2021 ''When We Fell'' –

* 2021 ''Unto The End We Meet'' – National Ballet of Cuba * 2021: ''If We Were a Love Song'' (film) – A.I.M by Kyle Abraham * 2021 ''Our Indigo: If We Were a Love Song'' – A.I.M by Kyle Abraham * 2021 ''An Untitled Love'' – A.I.M by Kyle Abraham * 2021 ''Optional Family, a divertissement'' –

Royal Ballet The Royal Ballet is a British internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, England. The largest of the five major ballet companies in Great Britain, the Royal Ballet was founded in ...

* 2021 ''Requiem: Fire in the Air of the Earth'' – A.I.M by Kyle Abraham * 2021 ''MotorRover'' * 2022 Untitled One-Act –

Critical acclaim

In 2009, Abraham was listed in ''

''′s "25 to Watch" where he was described as, "equal parts power and grace." In 2010, he was awarded a

Bessie Award The New York Dance and Performance Awards, also known as the Bessie Awards, are awarded annually for exceptional achievement by independent dance artists presenting their work in New York City. The broad categories of the awards are: choreography, ...

for his piece ''The Radio Show,'' and won a

Princess Grace Award The Princess Grace Foundation – USA is a charity organization named after Princess Grace of Monaco, which supports emerging performers in theater, dance, and film in the form of awards, grants, scholarships, and fellowships. The Foundation ho ...

for Choreography. In 2011,

OUT Magazine ''Out'' is an American LGBTQ news, fashion, entertainment, and lifestyle magazine, with the highest circulation of any LGBTQ monthly publication in the United States. It presents itself in an editorial manner similar to '' Details'', ''Esquire' ...

labeled Abraham as the “best and brightest creative talent to emerge in New York City in the age of Obama.” In 2012, Abraham was named the Jacob's Pillow Dance Award recipient, and a USA Ford Fellow. He became the New York Live Arts Resident Commissioned Artist for 2012–2014. In 2013, the choreographer was awarded a prestigious

MacArthur Fellowship The MacArthur Fellows Program, also known as the MacArthur Fellowship and commonly but unofficially known as the "Genius Grant", is a prize awarded annually by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation typically to between 20 and 30 indi ...

. In 2014, he received an Honorary Doctorate in Fine Arts from

Washington & Jefferson College Washington & Jefferson College (W&J College or W&J) is a private liberal arts college in Washington, Pennsylvania. The college traces its origin to three log cabin colleges in Washington County established by three Presbyterian missionaries to ...

. In 2015, Abraham was named Choreographer in Residence by

. In 2015, he was the recipient of another Princess Grace Foundation accolade, a Special Project Award, and in 2016 he won the

Doris Duke Performing Artist Award The Doris Duke Artist Award is undertaken by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and designed to "empower, invest in and celebrate artists by offering multi-year, unrestricted funding as a response to financial and funding challenges both unique to ...

. In 2017, Abraham’s hometown of

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

declared November 10 Kyle Abraham Day. In 2018, the choreographer won a

Princess Grace Grace Patricia Kelly (November 12, 1929 – September 14, 1982) was an American actress who, after starring in several significant films in the early to mid-1950s, became Princess of Monaco by marrying Prince Rainier III in April 1956. Kelly ...

Statue Award. Also that year, Abraham's work ''The Runaway'' for the

’s 2018 Fall Fashion Gala was recognized as a “Best Dance of 2018” by ''

''. ''

'' applauded Abraham for his virtual work at the 2020 Fall for Dance Festival saying “how skilled he has become at mingling the ballet vernacular with other forms, from hip-hop to West African movement” and his unique talent for “finding the person within the dancer and the bodies within a body.” In 2020, he was selected to be ''Dance Magazine’s'' first-ever Guest Editor. In 2022, Abraham was selected to be an inaugural member of the Black Genius Brain Trust, and was selected by the

Kennedy Center The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (formally known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) is the United States National Cultural Center, located on the Potom ...

to be one of their Next 50 Cultural Leaders, an honor celebrating individuals who are lighting the way forward through art and action.

Awards and recognition

*2010, New York Dance and Performance "Bessie" Award *2010, Princess Grace Foundation Fellowship in Choreography *2012,

United States Artists United States Artists (USA) is a national arts funding organization based in Chicago. USA is dedicated to supporting living artists and cultural practitioners across the United States by granting unrestricted awards. Mission The organization' ...

Fellow *2012, Jacob's Pillow Dance Award *2012, Joyce Creative Residency Artist *2013,

*2013,

Creative Capital Creative Capital is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization based in New York City that supports artists across the United States through funding, counsel, gatherings, and career development services. Since its founding in 1999, Creative Capital has commi ...

Award *2014, Honorary Doctorate in Fine Arts,

. *2015,

Choreographer in Residence *2016,

*2017, Abraham's hometown of

declares November 10 "Kyle Abraham Day" *2017–2018, Joyce Creative Residency Artist *2018,

Statue Award *2020, White Bird Barney Commissioning Prize

References

External links

A.I.M Google Arts and Culture

A.I.M Company Website

Archival footage of Kyle Abraham dancing ''Inventing Pookie Jenkins'' in 2010 at Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival

Archival footage of Kyle Abraham/Abraham.In.Motion in ''Pavement'' in 2013 at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival.

Archival footage of Kyle Abraham/Abraham.In.Motion in ''Dearest Home'' in 2017 at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival.Archival footage of Camille A. Brown and Kyle Abraham performing in their work ''How We Process'' Jacob's Pillow in 2011.

Image Gallery of Kyle Abraham and Abraham.In.Motion in ''Pavement'' at Jacob's Pillow, August 2013

Image Gallery of Abraham.In.Motion in ''When the Wolves Came In'' at ICA Boston, October 2014
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abraham, Kyle Modern dancers American choreographers African-American choreographers State University of New York at Purchase alumni Tisch School of the Arts alumni Living people MacArthur Fellows 1977 births People from Pittsburgh