BRIAR
BRIAR is an evening-length dance theater piece created by seymour::dancecollective. It explores the possibilities (and limitations) of abstracting Blackness and race in American society. Influenced by writers such as Hanif Abdurraqib, bell hooks, & Robin D.G. Kelley this work seeks to physicalize the weight and quandary of cultural affiliation. Using personal storytelling, rich physicality, deep humor and soulful music the work takes a non-linear approach to performance that poses questions and delights in ambiguity.
Credits:
Choreography: This work is created collaboratively by Styles Alexander, Davarria Ford, Abigail Hinson, Z Jackson, Johnny Nguyen, Danielle Noda and Chafin Seymour.
Performance: Davarria Ford, Abigail Hinson, Johnny Nguyen, Dannielle Noda and Chafin Seymour.
Music by various artists with mixing and sound design by Chafin Seymour.
Text for spoken word by Chafin Seymour in collaboration with the performers.
Employing a diverse movement vocabulary derived from myself and the collaborating dance artists BRIAR traverses the performative and liminal space of racial identity in contemporary culture. In doing so we dwell in the mess at the heart of both our perceptions of self and our perceptions of others in regard to racial and other socio-political definitions. This is often done by asking questions such as: is our identity defined by ourselves or others? And: is it possible to laugh at ourselves and each other while we figure it out? Running through this discourse is a sense of humor derived from the rich history of Black American comedy and storytelling, from Brer Rabbit to Bernie Mac.
BRIAR began as a ten-minute duet first presented by ODC’s Pilot Program in December 2022 and again in April 2023 as a part of Dance Mission’s D.I.R.T. Festival. Since then the work has been developed into an evening length work featuring five performers and will have its world premiere at The ODC Theater in San Francisco on November 1 & 2, 2024.
BRIAR has been developed through the support of several residences and grants including: The Berkeley Ballet Theater Artist in Residence Program, San Jose State University's Artistic Excellence Programming Grant (AEPG), The Zellerbach Family Foundation Community Arts Grant, the Zaccho Dance Theater Artist in Residence Program, the Dancer's Groups CA$H Grant and the ODC Theater Rental Discount Initiative Award.
