Celebrate the multitude of street dance movements emerging from New York City and beyond with Motion/Matter: Street Dance Festival, featuring legendary DJs, epic battles, and concert dance premieres.
The Barefoot Diva
Five divas. Five women. Five Black women.
Five women united in their fight and their faith in the power of dance.
The dawn comes gently; everything seems to be cleansed of what might have happened the day before. It is with this sense of renewal that the divas stand up and take the stage. The essence of each of the five performers is revealed as one by one they assert themselves with increasing urgency. Urgency to be heard. Urgency to be seen. At dawn, consciences must be awakened. It is time for this magical, hopeful morning to bring wisdom, peace and harmony.
Embodying the ethos of choreographer Nicolas Huchard’s internationally acclaimed company, The Barefoot Diva is an exploration of boundaries —gentle yet forceful, feminine and masculine, spanning continents and disciplines. It’s a political terrain where dance inscribes activism in bodies. And it is contagious.
P is for pop D is for dip
Pop Dip and Spin, referred to as The Old Way, is the original art form known as Voguing. P is for pop D is for dip, a theatrical work by Artist Kia LaBeija, explores connections — and missed connections — between her love of Voguing and her relationships with those who have paved the way. Kia is accompanied by movement artist Ehizoje Azeke with creative direction by Taína Larot and original score by multimedia artist DonChristian Jones. Produced by MusmGftshp. This is a World Premiere work commissioned by PAC NYC for Motion/Matter.
The Barefoot Diva photo courtesy of Company Nicolas Huchard.
P is for pop D is for dip photo: Kia LaBeija
The Barefoot Diva:
Nicolas Huchard
Nicolas Huchard has been dancing his whole life. He was only six when he choreographed his first dance. Since then, he’s danced for the world’s greats: Jean Paul Gaultier, Marion Motin, Madonna, Maurice Béjart. He became one of the queens of Christine and the Queens fame, and he’s worked with musicians Angèle, Suzane and Aya Nakamura.
P IS FOR POP D IS FOR DIP:
Kia Michelle Benbow
Kia Michelle Benbow, known professionally as Kia LaBeija, is an image maker and storyteller born and raised in the heart of New York City, Hell’s Kitchen. She composes theatrical autobiographical works ranging from photography, live performance, text based mediums, and film. She’s presented work at The Whitney Museum of American Art, The Tate Modern, The Brooklyn Museum, The Studio Museum in Harlem, The Museum of The City of New York, The Bronx Museum of the Arts, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, The International Center for Photography, The Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art, and the Performa ’19 Biennial.
Ehizoje Azeke
Ehizoje Azeke (Zoje) is a movement-based director, choreographer, and artist based in NYC. He is represented by McDonald Selznick Associates and Wilhelmina Models. His credits range from film, television, campaigns, and live performance working with artists such as Beyonce, Madonna, Prince, Kendrick Lamar, Rihanna, and Bad Bunny. His work Black Masculine, an original full-length solo exploration, has been presented at the Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Art, Movement Research, University Settlement, and Anoko House.
DonChristian Jones
DonChristian Jones is a multi-hyphenated, multi-media, artist, musician, and director. Their work spans painting, musical albums, videos, and performance installation. Don has shown and performed in spaces such as The Whitney Museum, MoMA PS1, New Museum, Brooklyn Museum, and The Shed. Much of their work today is informed by their time spent painting murals on Rikers Island with incarcerated youth, and teaching at Harvey Milk HS/Hetrick-Martin Institute. In 2020 Don founded Public Assistants Inc., a mutual aid network and community design lab headquartered in Brooklyn.
Photo: Becky McNeel Ehizoje.
Taína Larot
Taína Larot is a multi-hyphenated creative from San Francisco, California. Her belief that ‘restrictions generate identity’ empowers her to be an artistic shapeshifter. Through her work, she is intentional about participating in the grey areas as a reminder that boxes can both separate and unite. Her creative practice weaves through various channels such as movement, art direction, design, and her color dying technique “dips” — all which play a major role in how she articulates her vision. This fluidity allows her mediums to bleed into one another, leading to solo and collaborative projects in live performance, installation, and textile design.
Photo: Kia LaBeija Azeke Headshot by Maddy Talias.
Inside The Barefoot Diva:
Photo courtesy of Company Nicholas Huchard.
Photo courtesy of Company Nicholas Huchard.
Photo courtesy of Company Nicholas Huchard.
Photo courtesy of Company Nicholas Huchard.
Photo courtesy of Company Nicholas Huchard.