A Much-Anticipated Victoria Premiere: A.I.M by Kyle Abraham

Friday + Saturday, November 15 + 16, 7:30 pm Royal Theatre

A.I.M by Kyle Abraham in Year. Photo: Chris Strong
A.I.M by Kyle Abraham in YEAR. Photo: Chris Strong

Dance Victoria kicks off its 2024/25 Season of the World’s Best Dance with one of the most sought-after contemporary dance troupes worldwide: A.I.M by Kyle Abraham. The New York-based company is led by Artistic Director Kyle Abraham, a Princess Grace Statue Award Recipient (2018), Doris Duke Award Recipient (2016), and MacArthur Fellow (2013).

Rebecca Bengal of Vogue wrote, “What Abraham brings … 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 [Cunningham] and Martha [Graham] as it is Eadweard Muybridge and Michael Jackson.”

A.I.M will perform at the Royal Theatre on November 15 and 16 with a mixed contemporary program that promises to transport audiences. The evening features two works by Kyle Abraham: If We Were a Love Song and MotorRover. Also showcased are two A.I.M-commissioned works by rising choreographers: Just Your Two Wrists by Paul Singh and YEAR by Andrea Miller.

Abraham’s If We Were a Love Song is a series of poetic vignettes set to a tender soundtrack of songs by Nina Simone. The work exemplifies the intricacy and musicality of movements for which Abraham is celebrated. Unfolding like a series of living portraits, this piece prompts reflections on community, love, and oneself.

MotorRover is a stunning duet choreographed by Abraham in conversation with Merce Cunningham’s 1972 ensemble work, Landrover. Both abstract and intimate, unadorned with no music or set, MotorRover speaks in a language movement alone can communicate.  Paul Singh’s Just Your Two Wristskeeps unraveling in a way that begs to be seen. The entire series of steps, when attempted in just the right order and just the right timing, reveals the picture of a hand waving in the distance, leaving the begging impression of “wait for me”, or “remember me” or even “goodbye, for now.”

The program culminates with the Canadian premiere of Andrea Miller’s YEAR, a groundbreaking work that carves a space of ritual, practice, and meditation for dancers and audiences alike to enter the sublime through an investigation into the stamina of the body. Miller is the first choreographer to be named Artist in Residence at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC, and is a Guggenheim, Sadler’s Wells, New York City Center, and Princess Grace Fellow. While in Victoria, A.I.M by Kyle Abraham will facilitate a free movement workshop as part of Dance Victoria’s Community Engagement programming. Dance Victoria’s presentation of A.I.M is made possible with generous support from Season Sponsor Derma Spa, Lead Presentation Sponsor Jones Emery LLP, and with public support from the Government of Canada, Canada Council for the Arts, Government of BC, BC Arts Council, and the CRD Arts Development office.

About A.I.M by Kyle Abraham

Contemporary dance company A.I.M by Kyle Abraham, considered “one of the most consistently excellent troupes working today” (The New York Times), provides multifaceted performances, educational programming, and community-based workshops across the globe. Led by acclaimed choreographer and Artistic Director Kyle Abraham’s innovative vision, the company is galvanized by Black culture and history. The work features a rich tapestry of Black and Queer stories and is grounded in a conglomeration of unique perspectives – described by Abraham as a “post-modern gumbo” of movement exploration.  A.I.M is one of the most active touring dance companies in the United States, with an audience base as diverse as A.I.M’s movement vocabulary and drawing inspiration from a multitude of sources and dance styles. Since A.I.M’s founding in 2006, Abraham has created more than 30 original works for and with the company. To expand its repertoire and offer a breadth of dance work to audiences, A.I.M commissions new works and performs existing works by outside choreographers such as Trisha Brown, Bebe Miller, Andrea Miller, Doug Varone, Paul Singh, A.I.M alums Rena Butler and Maleek Washington, and current A.I.M dancer Keerati Jinakunwiphat.

About Kyle Abraham

Kyle Abraham, (Founder and Artistic Director, A.I.M by Kyle Abraham; He/Him/His) has premiered his work to international audiences and acclaim since 2006. He is the proud recipient of a National Dance Critics Award for Choreography (2024 – Are You in Your Feelings/Alvin Ailey Dance Theater), Dance Magazine Award (2022), Princess Grace Statue Award (2018), Doris Duke Award (2016), and MacArthur Fellowship (2013). In addition to performing and developing new works for his company, Abraham has been commissioned by a wide variety of dance companies, including Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, The National Ballet of Cuba, New York City Ballet, Paul Taylor American Modern Dance, and The Royal Ballet. Along with Abraham’s latest world premiere of Cassette Vol. 1 in Hamburg, Germany, Abraham will also be premiering Dear God, Make Me Beautiful at the Park Avenue Armory in New York City this coming December.  He serves as the Claude and Alfred Mann Endowed Professor in Dance at The University of Southern California (USC) Glorya Kaufman School of Dance (2021-present). Abraham sits on the advisory board for Dance Magazine and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the inaugural Black Genius Brain Trust, and the inaugural cohort of the Dorchester Industries Experimental Design Lab, a partnership between the Prada Group, Theaster Gates Studio, Dorchester Industries, and Rebuild Foundation.

Ballets Jazz Montréal

Royal Theatre
Friday, November 15, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, November 16, 7:30 p.m.

How to Buy Tickets

Phone: The Royal or McPherson Box Offices at 250-386-6121 or toll free at 1-888-717-6121 Monday to Friday, 10:00 am to 5:00 pm (Royal Theatre is closed 1:00 to 1:30 pm)

Online: DanceVictoria.com
Visit the Royal and McPherson Theatres website for current Box Office details.

SINGLE TICKET PRICES (NON-SUBSCRIBER PRICING)

Loge$130.25
Premium$120.25
A$99.50
B$83.50
C+$44.75
C$34

It’s not too late to become a subscriber! Purchase a four-show subscription and save up to $136 off regular ticket prices. Discounted Pay Your Age (ages 12 to 29) and Night Moves (ages 30 to 45) tickets are also available. 

About Dance Victoria

Dance Victoria brings the World’s Best Dance to the Royal Theatre and supports the development of new dance for the international stage from our studios in Quadra Village. Dance Victoria is a non-profit charitable society with the mission to cultivate a connection to dance by presenting and supporting diverse local, national, and international artists, and inspiring all communities through the magic of dance. Our vision is that everyone in Greater Victoria can experience the transformative power of world-class dance. DanceVictoria.com

Media Materials

Email [email protected] to request high-resolution images and other media materials.

Media Contact

Anne-Sophie Cournoyer
Marketing Manager, Dance Victoria
[email protected]
250-595-1829

Downloadable PDF media release here.