Milette Millington (Caribbean Life) writes about the Kinetic Light Dance Company (KLDC), its founder, and recent performances.
From Oct. 9-11, Kinetic Light Dance Company (KLDC) performed its new work, The Next T.i.M.es, at New York Live Arts (NYLA), a venue that brings people together by hosting performances and classes for dance and theater.
According to its website, NYLA is a place that has “an unequivocal commitment to supporting the creative identities of people living together in a creative community,” and also provides necessary resources to diverse artists at every stage of their careers.
KLDC Founder and Artistic Director Alice Sheppard, a Black woman, shared more about the concept behind The Next T.i.M.es and what it was like working with the dancers, including Laurel Lawson (they/them), Kayla Hamilton, and Tatiana Cholewa, whom she described as dream collaborators.
“The Next TiMes imagines a time in the near future, it takes us to a disability-centered universe. As performers, we discover this new place and each other, and we establish, deepen, and strengthen relationships. We call this work a ‘disability arts experience’ vs just a dance show – it encompasses dance, music, visual design, artistic access, and audience experience,” Sheppard said.
On working with Lawson, Hamilton, and Cholewa, Sheppard added, “When we all take the stage together, I really feel like we are on fire and that we are making something unique and extraordinarily beautiful.” [. . .]
For any Kinetic Light work, Sheppard wants audiences to be immersed in disability-centered culture and art, and she welcomes any reaction they have. “Art is deeply personal and unpredictable. We always want Kinetic Light audiences to feel welcomed and cared for,” she added. [. . .]
For Lawson, it’s a unique and memorable experience to be involved in so many aspects of a production.
“In addition to choreography and performance, I’m also the production designer for this work – which includes costume, props, and set as well as working with our projection designers to bring concepts and story to life – and I lead our work in access technology, which includes both the haptics and audio description systems and the content we create for them,” Lawson stated. [. . .]
For full article, see https://www.caribbeanlife.com/kinetic-light-shines-with-premiere-of-the-next-t-i-m-es-at-new-york-live-arts/
Those who want to support KLDC can follow the company on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/kineticlightdance/, and on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/KineticLight.
To stay updated on their work, interested individuals can subscribe to the company’s email list here: https://kineticlight.us12.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=9f4c8d7fc9f853556760d6c95&id=e0b4a28ffd
Also see https://www.caribbeanlife.com/dance-company-works-to-ensure-dance-is-accessible-to-all/
[Photo above by Cherylynn Tsushima: Alice and Tati face off. Alice is balancing on her short crutches, legs bent and folded under herself, tops of her toes grazing the floor. They peer at each other with curiosity and intensity.]
Milette Millington (Caribbean Life) writes about the Kinetic Light Dance Company (KLDC), its founder, and recent performances. From Oct. 9-11, Kinetic Light Dance Company (KLDC) performed its new work, The Next T.i.M.es, at New York Live Arts (NYLA), a venue that brings people together by hosting performances and classes for dance and theater. According to
