Kayla Hamilton practices what she preaches. A fulcrum between disabled and non-disabled dance, a fiercely thoughtful artist, and a generous soul: these are those qualities that endear Kayla to the world. By enlarging and enlivening our awareness of sightedness, she offers us vastly fresh pathways to liberation in our own bodies. In her work is an undercurrent of freedom and that freedom is palpable and intoxicating as she dances. Ultimately, Kayla establishes a world where our body is celebratory. With resonate humor and precise pauses, her work cuts to our core.

This movement exploration is a multi-sensory experience for the audience that delves deep into questions of what it means to see and be seen—as well as from whose lens we are doing the viewing. How does hearing and the idea of listening contrast with what is actually being heard; how is taste felt, while exploring the legacies we leave behind.

Performed by

Azure D. Osborne-Lee (he/him, they/them) is an award-winning Black queer theatre maker from south of the Mason-Dixon Line. Azure is the founder of Roots and River Productions, and a Recipient of Parity Productions’ 2018 Commission for Women and Transgender Playwrights, Winner of Downtown Urban Arts Festival’s 2018 Best Play Award as well as the 2015 Mario Fratti-Fred Newman Political Play Contest.

Lamin Leroy Gibba (he/him) His most recent theater credits include the solo-show LENZ by Georg Büchner (Kraine Theater), Antigone (Classical Theater of Harlem) and I Want A Country (Martha Graham Studio Theater). He received his BFA from the New School for Drama. Lamin’s film Fever Source was selected for The Art of Brooklyn Film Festival 2018.

Nicole Y. McClam (she/her), CMA, MFA is a recent transplant from Washington, DC exploring the awesomeness of dance with her students at Queensborough Community College and as a member of B3W Performance Group. She is honored to be a part of Nearly Sighted: Unearthing the Dark.

Kayla Hamilton (she/her) is member of the 2017 Bessie-award winning collective of Skeleton Architecture, the future of our world’s curated by Eva Yaa Asantewaa. In addition, Kayla dances with Sydnie L. Mosley Dances Gesel Mason Performance Projects and Maria Bauman/MBDance. Her work has been supported through Angela’s Pulse/Dancing While Black, Brooklyn Arts Exchange and Bronx Council on the Arts. When Kayla is not dancing, she’s a special education teacher in the South Bronx who loves to watch Law and Order on Hulu while sipping on peppermint tea.

Credits

Choreography by: Kayla Hamilton in collaboration with Christal Brown, Crystal U. Davis, Jaime Dzandu and Francine E. Ott

Descriptions by: Nicole Y. McClam, Azure D. Osborne-Lee and Lamin Leroy Gibba

Dramaturgy: Shawn Rene Graham

Music: Various artist with 911 call written and recorded by Denae Hannah and Autumn Scoggan

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There is photography, video and audio documentation of this performance, available below.

The video is captioned in English and features live American Sign Language interpretation.

There is no audio described version of this event.

All documentation is released under Copyright, courtesy of Kayla Hamilton.