About the Company
Founded in 2006 by choreographer Kyle Abraham, A.I.M by Kyle Abraham is a Black-led contemporary dance company that provides multifaceted performances, educational programming, and community-based workshops.
Our Indigo: If We Were a Love Son by Christopher DugganA.I.M
Mission
To create a body of dance-based work that is galvanized by Black culture and history. The work, informed by and made in conjunction with artists across a range of disciplines, entwines a sensual and provocative vocabulary with a strong emphasis on music, text, video, and visual art. While grounded in choreographer Kyle Abraham’s artistic vision, A.I.M draws inspiration from a multitude of sources and movement styles.
Requiem: Fire in the Air of the Earth by Peter HönnemannA.I.M
Developing New Work
Since A.I.M’s founding, Artistic Director Kyle Abraham has made more than 15 original works for and with the company.
Meditation: A Silent Prayer by Steven Schreiber (2018) by Photo by Steven SchreiberA.I.M
Touring
Prior to 2020, the company anticipated 25 weeks of touring each calendar year, making it one of the most active touring dance companies in the United States. The company has toured domestically to over 50 cities in 32 states and internationally to over 25 cities in 11 countries.
Requiem: Fire in the Air of the EarthA.I.M
Select Venues through U.S. and Abroad
New York City Center, David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center, Brooklyn Academy of Music, The Joyce Theater, The Los Angeles Music Center, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, Théâtre de la Ville, Sadler’s Wells, Maison de la Danse, Tanz Im August and The Kelly-Strayhorn.
Jordan Morley and Jeremy Jae Neal in The Watershed by Steven Schreiber (2014) by Photo by Steven SchreiberA.I.M
Audience and Engagement
A.I.M’s inclusive audience base experiences the company’s artistic philosophy through performance, workshops, and discourse.The audience is as diverse as A.I.M’s movement vocabulary, which ranges from hip-hop to ballet.
Big Rings by Christopher DugganA.I.M
Artistic Vision by Kyle Abraham
“I’m interested in a really wide range of folks from the brother who owns the corner store to the woman who has never even heard of a corner store. I want those people to interact, andI want them to be sitting next to each other sensing the other person’s experience."
Critical Acclaim
A.I.M by Kyle Abraham is one of the most sought after and well-respected dance companies of this generation.
An Untitled Love by Christopher DugganA.I.M
The New York Times
"Lush movement, infectious music and magnetic dancers (the choreographer included)..." -Siobhan Burke
Studies on Farewell by Steven SchreiberA.I.M
The New Yorker
"It's been a long time since I've seen a group of virtuoso dancers look as natural, as human, as Abraham's company." - Joan Acocella
Drive by Ian DouglasA.I.M
Dance Magazine
"The movement vernacular is mercurial amalgam that morphs through numerous genres - modern, contemporary, ballet, hip-hop. It is a crazy, sexy, cool fusion of elite/street/afro-punkism that is a visual feast, a delicious 'post-modern gumbo' as he calls it." - Theresa Ruth Howard
Guest Repertory for A.I.M by Kyle Abraham
In 2018, A.I.M began commissioning new and existing works by outside choreographers to expand its repertoire and offer a breadth of dance work to the dancers and audiences. Commissions by Trisha Brown, Andrea Miller, Bebe Miller, Doug Varone, and Keerati Jinakunwiphat.
Strict Love by Ian DouglasA.I.M
Strict Love (Original: 1994, A.I.M: 2018) by Doug Varone
A.I.M performs post-modern choreographer’s 1994 work Strict Love, set to popular music by the Jackson 5 and Diana Ross.
Marcella Lewis in state (2018) by Photo by Steven SchreiberA.I.M
state (2018) by Andrea Miller
state is a new trio created by the “marvelously daring” choreographer Andrea Miller (Deborah Jowitt), commissioned for the dancers of A.I.M.
Habits of Attraction by Ian DouglasA.I.M
Habits of Attraction (2018) by Bebe Miller
Habits of Attraction was Bebe Miller Company’s first foray into a creative process that merged dancing developed through partnered improvisation with set material.
Solo Olos by Stephen ScreiberA.I.M
Solo Olos (Original: 1976, A.I.M: 2019) by Trisha Brown
A.I.M company dancers perform the acclaimed Trisha Brown’s 1976 work Solo Olos, an example of the searing intellectual rigor and intricate craftsmanship for which Brown is known, focusing on Brown’s explorations of the dynamic between movement and structure.
Big Rings by Christopher DugganA.I.M
Big Rings (2019) by Keerati Jinakunwiphat
Big Rings is an A.I.M commissioned dynamic, team-based group work by company member Keerati Jinakunwiphat that premiered at The Joyce Theater in October 2019.
Generous support for A.I.M provided by: Engaging Dance Audiences, administered by Dance/USA and made possible with generous funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation; The Ford Foundation; The Fan Fox & Leslie R. Samuels Foundation; The Harkness Foundation for Dance, Howard Gilman Foundation; JKW Foundation; Joyce Theater Foundation; Mertz-Gilmore Foundation; Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation through USArtists International in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the Howard Gilman Foundation; New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Dance Project, with funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation; O'Donnell-Greene Music & Dance Foundation; Princess Grace Foundation-USA; The DuBose & Dorothy Heyward Memorial Fund; The Rockefeller Brothers Fund; The Samuel H. Scripps Foundation; Emma A. Sheafer Charitable Trust; and The Shubert Foundation. Public funding provided by The National Endowment for the Arts, The NYS Council on the Arts with support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the NYS Legislature; and the NYC Dept. of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.
Title image by Carrie Schneider
All other photos by Tatiana Wills
