American Realness

June 8 & 9, 2018

American Realness returns to hollinsdance mfa at Hollins University for a second summer, bringing artists from New York and International stages to Roanoke, Virginia for intimate and transformational performances.

Since 2010 American Realness has drawn attention to the work of subversive and marginalized artists in an effort to refocus the legacies of American dance and performance in the art historical cannon. Queer, POC and Feminist perspectives have been amplified out of New York, across the US and around the world.

On June 8 and 9, 2018 American Realness takes over Hollins Theater, presenting Michelle Ellsworth’s quirky, mind-bogglingly detailed and sincere Preparation for the Obsolescence of the Y Chromosome in the Upstairs Theater and jumatatu m. poe & Donte Beacham’s J-Sette explosion Let ‘im Move You: A Study (2013/2016) and Let ‘im Move You: This Is a Success (2016) with an intimate audience configuration set on the Hollins Theater Mainstage.

These choreographic and performative explorations take us from male gaze simulation, performable websites, absurdity and grief, to Black joy, rhythm, pattern and satisfaction. Join us for an evening of these two performances. Allow the confluence of artistic form, identity and shared attention open you up to new ways of being in the world.

In addition, hollinsdance mfa presents Real Talk: Conversations with American Realness, Saturday June 9 at 4:00pm. The event brings together Ellsworth, poe, Beacham and American Realness Founder, Curator and Producer Ben Pryor in conversation with hollinsdance mfa Faculty Noémie Solomon