IWB: DANCING IN THE HOLD

IWB: Dancing in the Hold was a performance in three parts investigating mayfield brooks ongoing project, Improvising While Black (IWB), which uses dance improvisation as a tool to create atmospheres of care and inquiry while listening to ancestral whispers of the middle passage.

IWB: Dancing in the Hold was part of Black Queer Landing curated by Marya Wethers and included:  P(a)rLAY- an invitation to Black-identified artists to participate in an improvisational dance workshop and performance exploring IWB’s improvisatory techniques including speaking in tongues, wandering practices, somatic awakenings and partner work,  Dancing in the Hold - an evening-length performance exploring underwater textures like shipwrecks and contaminated seaweed while embracing Black queer ancestors, Black rage, brilliance and joy, and Process(Ion) - a durational performance installation exploring gestures of Black revolt, poetics of oceanic abyss, spontaneous readings of Afropessimist scholarly texts and a procession to the African Burial Ground in Lower Manhattan.