Join Rada Collaborative in partnership with Anthology Film Archives for an evening of dance screenings and conversation Q&A with two renowned NYC choreographers - Kearra Amaya Gopee & Omolala Ajao.

WHEN: August 21st, 7:30pm EST

WHERE: Anthology Film Archives (32 2nd ave)

SCREENING: 

Psalms XIX // 2024 // 5 min

I Believe I Saw Aliens // 2023 // 12 min

Pappyshow In the Dark Time, My Love // 2022 // 26 min

DESCRIPTION: Call-and-response, the infectious tradition of crying out and beckoning a reply from an audience, is rooted in histories of Afro-diasporic embodiment. We spot it across the Black music lineages that Kearra Amaya Gopee presents in PAPPYSHOW IN THE DARK TIME, MY LOVE — a work whose protagonists, asked what they would do if they could take revenge, slice through scenes of subjects writhing in ecstatic rebellion to soca, techno, and noise. Amidst practices of Black worship, call-and-response remains central as preachers, much like DJs with their dancers, summon the spirit while commanding control over their disciples. Omolola Ajao considers the haunting power of this phenomenon in works like PSALMS XIX, wherein, they juxtapose television pastor oration with dissenting scripture to observe the intimacy of natural transgression. Continued in I BELIEVE I SAW ALIENS, Ajao reckons with the consequences of Black performativity in the public sphere, taking a close look at the vernacular performances of Black stars as they encounter normative white gazes.