Please join us for an APAP presentation of Kyle Marshall Choreography’s newest production, Onyx, at New York Live Arts Monday, January 16th at 1pm.

We are seeking national and international touring for this 40-minute production along with creative residencies for new work and educational engagement to fill out our 2023 and 2024 seasons. For bookings and more information on Onyx or other works currently in our repertory, please contact KMC’s Company Manager, Madalyn Rupprecht at kmchoreostaff@gmail.com.  

Onyx digs into the origins of "Rock and Roll" revealing the Black and Brown people whose sounds, performances and personalities created this revolutionary genre. Through the setting of improvisational scores, character embodiment, and flowing phrase work, Onyx reflects on the fame, influence, appropriation, and erasure that riddles the legacy of so many Black and Brown artists. Through this embodiment of history, Onyx serves to recognize and celebrate these groundbreaking musicians while widening our perspective of the Black American cultural experience.

This 40-minute dance features a cast of five performers, Bree Breeden, Niara Hardister, Kyle Marshall, Nik Owens, and Cayleen Del Rosario. Costumes, Hair and Make Up are designed by KMC visual director Edo Tastic, costume construction by Meagan Woods,  with lighting by Itohan Edoloyi, KMC’s resident designer. The soundtrack, shaped by artist Kwami Winfield, incorporates samples of text and songs by groundbreaking Rock and Rollers including; Little Richard, Betty Davis, Death, James Brown, LaVern Baker, Tina Turner, Big Mama Thornton, Sonny Sharrock and Sister Rosetta Tharpe. 

Onyx is co-commissioned by The Joyce Theater Foundation’s Creative Residencies Program made possible by the Mellon Foundation and American Dance Festival with support from the Doris Duke/SHS Foundations Award for New Works. Additional support from the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation ArtsCONNECT Grant and a 2021 Caroline A. Hearst Choreography Fellowship from Princeton University. Thank you to the Monira Foundation at MANA Contemporary and The Center for Ballet and the Arts at NYU for generous residency time.