Show Credits
Choreographer: Roderick George
Performers: Natasha Poon Woo & Roderick George
Original Music: LOTIC and Byrell the Great
Text: Natasha Poon Woo
Video Footage: Kandis Williams
Video Editing: Drew Berry
Part of Night Shift 2020
Co-presented with Fall for Dance North
About the Show
Concrete Skin
Choreographed by Roderick George
In this world premiere, choreographer Roderick George highlights Africanist aesthetics that often circulate through dominant cultures in the form of cultural appropriation, which separates Black dancing from Black bodies. With music by LOTIC, a Berlin-based, transgender woman, and mixing by New York DJ, and producer Byrell the Great, Concrete Skin celebrates Black and queer experiences while dismantling white supremacist ideologies that prioritize individualism and binary/either-or thinking. Working collaboratively with dance artist, Natasha Poon Woo, George conducted a dive into Poon Woo’s background and origins, which include intergenerational suppression of and disconnect from mixed-race Black identity. These conversations influenced LOTIC and ignited an innovative system through which movement and music are co-created and codependent; each artist feeding off of the work being developed visually, kinesthetically, and acoustically. This sharing of energy in Concrete Skin reflects a political priority that is interdependent, synergistic, and celebrates our differences.