I am at the Harlem Stage Theater waiting for Kyle Abraham’s Pavement to start. I sit in the purple cushioned chairs as old school hip-hop and soul music plays from the two speakers on the sides of the stage and the two attached to the tan brick arch. I observe the scenery and soak in the feel of the room. There is a basketball hoop on the top right corner of the stage with the words “No Loitering” projected onto it. The audience fills with about one hundred and twenty people. The performance soon begins.

There are two white men, four black men, and one black woman. I watch in admiration as the seven performers move so powerfully. I can tell that they are giving each and every movement their all because of what seems to be gallons of sweat dripping from their bodies. Their choreography consists of arm movements, kicks, and sways of their hips. In certain moments all of the performers are on stage moving intensely, in others they are walking across the stage and exiting, roaming around, or just standing on the sides.

The performance slowly starts to give off a sad and depressing feeling. It revolves around a series of conflicts: some between black and white individuals and others, as the show goes on,  in black homes and neighborhoods, emphasized through Abraham’s acting and the audio that fills the room. The stage is dark and Abraham is in character asking for money, repeatedly saying “Help me out man!” But the people ignore him and keep moving along. Red siren lights are on. Abraham begins to sob loudly because no one is helping him.  A while later, a video of a building, streetlights, and gunshots is projected onto the basketball hoop. Minutes after, it gets very intense. There is opera music playing with audio of little girls and their mom screaming as the dad yells at them violently. The opera song in the background increases the emotion of the scene. It feels so chaotic and everything seems to be going on very quickly.

Kyle Abraham has really made an impact with this piece. The choreography, audio, and lighting were very effective in dramatizing and portraying tense race relations. And the content was so powerful because of the overwhelming moments and the hard work each dancer brought to the performance.

Image source: Pentacle.org

Review by Ashley Jimenez