Open Call: Kayla Hamilton

Four cast members of How to Bend Down/ How to Pick it Up reach their arms out, forearms offered up, all in different styles. One performer kneels, another stands and gestures with just one arm, two performers lunge as they offer their arms. Photo by Ahad Subzwari/The Shed. — Kayla Hamilton, *How to Bend Down/How to Pick It Up*, 2024, performed as part of *Open Call* at The Shed, August 15 – 17, 2024. Photo: Ahad Subzwari.

Nicole Y. McClam, a Black woman, leans on Azure D. Osborne-Lee, a disabled Black trans and queer person, as they sit and sing out joyfully. Azure has their arm around Nicole’s shoulders, as Nicole rests a hand on her chest. Photo by Ahad Subzwari/The Shed. — Kayla Hamilton, *How to Bend Down/How to Pick It Up*, 2024, performed as part of *Open Call* at The Shed, August 15 – 17, 2024. Photo: Ahad Subzwari.

Tickets

Admission to Open Call events is free with a ticket reservation.

For sold out performances, an in-person wait list will be available 15 minutes before the show begins.

Learn more about accessibility for this production.

About this commission

In How to Bend Down/How to Pick It Up, Kayla Hamilton explores lineages of Black disabled imagination and alternative world-building through an immersive, community-specific, multidisciplinary dance performance.

The performance moves through three historical spaces—the cotton field, the Black church, and the freakshow/circus—where disability was hidden, deemed unproductive, reduced to spectacle, or asked to be prayed away. How to Bend Down/How to Pick It Up offers an archival exploration of these spaces and a reclaiming of agency, recentering the parts of the self that were discarded or suppressed in those settings while carrying forward the ancestral task of envisioning a future where every-body is free.

The production makes use of multiple audio descriptors and a performance structure that can reconfigure every night based on the performers’ changing needs.

Creative Team

Photo: Travis Magee.

Kayla Hamilton

Courtesy Joselia Rebekah Hughes.

Joselia Rebekah Hughes

Kayla Hamilton (she/her) is a performance-maker and Bessie Award–winning dancer, educator, and cultural consultant from Texarkana, Texas. Her work aims to build an embodied and collective movement that is for all of us.

Kailyn Aaron-Lozano is a multitalented Afro-Latina (Black/Mexican) artist, educator, and DASL who dabbles in various interests. ASL translation with music is her love; she has worked in theater as a DASL (director of artistic sign language). Recent DASL works include DAT and Lyric Theatre (Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella), Lincoln Center and Deaf Broadway (RENT), Epic Players Theatre (Spring Awakening), nonprofit theater (DAT’s The Laramie Project), LORT Theater and Deaf Broadway (Stephen Sondheim’s Company), DAT and ZACH Theatre (Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella), New Ohio Theatre off-Broadway (My Onliness), pre-Broadway (Deaf West’s Spring Awakening), and now a residency with The Apothetae at The Public.

Sammie Amachree was born and raised in Lagos, Nigeria. He migrated to the United States to study film and media at the Digital Film Academy in New York City. After film school he attended the City University of New York where he received a master’s degree in media arts production. While trying to find his voice as an artist, he held the role of creative director for Sahara Reporters Media Group, which is a popular Nigerian online news platform. He is committed to reconstructing the African narrative commonly misrepresented by mainstream media. This also led Amachree to create African Chow, a social media platform that highlights African culture and diversity through food. Amachree is currently a freelancer working for Madison Square Garden, Wheelhouse Creative, Pivot Podcast, Love Now Media, and many more.

Kahlil Daniel is an independent artist who hails from Teaneck, New Jersey. He is a producer, singer-songwriter, actor, director, and half of the On The Way Podcast (part of the two-time NAACP Image Award–winning Mocha Podcasts Network!). He’s been performing since the age of three and playing the piano since the age of five. He holds a BFA in acting from Howard University and joined the Actor’s Equity Association in 2012. In 2010 he founded Instinct Entertainment and began releasing music in 2013. He considers live performance to be the best part of his musical journey and has played venues in the NYC and DC areas like, SOBs, DROM, Pianos, The Bitter End, and The Highline Ballroom.

Brendan Drake is an interdisciplinary artist and educator based in Brooklyn. Drake was a 2017 – 18 Fresh Tracks Artist at New York Live Arts and has been awarded grants and residencies through the Monira Foundation, Brooklyn Arts Fund, and FCA among others. Their recent work has been presented at Danspace Project (Draftwork), Movement Research, The Brick, La MaMa, PAGEANT, Joes Pub, JrHigh (Los Angeles), and The Dance Complex (Boston). Drake holds a BFA in dance from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and an MFA in choreographic inquiry from UCLA.

Treshelle Edmond, diagnosed with profound hearing loss at 18 months, debuted on Broadway in Deaf West Theater’s Spring Awakening Revival, Children of a Lesser God, and For Colored Girls, notably as an understudy. Off-Broadway, she stars in productions like The Colored Museum, Another Kind of Silence, What Came After, and Say It Ain’t So, written by Nikki Brake-Silla. On screen, Edmond has left an indelible mark with roles in television hits like House, Glee, and Master of None (season 2), as well as a memorable appearance in Jay and Silent Bob Reboot. Edmond continues to break barriers and inspire audiences worldwide with her exceptional talent and unwavering determination. Follow her journey @TreshelleEdmon.

Francisco echo Eraso (he/they) and Alex Dolores Salerno (they/them) are interdisciplinary artists and work/life partners and collaborators based in Lenapehoking. They both have Andean and European-American roots and their collaborations primarily concern conceptualizations of time from a neuro-queer-crip perspective. Alex graduated with their fine arts MFA from Parsons School of Design, and echo is currently pursuing his fine arts MFA at Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University. Alex and echo have exhibited collaborative work at the Ford Foundation Gallery (New York), Amos Eno Gallery (Brooklyn), and Franklin Street Works (Stamford, Connecticut), and they are Wynn Newhouse Award recipients. Additionally, Alex and echo both have individual art practices and are access workers.

Aleeza Garcia (they/she) is a Chicana and Tejana artist hailing from Fort Worth, Texas, holding a BFA from the University of The Arts. Their work focuses on exploring the intersection of Mexican and American identities through cultural liberation practices. Garcia has had the pleasure of working as a performer and collaborator with Niall Jones, Fana Fraser, Jesse Zaritt, and more. Garcia embraces their cultural heritage in all aspects of life, aiming to honor ancestors, share traditions, and represent their community. By transforming generational trauma into resiliency through liberation-based healing practices, Garcia seeks to empower individuals to embrace their authenticity. Through their art, Garcia challenges societal norms, elevates Latinidad, and creates experiences that encourage self-expression and healing through movement.

Jerron Herman is a dancer/writer compelled to create images of freedom. He has premiered works at Danspace Project, Performance Space New York, and The Whitney Museum. Tours include Baltimore Museum of Art, ODC SF, and Lincoln Center (digital). Lax, commissioned by SPC, premiered at BDF and has activated museums like The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Guggenheim. Herman is also the choreographer and co-director of Sensorium Ex, a new opera. Other accolades include a 2024 USA Fellowship, 2023 – 24 Fellowship at the NYU Center for Ballet and the Arts, 2021 Grants to Artists Award from the Foundation for Contemporary Arts, 2021 Jerome Hill Fellowship in Dance from the Jerome Foundation, and 2020 Disability Futures Fellowship.

Vanessa Hernandez-Cruz is an interdependent and interdisciplinary Chicana Disabled dance artist. Hernandez-Cruz is currently set to premiere a new experimental contemporary dance solo titled Soul Seeker for the Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibition show Abundance and it will later premiere for Mouthwater Festival this fall.

Over the past few years Hernandez-Cruz’s work has been shown nationally and internationally. She is currently the recipient of the 2023 California Arts Council x The Center of Cultural Power Artist Disruptor Award. In 2023, she had two exciting dance solos that premiered in the summer: Metal, Plastic, Skin debuting at The Odyssey Theatre’s Dance Festival and Exhale Static, Inhale Fumes with her debut at The REDCAT’s NOW Festival.

Shanika Hewitt (she/her) is a Deaf performer and dancer. She started dancing when she was a little girl and always loved to be involved in performances. She was a member of Hip Hop Deafinitely with Jamie J and Lauren Collins. Her previous credits include The Story of the Dancing Frog and The Lion and the Mouse (LifeLine Community), Hairspray (NTID Performing Arts), GirlTrip to NYC (New York Deaf Theatre), Mystery & Mayhem (Lexington Drama Club), Trash (Jack Performing Arts Theater), and Say It Ain’t So (Christ Church Neighborhood House Theatre). She has worked with various artists including Tammie L. Swope, Dr. Luanne Haggerty, Thomas Warfield, Jade Bryan, Michelle A. Banks, Patrice Creamer, Alexandria Wailes, JW Guido, James Caverly, Andrew Morill, Nikki Brake-Silla, Christine Eskridge, Kayla Hamilton, and Joselia Rebekah Huges. She is grateful to all the people who have supported her and made her the person, woman, and artist she is today. Special thanks to her colleagues and cast mates, fiancée, and parents in Heaven. @nika.niicole

Joselia Rebekah Hughes is working-poor, Afro-Caribbean-descended writer, editor, access provider, and interdisciplinary teaching artist surviving in the Bronx. Her practice resides in lineages of Black and debilitated aesthetics and linguistics. Hughes’s poetry has been nominated for Best of Net and published in or by Apogee Journal, Massachusetts Review, The Poetry Project, Split This Rock, Blackflash Magazine, Leste Magazine, Ocean State Review, and elsewhere. She is a writing student at Bard College’s Milton Avery Graduate School of the Arts.

Nicole Y. McClam, MFA, CMA enjoys exploring the awesomeness of dance with her students at Queensborough Community College. She performs with Kayla Hamilton, Keith A. Thompson/danceTactics, and B3W. A Washington, DC native, she was a longtime member of Deborah Riley Dance Projects. She received her MFA in dance and the Laban Movement Analyst Certification at the University of Maryland. She earned a BFA in dance performance and a BA in chemistry from East Carolina University. McClam enjoys knitting, vegan cupcakes, and researching zombies.

Gryffin Elyse Mendonssa (Gryff) (she/they), was born and raised on the West Coast, relocated to the Garden State, and is a resident of the 908, Elizabeth, New Jersey. Gryff is a queer, biracial, second-generation artist whose medium is storytelling through movement. They consider themselves an author of experiences, utilizing the language of dance to communicate. Gryff’s affinity for the arts and community strengthens her commitment to help other aspiring young artists to raise their voice in contribution for radical change.

JJ Omelagah (they/them) is a transgender sound artist whose performance roots began in their church where they have been a featured soloist for many years. Omelagah has had the honor to sing for 2023 A.M.P Residency, Dancing Disability Labs, The National Day of Forgiveness, San Francisco Women Against Rape, SF Pride, in the National Queer Arts Festival 2017 as a guest artist with The Singing Bois, and in the National Queer Arts Festival 2018 as a guest artist in the performance Enough with India Harville. Omelagah is a trained CircleSing facilitator in the style of Bobby McFerrin and loves to help everyone connect with the power of their voice. Omelagah’s vocal style has been described as soulful, mellow, and smooth and their mission as a vocal artist is to build community, uplift, and experience personal and collective healing through the power of sound.

Azure D. Osborne-Lee (he/they) is a multi-award-winning Black, queer, and trans theater-maker and dramatic writer from south of the Mason-Dixon Line. He pays his bills by teaching drama and working as a union rep in New York City. Keep up with his work at azureosbornelee.com.

Alicia Raquel is a dancer, interdisciplinary artist, and cultural organizer. Raquel is a former Dancing Futures and Skylab Artist in Residence, and a Brooklyn Arts Fund and NYFA Bridge Fund Recipient. Raquel has danced with Arthur Aviles Typical Theater, MBDance, Renegade Performance Group, K. Hamilton Productions, and the NWA Project.

Jessica Karis Ray is an interdisciplinary artist who focuses on filmmaking, dance, choreography, and visual art. As a filmmaker and video editor, she has worked widely with dance institutions and independent artists including Jacobs Pillow Dance Festival, New York Live Arts, Kayla Hamilton, Zavé Martohardjono, J. Bouey, Marie Casimir, Celia Bambara, and many more. Ray currently works full time at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts as a video producer and editor.

Nessie Slyker is a multidisciplinary artist based on the unceded lands of the Lenape people (New Jersey/NYC area). Their practice of facilitating collective dreaming and investigating somatic intelligence heeds from the intersection of their varying backgrounds growing up: competitive synchronized figure skating, musical theater, and contemporary dance. Slyker has made artistic work with Alysia Ramos for Beloit College and Oberlin College, and assisted Ann Cooper Albright with her research on Nancy Stark Smith at the Lincoln Center Archives. As mayfield brooks’s intern/mentee, Slyker has performed with them at Parsons School of Design and assisted their teaching at Impulstanz, Movement Research, Oberlin College, and Ponderosa Stolzenhagen. Slyker holds a BA in dance from Oberlin College.

Indigo Sparks is a performance artist, choreographer, and producer based in Brooklyn. Her deep curiosity around the facilitation of community and transcendent possibilities of performance continues to be reflected in her creative work and processes. Sparks attended The University of The Arts where she trained in contemporary dance with choreographers like Gerard and Kelly, Bobbi Jene Smith, Tommie Waheed-Evans, Netta Yerualshalmy, and Helen Simoneau. In 2021 she became a Sundance Interdisciplinary Arts Grantee with her short documentary dance film it’s a matter of the soul. Her New York performance experience includes venues like Lincoln Center, Judson Church, Triskelion Arts, Sony Music Hall, CPR Brooklyn, and Dixon Place. Sparks continues to produce her own creative projects while working as an associate producer at THE OFFICE for artists like William Kentridge and Francesca Harper.

Alx Velozo is a trans and disabled sculptress, educator, and performance artist raised in Timucua Lands (occupied North Florida) and currently residing in Piscataway lands (occupied Baltimore). Velozo’s installations and performances combine cultural imaginations of illness, touch, kink, the medical industrial complex, and kinesthetic learning models. They explore this research through mold-making processes, workshop and pedagogical facilitation, and movement and object-based performances. They received an MFA in sculpture and extended media from Virginia Commonwealth University and a BFA from the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art. Velozo has exhibited, taught, and facilitated workshops in New York, Jersey City, Philadelphia, Richmond, and Miami and internationally in Canada, Mexico, and New Zealand.

Dr. Akhila Vimal C. is a visually impaired dancer and performance theorist whose research explores the intersection of performance studies, ritual studies, ethnochoreology, dance pedagogy, reception studies, and disability aesthetics. Her work focuses on intercultural performance traditions from India, examining their history, training, principles, contemporary practices, and textual narratives.

Currently, Akhila is a Fulbright Postdoctoral Fellow at the Department of World Arts Cultures/Dance, UCLA. Her research sits at the intersection of performance and disability, with a particular focus on disabled dance pedagogy. Methodologically, she is committed to practice as research, and her current project investigates blind dance pedagogies and practices.

Maya Simone Z. is a Brooklyn-based dancer, multidisciplinary artist, producer, choreographer, and educator from the South. Having come up dancing in church, their multidisciplinary practice centers queer, Black diasporic kinships and connections between the heart, body, and spirit. They are a constant dreamer. Learn more at mayasimonez.com.

Madison Zalopany is a disabled artist and access worker based in New York City. For over a decade, they have worked with museums, theaters, galleries, and other cultural institutions to eliminate or mitigate socially constructed barriers while co-creating disabled spaces alongside other disabled artists and access workers.

Credits

This show includes live captions by Stanley Sakai.

This production has been supported by the Circle O Team. Led by Founder and Artistic Director Kayla Hamilton, Circle O reimagines a dance world where Black Disabled and other multiply marginalized creatives are central, and every body is worthy of care.

Circle O includes:
Ita Segev, Grant Writer, Creative & Strategic Advisor
Ziiomi Law, Administrative Care Coordinator
Shannon Meredith, Finance and Operations Consultant
Ellen Chenoweth, Management and Programs Partner
Vanessa Hernandez Cruz, Social Media

Get to know the artist

4 months ago

I Am Kayla Hamilton (Audio Described)

5 months ago

In The Studio with Kayla Hamilton

5 months ago

In The Studio with Kayla Hamilton

Alex Poots, Artistic Director
Darren Biggart, Director of Civic Programs
Dejá Belardo, Assistant Curator, Civic Programs and Visual Arts
Daisy Peele, Open Call Producer (Associate Producer at The Shed)
Christal Ferreira, Program Manager, Civic Programs and Visual Arts
Ben Young, Production Manager

Special thanks to Public Assembly (Tamara McCaw, Maggie MacTiernan, and Annabel Thompson) and to former program team colleagues who facilitated the call for proposals and selection process for the third edition: Solana Chehtman, Sarah Khalid Dhobhany, Alessandra Gómez, and Andria Hickey.

Stephen Arnold, Open Call Production Manager
Michael Ruiz-del-Vizo, Scenic Coordinator
DJ Potts, Sound Coordinator
Vittoria Orlando, Lighting Coordinator
Hao Bai, Video/Projection Coordinator
Cynthia Caridad, Stage Coordinator
Caren Celine Morris, Stage Coordinator
Ariana Michel, Stage Coordinator
A. Sef, Accessibility Consultant

Location and dates

This event takes place in The Griffin Theater.

August 15 – 17
7:30 pm

The Shed’s Griffin Theater is located at 545 West 30th Street, between 10th and 11th Avenues. View The Shed on a map.

For information about accessibility and arriving at The Shed, visit our Accessibility page.

Details

Running time: Approximately 70 minutes, no intermission

Accessibility

About this Production

Each performance is a masked performance; if you are able wear a KN95 mask we ask that you please do so. The Shed will have KN95 masks available upon request in The Doctoroff Lobby and outside The Griffin Theater on Level 6.

The venue is physically accessible with wheelchair seating available upon request. Every performance will include CART and ASL interpretation by Tolly Tillman, Alisa Besher, and J'da Damas. Audio description is integral to the entirety of the performance. Runtime will be approximately 70 minutes with no intermission. People are welcome to float in and out of the space as desired.

Due to the creative experimental nature of this performance, there will be moments of cacophonous sounds; a quiet space is located on Level 8 if you need to take a break. Earplugs and fidgets will also be available outside the theater on Level 6 and in the quiet room on Level 8.

Accessible restrooms are located on the same floor as the performance, including a gender-neutral, single-stall restroom.

We understand access is social/relational; there will be two access doulas present in the space to help facilitate access needs as they arise.

To make an accessibility request, please click the link below. If you are experiencing access issues with The Shed website or have questions about accessibility, call (646) 455-3494 or email accessibility@theshed.org.

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ONGOING

New art for New York

The Sponsor of Open Call is

Support for Open Call is generously provided by

Additional support for Open Call is provided by The Wescustogo Foundation and Jody and John Arnhold | Arnhold Foundation.

The creation of new work at The Shed is generously supported by the Lizzie and Jonathan Tisch Commissioning Fund and the Shed Commissioners. Major support for live productions at The Shed is provided by the Charina Endowment Fund, with additional support from the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

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