Emmy-Nominated Choreographer Jeremy McQueen’s Black Iris Project Presents
WILD
A Groundbreaking New Feature Length Dance Film Exploring Systemic Racism and Injustices Through the Real-life Accounts Of New York City Youth Embroiled in the Justice System
WILD will be Divided into Four Parts with
Part One – “Overture” Premiering Exclusively on BronxNet Television to The Bronx Community Beginning Monday, November 9th
World Premiere on Thursday, November 12th
DaMond Garner in “WILD: Overture”, photo by Argenis Apolinario
Celebrated Emmy-nominated choreographer Jeremy McQueen announced the world premiere of a groundbreaking new ballet and feature length dance film entitled “WILD” to be presented under his Black Iris Project, the only ballet collaborative of its kind in the country dedicated to telling stories about the Black experience and to providing a platform and safe haven for Black artists. With social justice issues dominating the current national conversation, “WILD” explores systemic racism and injustice through the real-life accounts of New York City youth who have grown up in juvenile detention centers throughout the city. The ballet will be broken up into four parts with the first part- “Overture” - premiering exclusively on BronxNet Television to the Bronx community beginning Monday, November 9th. The world premiere will take place on Thursday, November 12th via www.blackirisproject.org. The additional parts of “WILD” will debut in Winter/Spring/Summer, 2021.
Click here to watch “WILD: Overture”
Inspired by Maurice Sendak’s classic children’s novel Where the Wild Things Are, “WILD” follows the journey of several young men as they struggle to break free from the systemic injustices that permeate Black and Brown communities. Using physical movement to illustrate and honor the history of Black bodies moving through space while encountering oppression, this cutting-edge contemporary ballet will incorporate poetry, reflective journal entries, visual art, and original music, transforming the young men’s personal stories into an artistic dance work intended to be a reclaiming of time, unity, space, and Black culture. Additionally, McQueen - in collaboration with various juvenile justice organizations including Exalt - will work with both currently and previously incarcerated young men throughout New York City over the course of the next year to create a series of virtual workshops, harnessing their creativity and providing opportunities to creatively express themselves through artistic mediums and will be performed by a number of professional male dancers.
Colton Williams & Jeremy McQueen, photo by Argenis Apolinario
Filmed and edited by ongoing Black Iris Project collaborator Colton Williams, “Overture” features dancers Shawn Lesniak (Paul Taylor Dance Company), AJ Libert (Sidra Bell Dance New York), DaMond Garner (Parson Dance Company). With an original score composed by internationally acclaimed singer/ songwriter Morgxn and Jazz composer and bassist Amina Scott , the music for “WILD: Overture“ will be presented in a mixtape- like format and will include additional contributions from: hip hop artists Wes Period & Shmuck the Loyal; actor & former Hamilton cast member Phillip Johnson Richardson (Phil.), popular singer/songwriter Josh Dean with original poetry by emerging New York City poet Gabriel Ramirez.
Click here to learn more about “WILD”’s collaborators
McQueen, who was recently named a 2020 Soros Justice Fellowship from Open Society Foundations and is the only choreographer to receive this fellowship since its inception in 1997, hopes that “WILD” will encourage and inspire youth of color to pursue the arts, movement and music as an expressive outlet as well as educate audiences about how Black history relates to the modern Black journey.
“Since its inception in 2016, at the core of BIP’s DNA, has been our commitment to telling Black narratives through ballet using the art as a mirror to reflect the times and consistently intertwine themes of social justice in everything that we do. As someone who has worked to break through many doors in the world of dance, particularly ballet, I feel it is our duty as artists to be a catalyst for those that are unheard, unseen, and undervalued and I am committed to, now more than ever, dismantling those barriers through my art,” said McQueen. “This fervent effort stems from the need to address issues currently plaguing our nation from civil unrest to systemic oppression to the societal ripple effects of COVID-19. In order for us to heal as a society, we have to expose the wounds that have historically been overlooked. With “WILD” specifically - which I view as a tough work centered around healing - we wanted to continue to uplift diversified voices while breaking down the ivory silos and pillars so that we not only have a seat at the table and our work on the table, but so that we ensure that the voices of the voiceless are heard and amplified.”
AJ Libert in “WILD: Overture”, photo by Argenis Apolinario
Each of the WILD’s four parts will include different opportunities for audience engagement, including plans to broadcast the film on various television stations around the country, digital experiences including a socially distant site-specific performance in The Bronx.
With WILD being filmed in the Bronx and the borough serving as its own character in the piece, the Bronx-based McQueen wanted to ensure that his community would have access to the film and “WILD: Overture” will first premiere exclusively on BronxNet Television - the not-for-profit 501c3 television network for the people of the Bronx - beginning Monday, November 9th. The film will have its world premiere on Thursday, November 12th via www.blackirisproject.org.
Funding Credits
“WILD: Overture” is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and the Bronx Council on the Arts.
“WILD: Overture” is made possible with funds from the Decentralization Program, a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts, with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, and administered by the Bronx Council on the Arts.
“WILD” is supported by New Music USA, made possible by annual program support and/or endowment gifts from Mary Flagler Cary Charitable Trust, Helen F. Whitaker Fund, The Aaron Copland Fund for Music, Inc., New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, Howard Gilman Foundation.
“WILD” is supported by Dance NYC’s Coronavirus Dance Relief Fund & The Dance Advancement Fund, made possible by the Ford Foundation.