Quare Dance deconstructs and reimagines ballet through the lens of Black Queer subjectivity, offering a fresh perspective on what ballet is and can be. Based on a research project and installation of the same name, Quare Dance combines movement, text, and adornment to explore the intersections of race, gender, and sexuality. Through a series of solos, duets, and ensemble dances, the performers journey through themes of assimilation, self-realization, and self-reclamation while challenging dominant narratives on dance and Black, Queer identity.
Alyah Baker is a dance artist, scholar, and entrepreneur working at the intersection of art and embodied activism. Her work is informed by her Black, queer identity and a desire to build equitable creative communities. She has trained and performed with Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, Oakland Ballet, and ABD Productions, among others. As a freelance artist, Alyah has been featured in dance and film productions throughout the United States.
In addition to choreographing and performing, Alyah has two decades of teaching experience. She is the founder of Ballet for Black and Brown Bodies, an education and advocacy platform that engages BIPOC dancers of all abilities and orientations in reimagined, culturally relevant ballet training.
In 2021, Alyah founded AB Contemporary Dance, a project-based company exploring storytelling, queer aesthetics, and Black feminist praxis. The company's current project, Quare Dance, is a recipient of the 2023-24 National Performance Network Creation and Development Fund.
Alyah holds a B.A. in Sociology and a minor in Dance from Duke University (‘03) and was a member of the inaugural MFA in Dance: Embodied Interdisciplinary Praxis graduate class (‘21). Her work has been recognized by local and national media including Dance Teacher Magazine and the New York Times.
Photo Credit: Sass Art | @sasss.world
