In his solo show, South Florida dancer\/choreographer Randolph Ward is ready to bare it all\u2014his art, his many selves, and, at one point, his body as testimony. \u201cThe Gray\u201d will flash layers of his personal experience and then strip them away at Sandrell Rivers Theater on Saturday.<\/p>\n
Ward, an African American artist in his mid-40s, has reached a new point in his creative life. It\u2019s not that his steps along the way haven\u2019t already demanded truthful recognition and gutsy action. But his current work reveals Ward at a crucial point. After a long career with major ballet companies and years of international travel, the Miami native has returned home, not to rest, but to continue to push his work in new directions.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe idea behind \u2018The Gray\u2019 comes from my journey as a ballet dancer of color,\u201d says Ward. \u201cIn this world, I\u2019m always perceived as \u2018the other\u2019 or as a representation for an entire race.\u201d<\/p>\n
With \u201cThe Gray,\u201d Randolph Ward hopes to create empathy by encouraging audiences to recognize their own pain and see it in others. (Photo by Varvara Kandaurova) <\/p>\n
In response to that taxing reductiveness and onerous expectation, he wants to facilitate better understanding by opening his embrace, blending black-or-white demarcations into a more authentic shading. \u201cI\u2019m trying to create empathy among humans through my art. We live in a society where we often don\u2019t want to express our pain or recognize it in others.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ward identifies as an empath, with a level of sensitivity to detect risk or safety even in the most mundane situations. In the artistic sphere he has fine-tuned that spiritual radar.<\/p>\n
\u201cSince I was a child, though intuitive then, this has been a constant in my life,\u201d he says. \u201cI navigate towards what gives off a good vibe and flee from what doesn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ward began dance training at the age of 10 at Liberty City\u2019s Charles R. Drew K-8 Center. It was a rare opportunity, he emphasizes, and progressed as a teen into conservatory classes at South Miami\u2019s Thomas Armour Youth Ballet (now Armour Dance Theatre), a precious cocoon for him that nurtured not just dance fundamentals but also self-worth.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe feeling of otherness was simply not there,\u201d Ward recalls, singling out academy director Ruth Wiesen as his mentor. \u201cShe is an anomaly, opening the door to so many students of African descent and making us feel at home.\u201d<\/p>\n
That sense of welcome was unusual in the ballet world, says Weisen.<\/p>\n
Randolph Ward draws on his experiences as a Black ballet dancer in \u201cThe Gray,\u201d a dance-theater work about the many selves people carry. (Photo by Varvara Kandaurova) <\/p>\n
\u201cRandolph\u2019s story illustrates exactly why we started our scholarship program at a time when the ballet world and most classes did not reflect the diverse city we live in. He had ability, drive, and a family that believed in him. We could provide the opportunity to develop his potential.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ward\u2019s awareness expanded at a Dance Theater of Harlem summer program. \u201cThere I gained a larger experience of Black lives, of how we have to be so much better to succeed. I also recognized the privilege of having ancestors in the art form like Arthur Mitchell (the company director and once a New York City Ballet star), who helped set us up.\u201d<\/p>\n
At 16, before his senior year at New World School of the Arts, he entered San Francisco Ballet\u2019s year-round school program. One of only three career-aspirants of color there, he sharpened his skills and feasted on world-caliber performances. \u201cFor two years I attended every company show,\u201d he remembers.<\/p>\n
Ward went on to join Ohio\u2019s BalletMet and North Carolina Dance Theatre, mastering classical and neoclassical styles until his heart demanded a move beyond those orthodoxies. Dancing in Germany at Saarl\u00e4ndisches Staatstheater, Ward says, \u201cI went contemporary all the way. I\u2019d gotten bored with the idea of expressing masculinity, its bravery and strength, and claimed a feminine aspect for my dancing.\u201d<\/p>\n
The artist stood up as a gay man\u2014so tall and thin, he notes\u2014balking at losing opportunities due to being perceived as a type.<\/p>\n
\u201cDeeper ideas started coming to me,\u201d he says. \u201cGenerally, American dance is outward whereas European dance is self-contained, changing the atmosphere from within.\u201d Repertory from innovators such as Israeli-American Ohad Naharin and Sweden\u2019s Mats Ek left a lasting impact.<\/p>\n
\u201cI got to see how a Black dancer in Germany could be a superstar,\u201d adds Ward. \u201cOutside the United States I discovered that African-American culture is American culture.\u201d<\/p>\n
Randolph Ward\u2019s solo work brings together dance, theater and personal reflection in an exploration of vulnerability. (Photo by Varvara Kandaurova) <\/p>\n
Ward\u2019s interest in making his own dances came as a practical necessity. \u201cI started choreographing to become a better interpreter,\u201d he says. \u201cMy first opportunity was back with BalletMet for a competition I won.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then the call to create became inescapable. In 2017 he premiered \u201cA Vogue Extravaganza\u201d in Germany as a tribute to the ballroom scene that flourished among African-American and Latin gay youth in New York. Two years later Ward reset this in Miami, which marked him locally as someone to take note of.<\/p>\n
And Dimensions Dance Theatre of Miami did. Company co-artistic director Jennifer Kronenberg calls Ward\u2019s 2019 premiere \u201cWhat Makes a Man?\u201d\u2014a male duet dealing with gendered constraints\u2014a perfect fit for their exploratory Lab Series.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe work challenged our dancers and audiences, pushing physical and social boundaries,\u201d she says\u2014and, aligning herself and co-director Carlos Guerra to those who found beauty in its confrontation, adds, \u201cThrough Randolph\u2019s courage and emotional intelligence, our dance ecosystem received a gift.\u201d<\/p>\n
With his own RTWDANCE, Ward has brought daring dance-theater works to South Florida stages. In that vein, \u201cThe Gray,\u201d gathers some former material, puts it in new context, and expands his elaboration of long-held concerns and the craft of dance-theater.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe show is centered around masks,\u201d explains Ward, whose costumes\u2014including a studded face covering, latex and high heels\u2014draw inspiration from the late performance artist and designer Leigh Bowery, known for his extravagant costumes and elaborate transformations of the body. \u201cThrough this I examine what shapes, challenges, and constantly rebuilds the self.\u201d<\/p>\n
The show opens with a recording of Leontyne Price singing \u201cPace, pace, mio Dio\u201d from Verdi\u2019s \u201cLa forza del destino.\u201d Other sections include \u201cThe Big Dig,\u201d accompanied by a short film about Ward\u2019s coping with angst, and \u201cThe Dance of the Ego,\u201d which references 1970s Black cinema, \u201cwhen everything was loud and brash,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
In \u201cThe Gray,\u201d Randolph Ward examines how identity is shaped, challenged and continually rebuilt. (Photo by Varvara Kandaurova) <\/p>\n
\u201cSteeped in contradictions, this gets into my mastering the ego not to let it consume me.\u201d<\/p>\n
In \u201cThe Cement Block of Stagnation,\u201d Ward considers unrealized potential. The section becomes \u201cvery dark, with hard guitar chords, twisting and turning, and strongman poses,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
But \u201cThe Monster I Keep,\u201d in which he performs nude while wearing a veil, has made him most nervous because of the vulnerability it demands. \u201cIt confronts the contradiction of being seen but not seeing ourselves,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
A poetry recitation brings the focus back to accepting his many selves. For Ward, the dream is no longer about chasing achievement but \u201cin reckoning with the many selves within me\u2014impatient and contradictory\u2026 gorgeous and intense \u2026 longing to be held.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHowever people label me, I hope they can find a connecting factor in all this.\u201d<\/p>\n
If you go:<\/p>\n
WHAT: \u201cThe Gray: A Celebration of Human Complexity\u201d<\/p>\n
WHEN: 3 and 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 24<\/p>\n
WHERE: Sandrell Rivers Theater, 6103 NW 7 Ave., Miami<\/p>\n
COST: $35 general admission; $20 students, seniors and veterans. Only ages 18 and older admitted.<\/p>\n
INFORMATION: (305) 284-8872; https:\/\/www.rtwdance.net\/<\/a><\/p>\n ArtburstMiami.com<\/a> is a nonprofit media source for the arts featuring fresh and original stories by writers dedicated to theater, dance, visual arts, film, music and more. Don\u2019t miss a story at www.artburstmiami.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In his solo show, South Florida dancer\/choreographer Randolph Ward is ready to bare it all\u2014his art, his many…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":433314,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[225,227,226],"class_list":["post-433313","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-hialeah","tag-hialeah","tag-hialeah-headlines","tag-hialeah-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/433313","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=433313"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/433313\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/433314"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=433313"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=433313"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=433313"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}