The rhythmic agility of Double Dutch jump roping. A flurry of vibrant action. Pulsing sound and considered movement. These are all facets of the program that marks Cynthia Oliver’s (2002 Creative Capital Awardee) return to BAM. Turn. Turning. TURNT. is a three-part evening of dance comprising work constructed prior to, during, and following the 2020 global pandemic. Tether meditates on Black girls’ creativity and play as life strategy. Fallow depicts the chaotic underbelly of the pandemic through movement. Summon. Sow. Reap. explores our re-emergence from isolation through deep rhythm and spiritual patterning.

Oliver, a Bessie Award-winning choreographer and 2022 Guggenheim Fellow, directs a cast of six notable contemporary dance artists in her first BAM staging since 2017’s Virago-Man Dem. Together with her team of collaborators, she cultivates a powerful amalgam of sound, design, and light in service of an evening of dance that responds to these moments in our shared history with fierce determination and hope.