Abraham.In.Motion 2017 Homecoming Gala to Honor Robert Battle & Carrie Mae Weems; Brenda Braxton to Host!

Hot off their New York City Center Fall For Dance debut next month, Kyle Abraham's Abraham.In.Motion will celebrate what is becoming known as its annual "Homecoming" gala fundraiser, which will be held on Monday, October 16, 2017 at the beautiful Manhattan Penthouse, 80 Fifth Avenue. Broadway star Brenda Braxton will host.

This year's esteemed honorees are Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater's Artistic Director Robert Battle and award-winning artist and activist Carrie Mae Weems, who shares with Abraham the prestigious honor of being a MacArthur Fellow alum.

"It means the world to me for Abraham.In.Motion to have an opportunity to honor two people who I've deeply admired and considered as mentors at this year's Homecoming gala," says Abraham. "I've always revered Mr. Battle's charisma, compassion and choreographic range. Ms. Weems is an artist with a rich and profound connection to modern dance, having been a dancer herself. I have choreographed and performed a solo work, Ne Me Quitte Pas, for a retrospective of Ms. Weems' work, so our worlds are forever linked. Recognizing both Mr. Battle and Ms. Weems holds a special place in the timeline of my career and company's trajectory, bringing a whole new meaning to the concept of Homecoming."

The evening will begin at 6:00PM with a dinner, silent auction, as well as performances by Abraham.In.Motion, that will include excerpts from The Radio Show (2010 Bessie Award for Outstanding Performance), Live! The Realest MC (2011), The Getting' 2014, Dearest Home (2017), and a solo performance by Kyle Abraham.

Gala Co-Chairs are Cheryl Bergenfeld, Chris Calkins, Bebe Neuwirth, Eric Shiner, Stephen Simcock. The Benefit Committee includes a number of esteemed supporters of Abraham.In.Motion such as Glenn Lignon, Misty Copeland, Wendy Whelan, Thelma Golden, Valentino D. Carlotti, Sharon Gersten Luckman, Martin Wechsler, and Carrie Schneider.

For more information about purchasing tickets or tables for the Homecoming Gala, email info@abrahaminmotion.org or call Hillary Kooistra at 212.691.6500 x311.

There will also be a post-dinner dance party starting at 9PM hosted by DJ Skinny Friedman, who was well-known for his Wednesday night Players Club party with Sammy Bananas at NYC's Pianos, which the Village Voice dubbed best off-night party." His rotation can currently be heard at Dirtyfinger's #SATURDAZED party at Brooklyn's The Tender Trap. Tickets for the dance party can be purchased for $125.00 ($50 is tax-deductible) and include an open bar - www.nycharities.org/give/event.aspx?cc=4294.

Proceeds from the gala are directly applied to health and wellness programs designed for the company's dancers to receive the best care and therapies that will allow them to enjoy productive and lasting careers.

The mission of Kyle Abraham/Abraham.In.Motion is to create an evocative interdisciplinary body of work. As one of a small number of African American choreographers in classical and modern dance, Kyle was born into hip-hop culture in the late 1970s and his work is grounded in his artistic upbringing in classical cello, piano, and the visual arts. The goal of the movement is to delve into issues about identity in relationship to his personal history. The work combines a sensual and provocative vocabulary with a strong emphasis on sound, human behavior and all things visual in an effort to create an avenue for personal investigation and exposing that on stage. A.I.M. is a representation of dancers from various disciplines and diverse personal backgrounds.