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| Alive and Kicking Arts | |
|---|---|
| Name | Alive and Kicking Arts |
| Type | Performing arts organization |
| Founded | 2010 |
| Location | New York City |
| Artistic director | Maria Hernandez |
Alive and Kicking Arts is a performing arts organization based in New York City that produces contemporary theater, dance, and interdisciplinary performance. It operates seasonally with touring components and residency programs, collaborating with artists from institutions such as Juilliard School, New York University, Lincoln Center, Brooklyn Academy of Music, and Guggenheim Museum. The company has presented work at festivals like the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Spoleto Festival USA, and Hanoi International Music Festival.
Alive and Kicking Arts was founded in 2010 by Maria Hernandez, a graduate of Juilliard School and former company member of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, alongside producer Daniel Ross, formerly of Carnegie Hall and The Public Theater. Early seasons included collaborations with choreographers from Merce Cunningham Dance Company and directors associated with Steppenwolf Theatre Company and Royal Shakespeare Company. By 2014 the organization expanded to international touring after engagements at Edinburgh Festival Fringe and strategic residencies at BAM, La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club, and The Kitchen. Leadership changes in 2018 paralleled partnerships with curators from Tate Modern and Museum of Modern Art and program officers from funders like National Endowment for the Arts and Ford Foundation.
The organization's stated mission emphasizes artistic experimentation, equity, and public engagement, aligning with initiatives at Asia Society, Smithsonian Institution, Kennedy Center, National Theatre, and Sydney Opera House. Core programs include an annual season of premieres, a commissioning series, and a residency program modeled on practices at Yaddo, MacDowell, and The Watermill Center. Programming cycles often reference methodologies associated with artists from Pina Bausch, Robert Wilson, Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, and dramaturgies influenced by scholars at Harvard University, Columbia University, and University of California, Berkeley.
Productions range from small-scale ensemble pieces to large multimedia works incorporating designers and composers affiliated with Metropolitan Opera, Philadelphia Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, and independent labels such as Nonesuch Records and ECM Records. Notable projects include a site-specific cycle staged in partnership with New York Botanical Garden and a cross-disciplinary evening co-produced with Brooklyn Museum and The Whitney. Collaborators have included playwrights linked to National Playwrights Conference, directors from Royal Court Theatre, and choreographers who apprenticed under Twyla Tharp, Mark Morris, Bill T. Jones, and Garth Fagan.
Education initiatives mirror programs at Lincoln Center Education, Public Theater's Public Works, and ArtsReach, offering youth workshops, masterclasses, and school residencies in collaboration with New York City Department of Education, Hunter College, Borough of Manhattan Community College, and community groups including Make the Road New York and Queens Museum affiliates. Outreach curricula draw on pedagogies championed at Juilliard School, Yale School of Drama, Tisch School of the Arts, and conservatories such as Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and Moscow Art Theatre School.
Funding partners have included public and private sources like National Endowment for the Arts, New York State Council on the Arts, Ford Foundation, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, and corporate sponsors such as Apple Inc. and Goldman Sachs. Institutional partners comprise Lincoln Center, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Carnegie Hall, The Public Theater, La MaMa, and international venues including Tate Modern, Festival d'Avignon, and Sydney Festival.
Critical reception in publications such as The New York Times, The Guardian, The Washington Post, The New Yorker, and Variety has noted the company’s emphasis on hybridity and social engagement, comparing certain works to those by Pina Bausch, Robert Wilson, and Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker. Awards and recognitions include nominations from Obie Awards, Drama Desk Awards, and grants from MacArthur Foundation fellows and panels associated with Creative Capital. The organization’s alumni have moved on to commissions and positions at Metropolitan Opera, Royal Shakespeare Company, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and academic appointments at Princeton University, Yale University, and Columbia University.
Category:Theatre companies in New York City