SEASON 31 | February 2019

run.

Written and Performed by Nia & Ness: A dance poetry duo
Presented by The VORTEX

run. is a dance-poetry story of two, black, out-lesbian women in a committed relationship, navigating the daily struggles and joys of life. These Brooklyn-based artists return to The VORTEX after their stand-out performance at last year’s Austin-based OUTsider Fest. They invite the audience to enter their world as observers, listening in on their intimate, strong, and loving conversations about their identities. They offer reflections in dance and poetry that resonate with various and intersectional backgrounds. Original music by Brooklyn-based composer, Garrett Miller.

About the Artists

Nia & Ness are a black, lesbian, dancer-poet, performance art duo based in Brooklyn, NY. The duo met and became a couple in 2013 and founded their company in 2016. They have performed around the county, sharing their work toward a deeper understanding of their co-reality through intense investigation of their individual identities. They have been keynote speakers at Brown University, and their performances include University of California Riverside, NYU, Sarah Lawrence College, Temple University, Bard College, and Harvard College. The duo worked with Sadie Nash Leadership Project Summer Institute and been featured in a 2017 BRIC TV segment, in a documentary for the Advocate, and on Radio Free Brooklyn.  They performed at Brooklyn Pride 2017 and Harlem Pride 2018; were recipients of the BAX 2017 Space Grant, inaugural recipients of the Virginia Giordano Memorial Fund; and winners of the 2017 National Women’s Music Festival Emerging Artist Contest.

Garrett Miller draws influence from a wide range of genres and eras and is largely inspired by the ideologies of John Cage and Pauline Oliveros. In our times of social and economic injustice we must remember to hold a “continual alertness and an inclination to always be listening” –Pauline Oliveros.

Funded and supported in part by Bloomberg Philanthropies, VORTEX Repertory Company, and by the Cultural Arts Division of the City of Austin Economic Development Department.