Five dancers and live marimba create an immersive contemporary experience intersecting Western Classicism with Africanist aesthetics.
Through the metaphors of “gray space” and “blue skies,” this contemporary dance performance journey moves from melancholy reflection to a place of acceptance, unity, and joy. Choreographed by award-winning Jenny Oliver, the piece is performed in the round to live marimba and gyil music.
The original composition by critically acclaimed marimbist and cultural activist Steph Davis shapes the sonic landscape of the piece. The sounds of the marimba and gyil blend West African and African American traditions, expressed through a contemporary lens that journeys through themes of self-discovery, love, and surrendering.
With layered choreography the dance dives into the inner dialogue of the conscious creative navigating the duality of societal and cultural expectations. This piece offers the audience an opportunity to reflect on the complexities of identity, self-expression, and community care.
Tickets SoonABOUT DAVIS & OLIVER DUO:
Beginning in 2023, Steph Davis and Jenny Oliver embarked on a collaborative visual-sonic performance that engages with Africanist aesthetics. “BELONGING,” presented as part of Castle of our Skins’ Creative in Residence program uncovered their mutual desire to create meaningful work that invites audiences to experience being transported through art, to reflect on the collective consciousness and to provide time to be present while slowing down.
The pair continued performing together in various settings, engaging their Africanist approach to activate the radical power of imagination necessary to achieve collective liberation and embodiment as ways of being. In 2024 they were commissioned by Vivo Performing Arts, formerly Celebrity Series of Boston, to create an evening length work. “Gray Space | Blue Skies” premiered in February 2025 to a standing room only audience at the Multicultural Arts Center (Cambridge, MA) and the duo, DAVIS & OLIVER were born.
In March 2025, they performed “The Prayers of Black Folk,” presented as part of Black History in Action at the historic St. Augustine’s African Orthodox Church (Cambridge, MA). Situated in the powerful lineage of Marcus Garvey and the African Orthodox Church, the performance deepened the pair’s connection to local Black histories and legacy institutions.
Continuing to deepen their creative practice, DAVIS & OLIVER expanded their research into the Public Art realm through a co-commission by the Boston Public Art Triennial and Castle of our Skins. Their interest in site-specific work and its relevance to the experience of Black Women and Femmes led them to create and perform, “Moving for Joy” in May 2025. This commission was in response to Alison Croney Moses’ “This Moment for Joy” described in part as having no endings; rather an ability to bend, to learn, and to be vulnerable. Holding space for it all, viewers were invited to reflect on moments of joy, sacrifice, and connection in an hour-long, visual-sonic exploration shaped by themes of motherhood and the intersectional practice within Africanist aesthetics. Performed at the sculpture’s Navy Yard location in Charlestown, the performance elicited this response from the sculptor: “DAVIS & OLIVER… uplifted this work with brilliance. Experiencing their care, love, and Joy in community was an act of resistance for me today.” – Alison Croney Moses
Following a transformative year of collaboration, the duo was selected to present at NEFA’s Idea Swap, was commissioned by Mechanics Hall (Portland ME) to perform at their annual gala and in early 2026 was awarded a NEST 2 Touring grant to perform “Gray Space | Blue Skies” in their 2026-2027 season, as well as at the Dance Complex (Cambridge, MA).
While they are often performing, they have also been recognized for their creative process and awarded a coveted residency at Avaloch Farm Music Institute to fortify their vision for contemporary music and dance collaboration. DAVIS & OLIVER will continue their contributions to the contemporary canon of art at the intersection of Western classical form and the Africanist aesthetic with a new work “The Will to Adorn,” an evening-length performance for music and dance that will draw on the writings of anthropologist and folklorist Zora Neale Hurston. The piece is a poignant, powerful tribute to the various characteristics of Negro expression observed by Hurston, uncovering buried sites of freedom and everyday fulfillment.
This performance is funded in part by the NEFA NEST Touring Grant as well as the Across The Ages Dance Project Legacy Award.
If you or a guest in your party has accessibility needs for this event, please contact Joe Juknievich at joe@dancecomplex.org or (617) 547-9363.
