FEBRUARY 5 - 22, 2025
Tickets go on sale January 7
Created and performed by Ian Andrew Askew
Produced in association with ¡Oye! Group
SLAMDANCE garage is a solo performance on punk and blackness. Nestled somewhere between performance art, a rock show, and an one-act opera, Ian Andrew Askew hurdles through an hour of music, movement, and text celebrating the absurdity of explaining Black people’s participation in their own culture.
SLAMDANCE garage borrows text from Nina Simone, Audre Lorde, Drexciya, and other luminaries, reharmonizing their words to the sounds of drums, distorted vocals, and the blaring resonance of a custom-one string bass. Inspired by the Malawian babatoni, Mississippi diddley-bow, and the Afro-Brazilian berimbau, the handmade instrument (nearly the same length as its player) is an homage to throughlines of musical technology that weave through the African diaspora.
GALA GRATITUDE + HIGHLIGHTS
Such a thrill to celebrate the Starr at our first Gala in five years (and the first one in our new theater!) with our community of friends, artists, and supporters - it was a truly magical evening. We are so grateful to everyone who attended and who helped create this very special event. Read about night here and see you next year!
