FEBRUARY 5 - 22, 2025
At The Bushwick Starr: 419 Eldert Street, Brooklyn
Wednesdays - Saturdays at 7:30pm
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.

CREATIVE TEAM:
Production Designer: Cheyanne Williams, Lighting Designer: Itohan Edoloyi, Sound Designer: Anthony Sertel Dean, Movement Director: Justin Allen, Stage Manager: Sydneii Colter

Line Producer: Alverneq Lindsay

PERFORMANCE INFO

Run time: 60 minutes, one act
Age recommendation: All ages
Performance contains: Loud music

Accessibility & Communal Safety:
Masks are required at all performances and events. Help us slow the spread of airborne infections and make performances more accessible for those most affected by the ongoing pandemic.
All performances will feature open captioning and select performances will feature live audio description.
Please contact boxoffice@thebushwickstarr.org for more information on how we can meet your access needs.

The Bushwick Starr is a fully ADA accessible venue.

SPECIAL EVENTS

Black Theater Night
Friday, 2/21, 7:30pm

SLAMDANCE Vendor Markets at the Starr
Featuring art, apparel, books, zines, jewelry, readings, and more!
Saturday 2/15 2:30-7:30pm
Saturday 2/22 2:30-7:30pm

Closing Party at Trans-Pecos (915 Wyckoff Ave)
Featuring performances by Justin Allen, Bri Frei, aden, FISHLORD, Fulano, Lake Lanier, and more!
Saturday 3/1 4:30pm

SUPPORT + DEVELOPMENT:

The SLAMDANCE series was conceived through an independent study with Harvard Theater, Dance, and Media. SLAMDANCE TV, a video essay, was commissioned and published by The Kitchen in 2021. SLAMDANCE garage was presented in-progress at The Performing Garage in 2021 with support from Kaneza Schaal and the Wooster Group. The Bushwick Starr’s presentation of SLAMDANCE garage was developed in residency at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, MA.

Photo by Machel Ross