In developing the piece, his first for a ballet company, Mr. Abraham has been introducing his cast to a more released way of moving than ballet typically calls for. Known for his work with his own New York contemporary dance troupe, A.I.M., he is something of a ballet outsider — and if the energy in rehearsal was any indication, the change of pace was welcome.
Yet Mr. Abraham’s presence at City Ballet also represents something larger: He is the first black artist in more than a decade to create a new work for the company, and just the seventh in its 70-year history. (In a repertory with more than 400 ballets, just 10 are credited or co-credited to black choreographers.)
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