Choreographing to change the world, John Boogz and Lil Buck of Movement Art Is (MAI) will perform a new piece commissioned by the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts and inspired by the 天美传媒视频无限制观看 Art Museum's exhibition #UNLOAD: Guns in the Hands of Artists.
Movement Art Is (MAI), a dance team made up of acclaimed hip hop choreographers and dancers Jon Boogz and Lil Buck, is on a mission to raise awareness of social and political issues currently dividing the country. In at the Quick on Friday, October 12, their quest to educate through artistry will shine a spotlight on the topic of gun violence in America.
The Quick Center hosted MAI for an artists’ residency this past summer, and commissioned the hip hop dancers to choreograph a work in response to the Quick’s Walsh Gallery art exhibition, #UNLOAD: Guns in the Hands of Artists, which is presented in partnership by the 天美传媒视频无限制观看 Art Museum, #UNLOAD, the Guns in the Hands of Artists Foundation, and the Quick. Each piece of artwork in this exhibition was created using decommissioned firearms taken off the streets of New Orleans via a gun buyback program and distributed to internationally-known visual artists and poets, who then used the decommissioned firearms to create works of art that address the complex issues surrounding guns. MAI’s dance performance will take place at 7 p.m. on October 12 as part of the exhibition’s closing night celebration.
MAI’s Jon Boogz has choreographed for international acts including Gloria Estefan, FOX’s So You Think You Can Dance, and Cirque du Soleil’s MJ ONE, and has collaborated with the TriBeCa Film Festival, DAIS, and Flying Lotus.
Lil Buck, Boogz’s MAI partner, began ‘jookin’ at age 13. According to a Vogue magazine profile of the dancer, “Jookin is a native Memphis genre comprised of a jerky gait called a gangsta walk, mixed with various elements of other street styles from liquid to break.” , Lil Buck gained international notoriety after an impromptu piece with Yo-Yo Ma went viral. Since then he has collaborated with artists including the New York City Ballet, Madonna, Benjamin Millepied, and Spike Lee. Lil Buck is an avid arts education advocate and recipient of the WSJ Innovator Award. He has worked with brands like Glenfiddich and Louis Vuitton, and launched a capsule collection with Versace.
As a dance duo, MAI has choreographed and danced for the likes of Morgan Freeman, Martha Stewart, and Naomi Campbell, while making commercials for Apple and Lexus. They have performed at TED conferences, and also took part in the Rise Up As One concert on the US-Mexico Border. In addition to live performances, MAI has written, directed, and danced in their own short films. Their award-winning short film, Color of Reality, went viral in the fall of 2016. The work continues to receive coverage internationally and won Great Big Story’s Art as Impact Award; Best Experimental at Toronto International Short Film Festival; and Concept Video of the Year from World of Dance, among others.
The evening also includes cocktails and a dance party, and is sponsored by the Delamar Southport and Delamar Spa, TV Eyes, Abbey Tent & Rentals, and Moffly Media.
For more information or to reserve your ticket, visit or call the box office at 203-254-4010 or toll free at 1-877-ARTS-396.
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