Into this contemplative space wandered the 10-year-old Kalimah Wouadjou (The Children), eyeing the woven patterns above her with apprehension and wonder. Hunched over a piano in the glow of a single spotlight, he played something plaintive and plush. The first person onstage was the composer Onaje Allan Gumbs, identified in the program as the Keys. McIntyre’s “Time Is Time” (a world premiere), which transformed Baldwin’s written poem “Song (for Skip)” into a danced one. Like flags of mysterious nations, 13 opulent quilts, suspended from the rafters, presided over Ms. Anderson, of Dance Theater X in Philadelphia, and the venerable Dianne McIntyre - brought us “Baldwin Through Dance,” responding to his meditations on race and national identity through tapestries of movement, song and spoken word. While Baldwin’s legacy may be most firmly rooted in books we can hold on to, live performance is an appropriate medium through which to honor someone who urged that “the challenge is in the moment the time is always now.” On Saturday, amid a week of readings, conversations and concerts, two choreographers - Charles O. That Harlem-born writer and activist would have been 90 this August, and Live Arts is one of several New York organizations celebrating “The Year of James Baldwin,” an extended (and timely) reflection on his social and literary achievements. Last year’s theme was “The Worlds of Oliver Sacks.” This year, it’s “James Baldwin, This Time!” (with “This” underlined for emphasis). ![]() The curatorial approach, so far, involves unpacking the work of a cultural figure who bridges many fields of inquiry, the body included. With its annual Live Ideas festival, New York Live Arts, an institution generally devoted to dance, opens its doors to a wider range of programming.
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