Kyle Abraham Named New New York Live Arts Resident Commissioned Artist

Kyle Abraham, a 35-year-old dancer and choreographer who fuses contemporary dance and the street, has been named the 2012-2014 New York Live Arts Resident Commissioned Artist, the organization announced Wednesday.

The program is intended to serve mid-career artists with nearly $280,000 in direct support: a salary for two years, a two-year residency, and a commission of a new work or works that will premiere at New York Live Arts. Mr. Abraham will work with his company, Kyle Abraham/Abraham.In.Motion, as well as other composers and visual artists to create new works that will premiere in Sept. 2014. Mr. Abraham has worked with Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company and Dance Theater Workshop, the two organizations that merged in 2011 to form New York Live Arts.

“Kyle is among a group of artists who are expanding the notion of what embodied investigation can be in the choreographic field,'' Bill Jones, the executive artistic director of New York Live Arts said in a statement. “With his residency, we hope that he will have the support he needs to continue to develop his choreographic voice.”

The residency program, which is by invitation-only, was created in 2011 to address the lack of support for mid-career artists. Artists are selected by Mr. Jones and Carla Peterson, the Artistic Director of Live Arts.