Raja Feather Kelly is an American dancer and
choreographer
Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...
based in
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
who is notable for his "radical downtown surrealist" productions which combine "pop and queer culture".
He has choreographed numerous theatrical productions, including ''
Fairview'' and ''
A Strange Loop
''A Strange Loop'' is a musical with book, music, and lyrics by Michael R. Jackson, and winner of the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. First produced off-Broadway in 2019, then staged in Washington, D.C. in 2021, ''A Strange Loop'' premiered on Bro ...
''.
He is the artistic director of his dance company called ''The Feath3r Theory'',
and he serves as the artistic director of the
New Brooklyn Theatre.
Early life
Kelly grew up in
Fort Hood, Texas
Fort Hood is a United States Army post located near Killeen, Texas. Named after Confederate General John Bell Hood, it is located halfway between Austin and Waco, about from each, within the U.S. state of Texas. The post is the headquarter ...
and later in
Long Branch, New Jersey
Long Branch is a beachside City (New Jersey), city in Monmouth County, New Jersey, Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States census, 2010 U.S. census, the city's population was 30,719,[< ...]
,
where he graduated from
Long Branch High School
Long Branch High School is a comprehensive, four-year community public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grades in the city of Long Branch, in Monmouth County, New Jersey, operating as part of the Long Branch Public Sch ...
and was selected to participate in the theater program of the
Governor's School of the Arts. He attended
Connecticut College
Connecticut College (Conn College or Conn) is a private liberal arts college in New London, Connecticut. It is a residential, four-year undergraduate institution with nearly all of its approximately 1,815 students living on campus. The college w ...
where he studied English and poetry and dance, graduating in 2009.
Career
Reviewer Sara Aridi in ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' wrote that "one leaves a performance of Raja's infected by his curiosity, love of craft and just plain outrageousness."
His choreography was described in ''
Vogue magazine
''Vogue'' is an American monthly fashion and lifestyle magazine that covers many topics, including haute couture fashion, beauty, culture, living, and runway. Based at One World Trade Center in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan, ''Vogue ...
'' as combining social dance with the black vernacular.
Critic Brian Schaefer in ''The New York Times'' wrote that Kelly's choreography has a "lighter touch, a flirty wink and a queer sensibility" that "treats pop culture as a kind of religion itself."
A prime influence of Kelly in his approach to dance was the American visual and pop artist
Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore the relationsh ...
.
Kelly has raised money for dance production by hosting
telethon
A telethon (a portmanteau of "television" and "marathon") is a televised fundraising event that lasts many hours or even days, the purpose of which is to raise money for a charitable, political or other purportedly worthy cause.
Most telethons f ...
s out of his apartment.
In 2020, Kelly directed and choreographed by an
Off-Broadway
An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...
production of ''
We're Gonna Die'' by
Young Jean Lee
Young Jean Lee is an American playwright, director, and filmmaker. She was the Artistic Director of Young Jean Lee's Theater Company, a not-for-profit theater company dedicated to producing her work. She has written and directed ten shows for Yo ...
. It opened in
Second Stage Theater
Second Stage Theater is a theater company founded in 1979 by Robyn Goodman and Carole Rothman and located in Manhattan, New York City. It produces both new plays and revivals of contemporary American plays by new playwrights and established wri ...
's
Tony Kiser Theater on February 4 and was scheduled to run through March 22.
References
Further reading
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External links
Profile in Dance magazine
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, Raja Feather
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
African-American choreographers
American choreographers
Entertainers from New Jersey
Long Branch High School alumni
People from Fort Cavazos
People from Long Branch, New Jersey
People from Brooklyn
Contemporary dance choreographers
Connecticut College alumni
American gay artists
21st-century African-American people