Wilmington native returns to the city to perform August 8.
The Museum will present dancer Raphael Xavier’s work The Musician & The Mover on the final day of the City of Wilmington’s 34th Annual Clifford Brown Jazz Festival. The performance is an exploration of freestyle and improvisation in two forms: break dancing and Jazz music. The performance will follow a full day of dance featuring local performers. This festival is free and open to the public.
Xavier, a Wilmington native, has gone on to achieve national success for his artistic achievements: a 2013 Pew Fellowship, a 2014 MacDowell Fellowship, a 2016 Guggenheim Fellowship, and a 2018/19 Caroline Hearst choreographic residency. Formerly a member of Rennie Harris Puremovement, he now lectures on dance at Princeton’s Lewis Center. Not only a consummate choreographer, Xavier is a talented artist of spoken word.
XAVIER’s: The Musician & The Mover continues a 2021 DelArt series featuring Black performance artists. In November, DelArt will present Desire: A Sankofa Dream by MBDance. This past July, the Museum premiered a commissioned work of choreography by Dara Meredith, who is also scheduled to perform before Xavier at Clifford Jazz Festival.
In addition to his performance on August 8, Xavier will lead a variety of community engagement activities prior to the Sunday Dance Festival:
July 20, 4:30 pm – 6 pm, Spoken Word Workshop with Richard Raw @ Wilmington Public Library
July 28, 7 pm – 8:30 pm, Open Mic Event @ Delaware Art Museum
July 29, 7 pm, Dance Workshop @ Christina Cultural Arts Center
Aug 6, 10 pm – 1 am, Jam Session @ TBD location
Sponsors: This event is made possible through a partnership between the Delaware Art Museum, Cityfest, Inc and the City of Wilmington. These organizations are supported, in part, by a grant from the Delaware Division of the Arts, a state agency, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts. The Division promotes Delaware arts events on www.DelawareScene.com. The presentation of Raphael Xavier was made possible by the New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Dance Project, with lead funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
Press Contact: Amelia Wiggins, Assistant Director of Learning & Engagement, awiggins@delart.org or 302-351-8503.
About the Delaware Art Museum
For over 100 years, the Museum has served as a primary arts and cultural institution in Delaware. It is alive with experiences, discoveries, and activities to connect people with art and with each other. Originally created in 1912 to honor the renowned illustrator and Wilmington-native, Howard Pyle, the Museum’s collection has grown to over 12,000 works of art in our building and sculpture garden. Also recognized for British Pre-Raphaelite art, the Museum is home to the most comprehensive Pre-Raphaelite collection on display outside of the United Kingdom, and a growing collection of significant contemporary art.
Under the leadership of our Board of Trustees, the Delaware Art Museum is implementing a comprehensive approach to community and civic engagement. This exciting new strategic direction requires that we increase our value and relevance to all audiences. Visit delart.org for the latest exhibitions, programs, and performances or connect with us via social media.