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Cameo
Gibney
New York, NY
April 2023

A duet about preserving and losing memories that features a multimedia installation, a live soundscape, and a complex improvised score.

Structured as an elaborate memory card game, this work challenges performers to engage in an essential Black cultural practice – sharing the stories that make us who we are, even when we have forgotten pieces along the way.

The movement practice at the root of Cameo is called “forgotten body.” This practice is an attempt to abandon what performers want to know in favor of what they can’t. It asks performers to forget how to dance, to be constantly relearning their body, to risk moving sensibly for moving sensitively. In Cameo, the performers must lose themselves in the task, in their bodies, but maintain a commitment to wanting to know each other more.

Created by Ogemdi Ude
In collaboration with performers Runako Campbell, Selah V. Hampton, and Dava Huesca
Rehearsal Collaboration from Symara Johnson
Music by Embaci
Projection and Scenic Design by Ogemdi Ude in collaboration with consultants Jon DeGaetano and Matthew Deinhart
Lighting Design by Beaudau (Bo-day) Karel Banks
Administrative and Production Support from Gabby Carmichael
Costumes by Symara Johnson
Audio Description by Alejdanra Ospina and Michelle Mantione
ASL Interpretation by Sign Nexxus
Photos by Elyse Mertz
Footage by Gibney DMI

Funding & Support
Cameo was commissioned and premiered at Gibney. It was made possible in part with support from the Harkness Foundation, Smack Mellon Artist in Residence Program, the Movement Research Artist in Residence program, and the St. Anthony Educational Foundation.