David Roussève / REALITY:
Daddy AF
premiering fall 2025
“Roussève’s dance-theater … offers a succinct and lyrical look at how the highs and lows of life collide.”
—The Washington Post
Celebrated dance-theater artist David Roussève creates his first full-length solo performance in more than 20 years. Daddy AF is an intimate meditation on life’s purpose, created and performed by a queer African American acutely aware of the finite time he has left on the planet. Like strands of DNA, it connects elements encoded in his body, including 600 years of genealogy (with strands from France, Portugal Germany, Mali, Senegal, Haiti, and Cuba), a roller coaster journey with HIV, and the shattering loss of a husband of 26 years—while revisiting movement from 35 years of dance-making to explore the meaning of ‘virtuosity’ for a 63-year old body. Daddy AF is the portrait of a man defying death, but somehow unable to unabashedly embrace life.
CREATIVE TEAM
Created and Performed by David Roussève
Early stage dramaturgy by Julie Tolentino
Video design by Meena Murugesan
Sound design by d. Sabela Grimes
Lighting design by Christopher Kuhl
Management and Productorial Support by George Lugg
UPCOMING PRESENTATIONS
Jan 11, 2025: “Coming Attractions” with Edgar Miramontes, Under the Radar, New York
May 3, 2025: In-process performance, MASS MoCA and Jacob’s Pillow, North Adams
Sep 2025: World Premiere at Kelly Strayhorn Theater, Pittsburgh
Oct 2025: Center for the Art of Performance at UCLA, Los Angeles
Nov 2025: Dance Place, Washington DC
PAST PRESENTATIONS
May 23–25, 2024: In-process showing, Danspace Project, New York
COMMISSIONING & SUPPORT
Daddy AF is a National Performance Network Creation & Development Fund Project co-commissioned by Center for the Art of Performance at UCLA, Kelly Strayhorn Theater, National Center for Choreography – Akron, and MASS MoCA with Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, more information at www.npnweb.org. Daddy AF was created with support from Danspace Project, UCLA’s Chancellor’s Research Fund and The Chancellor’s Arts Initiative.
Daddy AF is made possible with generous support from the New England Foundation for the Arts' National Dance Project with lead funding from the Doris Duke Foundation and the Mellon Foundation, and a MAP Fund creation grant.