Celebrated American dance-theater icon David Roussève has created his first full-length solo performance in more than 20 years. “Becoming Daddy AF“ will have its West Coast premiere at UCLA's Nimoy Theater from October 17-18 2025. “Becoming Daddy AF“ is an intimate theatrical meditation on life’s purpose and the very meaning of love. Written created and performed by Roussève the piece draws upon Roussève's seminal dance theater works created for his company REALITY embedding their emotional and formal innovations into a new narrative that bridges past and present. Through the lens of his acclaimed legacy Roussève revisits recurring themes of identity race queerness and resilience—reimagined and reframed in the face of the urgency of today’s sociopolitical climate. Tickets are priced at $38.08 - $48.67. For more information and tickets visit: https://cap.ucla.edu/event/david-roussevereality
ABOUT
Returning to Roussève's early grounding in theater “Becoming Daddy AF“ is centered around a full-length time-jumping text while pushing him forward in kinetic exploration with an all-new movement vocabulary—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 the Dominican Republic 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 64-year-old body.
Having just made its World premiere at the Kelly Strayhorn Theater in Pittsburgh last month “Becoming Daddy AF“ is the portrait of a man defying death but somehow unable to unabashedly embrace life. This powerful production gathers a visionary team of interdisciplinary artists to support the singular voice of Roussève—whose deeply personal and politically resonant works of dance-theater have redefined contemporary performance for over three decades.
The production is enriched by Charlotte Brathwaite’s incisive dramaturgy and early-stage input from Julie Tolentino. Meena Murugesan’s vividly collaged video design d. Sabela grimes’ textured soundscape Christopher Kuhl’s sculptural lighting and Leah Piehl’s costuming extend the emotional terrain of the piece. The result is a layered multi-sensory experience that both honors and reimagines Roussève’s groundbreaking body of work.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
“Becoming 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. For more information please visit https://www.npnweb.org
“Becoming 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.
Photo credit: “Becoming Daddy AF (in-progress)” by David Roussève/REALITY presented at Danspace Project as part of “Platform 2024: A Delicate Ritual” curated by Kyle Abraham 2024. Pictured: David Roussève. Photo: Rachel Keane.
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