Raja Feather Kelly

Raja Feather Kelly is an American dancer and choreographer based in Brooklyn who is notable for his "radical downtown surrealist" productions which combine "pop and queer culture".[8][9] He has choreographed numerous theatrical productions, including Fairview and A Strange Loop.[8] He is the artistic director of his dance company called The Feath3r Theory,[1] and he serves as the artistic director of the New Brooklyn Theatre.[4] Reviewer Sara Aridi in The New York Times wrote that "one leaves a performance of Raja's infected by his curiosity, love of craft and just plain outrageousness."[1] His choreography was described in Vogue magazine as combining social dance with the black vernacular.[10] 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."[11] A prime influence of Kelly in his approach to dance was the American visual and pop artist Andy Warhol.[6][11] Kelly has raised money for dance production by hosting telethons out of his apartment.[12]

Raja Feather Kelly
Born1986/1987 (age 32–33)[1]
NationalityUnited States
EducationConnecticut College
Known forChoreography
AwardsNew York Live Arts (2019)[1]
SDCF Commission Award (2019)[2][3]
Randjelovic-Stryker Award (2019)[4]
Harkness Promise Award (2018)[5]
Carthorse Fellowship (2018)[6]
Solange MacArthur Award (2016)[6]
Dancemapolitan Award (2016)[6]
NYFA Choreography Fellow (2016)[6]
Dixon Place Dance Artist (2015)[6]
Dance Web Scholar (2009)[6]
National Dance Project Production Grant, 2019[7]
Websitethefeath3rtheory.com

Kelly grew up in Fort Hood, Texas and later in Long Branch, New Jersey,[8] where he graduated from Long Branch High School and was selected to participate in the theater program of the Governor's School of the Arts.[13] He attended Connecticut College where he studied English and poetry and dance, graduating in 2009.[8][14]

References
  1. Sara Aridi (December 18, 2018). "Raja Feather Kelly Named New York Live Arts Resident Commissioned Artist". The New York Times. Retrieved June 29, 2019. ...The dancer and choreographer Raja Feather Kelly has been named the 2019-20 Randjelovic/Stryker Resident Commissioned Artist...
  2. Olivia Clement (December 5, 2018). "SDCF Commissions 5 Choreographers to Create Original Works Honoring Agnes de Mille: Raja Feather Kelly, Kitty McNamee, Al Blackstone, Jenn Rose, and Katie Spelman will debut their pieces at the Mr. Abbott Award Gala". Playbill. Retrieved June 29, 2019. ...Raja Feather Kelly (Fireflies at Atlantic Theater Company), ... are the recipients of commissions from the Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation (SDCF) honoring famed choreographer Agnes de Mille.....
  3. American Theater Editors (October 12, 2018). "SDCF Awards Go to Loretta Greco, Anne Kauffman, Raja Feather Kelly, Susan Stroman". American Theater. Retrieved June 29, 2019. ...The 2018 Breakout Award winner is choreographer Raja Feather Kelly.... The Breakout Award, now in its third year, is given by the SDCF ... signals a shift in a career and the beginning of critical recognition—a “rising star” moment in the Off-Broadway arena....
  4. Staff writer (January 8, 2019). "Raja Feather Kelly '09 receives prestigious dance residency". Connecticut College. Retrieved June 29, 2019. ...Award-winning dancer and choreographer Raja Feather Kelly ’09 has been chosen as the 2019-2020 Randjelovic/ Stryker Resident Commissioned Artist by the New York Live Arts organization.... The two-year-long program provides $390,000 ... . Kelly, who serves as the artistic director of the New Brooklyn Theater ...
  5. BWW News Desk (September 4, 2018). "Misty Copeland to Open 2018 Dance Magazine Awards". Broadway World. Retrieved June 29, 2019. ...A new award, The Harkness Promise Award, will shine a light on two emerging young artists ... The inaugural awardees are Raja Feather Kelly and Ephrat "Bounce" Asherie. ....
  6. Staff writers (April 25, 2019). "Raja Feather Kelly". Dance magazine. Retrieved June 29, 2019. ...Raja Feather Kelly's Choreography includes ...
  7. "NEFA Grant Recipients". New England Foundation for the Arts. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
  8. Gia Kourlas (June 11, 2019). "This Choreographer Can Make Your Play Move: Raja Feather Kelly, who has left his mark on several Off Broadway shows, specializes in what he calls "virtuosic behavior."". The New York Times. Retrieved June 29, 2019. ...How did Raja Feather Kelly — known for his imaginative dance-theater excavations of pop and queer culture — end up as a go-to choreographer for Off Broadway shows?...
  9. The New Yorker, June 2019, Marina Harss, Dance:Raja Feather Kelly, Retrieved July 3, 2019, "... a surrealist with a penchant for pop-culture references and transformative costuming (and glitter)..."
  10. Liz Appel (June 5, 2019). "Theater Is Coded as a White Space—Jackie Sibblies Drury Is Changing That". Vogue magazine. Retrieved June 29, 2019. ... Raja [Feather Kelly, the choreographer] really changed the structure of the play when he came on board. A lot of his own work deals with ... how social dance and black vernacular go hand in hand.....
  11. Brian Schaefer (May 26, 2016). "Raja Feather Kelly, Bowing at the Altar of Saint Warhol". The New York Times. Retrieved June 29, 2019. ...If the choreographer Raja Feather Kelly prays, it must be to Andy Warhol ... Mr. Kelly’s take will have a lighter touch, a flirty wink and a queer sensibility that dispenses with spiritual heaviness and treats pop culture as a kind of religion itself....
  12. Abigail Rasminsky (June 4, 2018). "The Newest Old-School Fundraising Scheme: A Telethon Livestream". Dance Magazine. Retrieved June 29, 2019. ... How does a choreographer pressed for time raise a whole lot of money quickly—really quickly? If you're Raja Feather Kelly, founder and artistic director of the feath3r theory, you do a 24-hour telethon ... Last year's inaugural fundraiser took place at Kelly's apartment....
  13. Burke, Siobhan. "On the Rise: Raja Feather Kelly", Dance Magazine, May 31, 2016. Accessed June 30, 2019. "Training: Jazz, tap, modern, musical theater and competition dance at Long Branch High School, NJ; theater at the Governor's School of the Arts, NJ"
  14. Staff writer (June 11, 2019). "Raja Feather Kelly '09 featured in The New York Times". Connecticut College. Retrieved June 29, 2019. ...Award-winning dancer and choreographer Raja Feather Kelly ’09, known for his imaginative dance-theater excavations of pop and queer culture...
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