University of Illinois, Krannert Center for Performing Arts

Virago-Man Dem is an evening-length, dance-theater work that troubles Virago’s reference to characteristically male behaviors as well as female cultural transgressions. A nuanced study in masculinities and their multiplicities within cultures of Caribbean and African American communities, Virago-Man Dem captures various masculinities through movement, spoken language, and visual design. The work explores the performance of black masculinities choreographed by a woman. Based in the lives of the performers – Duane Cyrus, Jonathan Gonzalez, Ni’Ja Whitson, and Niall Noel Jones – the work extrapolates from those experiences to broader cultural trajectories.