Murrysville girl excited to be part of coming-of-age story

The Pittsburgh Youth Chorus and Hill Dance Academy will collaborate to present a coming-of-age story told through choral ballet this month.

“‘Crossings’ is a coming-of-age story — told through dance, vocal music, and spoken word — of a young African-American woman growing up ‘Uptown’ and confronting racism in her community,” said Veronica Morgan-Lee, Hill Dance Academy’s director of development. “It’s a story of empowerment, highlighting the value of inner strength and the importance of cultivating beauty in the way we see ourselves and our community.”

A performance piece written by composer and performer Ysaÿe Barnwell and choreographer, writer and filmmaker David Roussève, “Crossings” originally was commissioned by the Pittsburgh Dance Alloy Theatre in the early 1990s.

The May 15 show will be the first full-scale production of “Crossings” since its original performances in 1992 and will feature vocal and spoken-word soloist Anita Levels.

Evelyn Maiman, 15, of Murrysville is excited to be part of the Pittsburgh Youth Chorus ensemble singing in the show.

“The dance and the music combine to tell the whole story of this girl losing her grandmother, dealing with events in her life and coping out in the world,” said Maiman, a sophomore at Franklin Regional Senior High School. “This is the first time the PYC is doing something in a theater, where it’s kind of its own performance.”

PYC students have been working with Michael Warren, the group’s BIPOC artist-in-residence, learning the music.

“The opportunity to work on ‘Crossings’ has been eye-opening,” Warren said. “The ability to bring together two diverse groups and allow them to merge their cultures and lifestyles is not only rewarding but necessary. I look forward to the spring presentation of ‘Crossings,’ but I’m also so encouraged by this collaboration that transcends beyond the music.”

The performance was made possible through the nonprofit Pittsburgh-based Opportunity Fund.

In addition to the public performance May 15, which will be at the Kelly Strayhorn Theater in East Liberty, the chorus and dance academy — established in 2005 in the Hill District — will partner with Pittsburgh Public Creative and Performing Arts school to do a 10-day residency with CAPA students. The residency will culminate in a special school performance for families featuring all three groups on May 14 in CAPA’s auditorium.

“Crossings” will showcase Hill Dance Academy Theatre dancers featuring choreography by Morgan-Lee and Michia Carmack, and PYC students led by Pittsburgh Youth Chorus Artistic Director Shawn Funk.

Maiman said performing a show that is more akin to an opera than a traditional choral set list has been a welcome challenge.

“It draws on sort of a spiritual tradition,” she said of the show’s music. “It’s really great meeting different people and working with music I’m not used to. There are parts where we’re kind of the background to a monologue, and there are other times where the chorus is sort of standing standing in for the main character’s internal monologue.”

Morgan-Lee said she’s looking forward to the performance.

“It is our hope that this project demonstrates ways to bring about new understandings of our artistic cultures and how the arts can help to forge racial healing in our shared humanity,” she said.

“Crossings” will be performed at 2:30 p.m. May 15 at the Kelly Strayhorn Theater, 5941 Penn Ave. in Pittsburgh’s East Liberty neighborhood. Tickets are free with a suggested donation and can be reserved online at PittsburghYouthChorus.org/crossings.