Hip-hop and African dance languages are the foundation of our technique. The rhythms of these techniques inform the way we energetically confront contemporary dance and theater. Baye & Asa is a company creating movement art projects directed by Amadi “Baye” Washington and Sam “Asa” Pratt. We met when we were 6 years old. The physical aggression in our choreography is a symptom of our political rage and a yearning to personally implicate ourselves. We use our choreography to create political metaphors, interrogate systemic inequities, and contemporize ancient allegories; we build theatrical contexts that celebrate, implicate, and condemn the characters onstage.

We’ve presented our work at The Joyce Theater, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club, Pioneer Works, The 92nd Street Y, Baryshnikov Arts Center, Jacob’s Pillow, Yale University, ODC, b12 festival, University of Maryland, Blacklight Summit, Southampton Arts Center, and Battery Dance Festival. We were selected as one of Dance Magazine’s “25 to Watch” for 2022 and are recipients of Dance Magazine’s 2023 Harkness Promise Award. We’ve created works for rep companies including The Martha Graham Dance Company, BODYTRAFFIC, and Alvin Ailey II. Our film work has won numerous awards and has been presented internationally.