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Dante Micheaux

@amorousshepherd

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Awarding-winning Poet • AMOROUS SHEPHERD (2010); CIRCUS (2018).
Founder & Principal @themicheauxgroup

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After hearing word of another dear teacher’s passing, I spent this morning (and most of the day) searching through my inbox for Breyten Breytenbach’s name, reading our messages, smiling at all the paintings and poems, the invitations to readings, the dispatches from his travels.

I look at his self-portraits with older eyes now. And I hear again—and anew—his hopes for us sent from the very edges of 2006, his happiness when seeing photos from our graduation.

May we all go well—and may we all “continue believing that justice is attainable”

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#latergram from the 🌸 2024 Dodge Poetry Festival 🌸 to celebrate Decade of the Brain, Here to Stay, and so many old and new friends. DPF will forever be where I got to meet, for the first time in person, @undocupoets Fellow, Beatriz Yanes Martinez, Here to Stay contributor, Hermelinda Hernandez Monjaras! I got to see Aracelis and Nicole and George and Kazim and Dante and Ching-In again! And, after who knows how many many months (years?) of Zooms and phone calls and texts—my co-organizer and co-editor, Esther! Every time my friend John and I see each other we point out how long we’ve been in each other’s lives—2025 makes 20 years since we first met as new MFA students at NYU! How lucky I am that poetry brought/brings so many people into my life. Thank you to my fellow panelists (Kazim Ali, Diana Goetsch, Esther Lin, Beatriz Yanes Martinez, Raina Leon, and Kai Coggin), and all of the participants and NJ high school students who chatted us up about poetry after our events. And maraming salamat to mastermind Ysabel Y. González for a transformative and memorable weekend. Poets, I love us.

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Final Sky in a Small Cage show at @barbicancentre with @dilfhorn, @amorousshepherd, @mahoganyopera & @riotensemble !

I so deeply enjoyed and appreciated being part of this fantastic team — see prev post for full tags! — and can’t quite believe it’s over (at least for now 👀)

Big thanks to lovely London friends who made it 💕

📸 @mark.allan.photos

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back in Toronto after spending 5 weeks between London and Copenhagen for this whirlwind of a show, “Sky In a Small Cage” with @mahoganyopera 🐦‍⬛🕊️📖🌙 with just 10 days of production work spread out just over a month, this production has flown by! I feel lucky to be a small part of this team that has created a new telling of the story of Rumi through incredibly innovative music, intricate story telling, virtuosic singing and musicianship, and beautiful visuals. It has also been so exciting to do this show as my first time working internationally overseas 🙏🏾 I wouldn’t have been able to be a part of this show without the support of my family in London, friends old and new, and all involved in this production. Perfect way to end this summer :) ❤️

“Sky In a Small Cage,” premiered at Copenhagen Opera Festival, London debut at the Barbican Centre, produced by Mahogany Opera.

Composed by Rolf Hind
Libretto by Dante Micheaux and Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī
Directed by Freddie Wake-Walker
Conducted by Aaron Holloway-Nahum
Movement by Rosabel Huguet
Design by Sasha Balmazi-Owen

Principals
James Hall
Yannis François
Loré Lixenberg
Elaine Mitchener

Ensemble
Siddhii Devii Lagrutta
Karima El Demerdasch
Anika Venkatesh
Rylan Gleave
Ty Bouque
Harald Hieronymus Hein

Orchestra Musicians
Riot Ensemble (London)
Athelas Sinfonietta (Copenhagen)

Production Manager Mette Skriver
Stage Manager Caroline Moores
Assistant Stage Manager Ida Pontoppidan
Set built by Louis Hudson
Costumes by Olivia Kellett and Kiera Saunders

Produced by Bridget Rennie

📸 Photos by Mark Allan (Barbican debut)

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Some wonderful production shots from the world premiere of #SkyInASmallCage at @cphoperafestival last month, courtesy of the talented @ida_guldbaek

Like what you see? Make sure you book for the UK premiere at @barbicancentre this Sunday 8th September! Booking link in bio.

Composer: @dilfhorn
Librettist: @amorousshepherd
Director: @freddiewakewalker
Conductor: @aaronhollowaynahum
Designer: @sashieowen
Movement: @rosabelhuguet

Principals: @jdahall, @yannisfrancois, @lorelixenberg, @elainemitchener1

Ensemble singers: @lagruttasiddhiidevii, @karimaeldemerdasch, @anikavenkatesh, @rylangleave, Ty Bouque, @harald_hieronymus_hein

Onstage musicians: @riotensemble

#opera #newopera #SkyInASmallCage #SIASC #Premiere #ukpremiere #barbican #london #Rumi #sufi #sufism

📸 @ida_guldbaek

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Massive and electric whirlwind of a @dilfhorn & @amorousshepherd opera, Sky in a Small Cage premiered this week with @mahoganyopera at @rdam_dkdm, @cphoperafestival! 🥂

Love love LOVED performing with the:
inimitable Jamie Hall & phenomenal @yannisfrancois 🍬
our Queens and Mothers @elainemitchener1 & @lorelixenberg 🦤
fab ensemble inc Siddhi, @karimaeldemerdasch, @anikavenkatesh, Ty, & @harald_hieronymus_hein 🐣
and @athelas_cph plus Gamelan extraordinairres @stevtomato & @tobias.hertlein 🤗
under the watchful eyes of @aaronhollowaynahum, @freddiewakewalker & @rosabelhuguet 👀🙏
all decked out splendidly by @sashieowen 👢

Big thanks to lovely friends @daddydelight_, @slvgrsth, @t.holmbeck, @thewaterandthewell, @matthewgrouse & @mathildeschelin for coming plus my lovely mum and her well-dressed entourage 💕

See it in London, @barbicancentre on Sept 8th 🎟️

#SIASC #opera #newmusic #Rumi

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I am happy to be part of my second world premiere creation of an opera this season. This time it is “Sky in a small cage” composed by Rolf Hind @dilfhorn and directed by Frederic Wake-Walke @freddiewakewalker . Beautiful adventure which retraces part of the life of the Persian mystic poet Rûmî (1207-1273) and in particular his life path with Shams-ed-Dīn Tabrīzī.
Libretto Dante Micheaux @amorousshepherd & Rumi.
Premiere tonight at the Copenaghen Opera Festival @cphoperafestival with @athelas_cph. We will do it again on September 8 at the Barbican Centre in London @barbicancentre with @riotensemble still conducted by @aaronhollowaynahum and with the same team of astonishing singers!!
#skyinasmallcage

Je suis heureux de participer à ma deuxième creation mondiale d'un opera cette saison. Cette fois il s'agit de "Sky in a small cage" composé par Rolf Hind et mis-en-scène par Frédéric Wake-Walker. Belle aventure qui retrace une partie de la vie du poète mystique perse Rûmî (1207-1273) et en particulier son chemin de vie avec Shams-ed-Dīn Tabrīzī.
Livret de Dante Micheaux & Rumi.
Première ce soir au Copenaghen Opera Festival avec Athelas Sinfonietta.
Nous le redonnons le 8 septembre au Barbican à Londres avec le Riot Ensemble toujours sous la direction d'Aaron Holloway-Nahum et la même équipe d'incroyables chanteurs!!
#skyinasmallcage

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It’s been an IMMENSE journey to be a part of bringing @dilfhorn’s #skyinasmallcage to the brink of its premiere at @cphoperafestival tonight with @mahoganyopera. As ever, these journeys are stories about people, bound together by devotion to a strange a special music (which this piece is filled with everywhere). It’s been a joy to work alongside so many stunning artists for the first time here (see the outlandish number of tags 🫣🫠 @lorelixenberg tagged here b/c I can’t tag her in pics and can’t bear to leave her out!!!)

So then, premiere tonight with the spectacular @athelas_cph, and return to London for round two with @riotensemble at @barbicancentre 8th Sept #onenightonly ❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥

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Spændende samtaler under årets operafestival🫧
Kom et spadestik dybere i temaerne bag årets nye operaværker eller kom med til kunstnersamtale med nogle af solisterne på årets operafestival. Nedenfor er en oversigt:

❤️Rødt hjerte eller rødt flag?
Kunsten og populærkulturen bugner af romantiserede fortællinger om vold i nære relationer. Filmekspert Maria Månson taler med journalist og anmelder, Bodil Skovgaard Nielsen, og instruktøren bag ‘The Undoing of Carmen’, Anna Sofie Keller, om normaliseringen af vold i reality-tv såvel som klassisk opera.

Samtalen er mandag den 19. august efter operaen, der spiller klokken 17.00 på Edison, Betty Nansen Teatret. Den er gratis, men operaen, der spiller forud, kræver billet.
Læs mere og køb billet via 🔗 i bio

Samtalen præsenteres i samarbejde med @levudenvold_dk

🌪Klimaorganisationerne anmelder ‘The Girl With the Hurricane Brain’
Tag del i en samtale om klimakrisen og bliv klogere på dine nærmestes tanker og følelser, når repræsentanter for de danske klimaorganisationer, Den Grønne Ungdomsbevægelse, Extinction Rebellion og Klimabevægelsen, kaster et kritisk blik på operaen ‘The Girl with the Hurricane Brain’.

Samtalen er onsdag den 21. august klokken 19.00 på Sort/Hvid. Den er gratis, men operaen efterfølgende kræver billet. Læs mere og køb billet via 🔗 i bio.

🌚Sufidigteren Rumi og kulturelle krydsninger i nye værker
Dyk ned i de mange lag i operaen ‘Sky in a Small Cage’. Kunstnerisk direktør Amy Lane taler med komponist Rolf Hind og forfatter Dante Micheaux om at genskrive historien om en af verdenslitteraturens helt store navne, den persiske digter Rumi. Hvordan kan kunsten skabe nye lag af forståelse og betydning?

Samtalen er fredag den 23. august klokken 19.00 på Musikhuset København. Den er gratis, men kræver tilmelding. Læs mere via 🔗 i bio.

🎡Kunstnersamtaler i Tivoli
Kom tættere på aftenen solister, når sopran Angel Blue og Amy Lane samt baryton Andrè Schuen og pianist Daniel Heide deltager i samtaler med vært Adam Simonsen i Kilden ved Glassalen umiddelbart efter deres respektive koncerter. Samtalerne er gratis, men kræver entré til @tivolicph
Læs mere Via 🔗 i bio.

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“Rumis værker rækker ud i mange forskellige retninger. Han var oprindeligt fra Afghanistan, men er en helgen, og et berømt navn hele vejen fra Marokko til Bangladesh, samt en populær digter i Vesten. Det er en stor ramme for indflydelse og lyd, og jeg forsøgte at blande dem på en meningsfuld måde.”

Sådan fortæller komponist bag Sky in a Small Cage, Rolf Hind, til iscene.dk, der satte ham og digter og librettist Dante Micheaux i stævne om den nye opera, der har urpremiere på søndag. Hind fortsætter:

“Jeg tror, mange moderne vestlige mennesker er ret sammensatte. Vi har en masse krydsbefrugtning af traditioner og kulturer. Det er noget, jeg finder meget vigtigt og bevægende”.

Den spektakulære, nyskrevet opera handler om den persiske poet og sufistiske mystiker Rumi, der levede i det 13. århundrede, men som den dag i dag er en af de mest læste digtere i Amerika.

I værket har komponist Rold Hind trukket på Rumis store spændevidde og ladet musikken i operaen hente inspiration fra forskellige traditioner. Nogle gange i instrumenteringen, andre gange i rytmiske eller melodiske islæt. Alt væves sammen med moderne, vestlig teknik, der gør det klart, hvorfor Financial Times har kaldt Rolf Hind “en genrekrydsende virtuos”.

Nedenfor ses billeder fra den første musikalske prøve med Athelas Sinfonietta, som skal fremføre musikken med et hold af internationale operasangere og vokalister. Prøverne finder sted i AFUK , men i weekenden rykker de ind i Konservatoriets Koncertsal, hvor urpremiere finder sted søndag den 25. august klokken 20.00.

Køb billet via 🔗 i bio.
Læs hele interviewet i @iscene.dk.

Sky in a Small Cage er bestilt, skabt og produceret af @mahoganyopera samt co-produceret og præsenteret af Copenhagen Opera Festival.

📸 Victoria Mørck Madsen

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Super excited to announce I've been offered a spot at this year's Fine Arts Work Center Summer Retreat!
I'll be attending THE LYRIC SELF, taught by none other than Dante Micheaux.
This entire month has been workshops, retreats, and panels. I couldn't be happier. Great way to end this month and begin July!
(Northeast seafood should be a great bonus)

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We had a great day at @stpancrasclocktower.london yesterday working on #SkyInASmallCage, singing through the music with our principals @elainemitchener1 @jdahall & @lorelixenberg, as well as testing out some costumes with our fabulous designer #sashabalmaziowen

Sky In A Small Cage premieres in @cphoperafestival in August, with a UK premiere at @barbicancentre in September. Full details on our website - see link in our bio!

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