Artistic Direction and Concept: Davalois Fearon 
Choreography: Davalois Fearon
Choreography Assistant: Careitha Davis
Music: Mike McGinnis
Photos: R.I. Sutherland-Cohen

Dancers: Davalois Fearon
Saxophone, Clarinet and Piano musician: Mike McGinnis 
New York Premiere Date: June 22, 2022 Roulette ​
Running Time: 20 minutes 

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 “KERNEL,” a Brooklyn Arts Council 2022 Awarded project, is a piece that features music composed and performed by Mike McGinnis with dance choreographed and performed by Davalois Fearon. “KERNEL” is inspired by Afro-Jamaican dance forms, such as reggae and dancehall, and is the second solo from The Finding Herstory Solo Series Project. The solo series looks at how cross-cultural movements, mainly stemming from the African diaspora, play a role in the development of contemporary dance and celebrate the forms that helped build American dance, often without acknowledgment or credit. “KERNEL” is choreographed with the assistance of Careitha Davis, founder of BodyRa, which seeks to connect the mind, body, and spirit through the Caribbean movement. 

The creative development of “KERNEL” is sponsored, in part, by the Greater New York Arts Development Fund of the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, administered by Brooklyn Arts Council (BAC). In addition, “KERNEL” is a part of the “The Finding Herstory Project​.​” “Finding Herstory” was commissioned by the Stephen Petronio Company for the 2021 Bloodlines(future) Program. It was made possible, in part, by public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts with support from Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature. “KERNEL” is also supported in part by the Dance/NYC's Dance Advancement Fund, made possible by Howard Gilman Foundation and Ford Foundation, Dance/NYC's Coronavirus Dance Relief Fund, and The Cultural Solidarity Fund.