Hillsborough Community College’s Visual and Performing Arts (VAPA) Series presents Raphael Xavier’s Skiff on October 4 and 5 at 7:30 p.m. in the Mainstage Theatre on the Ybor City Campus.
Skiff is a new, evening-length work by Raphael Xavier with featured guests Micah Spader, Husain Abdul-Zahir and Tatiana Desardouin. Raphael Xavier, a 53-year-old Breaker and choreographer, contextualizes his journey through the lens of Ernest Hemingway’s “The Old Man and the Sea” and Winslow Homer’s iconic painting “The Gulf Stream.” Created with original text and spoken word that is interwoven with Hemingway, Xavier draws parallels between the fisherman’s search and his own journey to build a dance career utilizing the art form of Breaking.
General admission tickets are $23. Admission is free for HCC students, faculty and staff with valid ID. The box office opens one hour before the performance. Advance tickets can be purchased and more information can be found at hccfl.edu/dance.
The Mainstage Theatre is located in the Performing Arts Building on the Ybor City Campus at 1411 E 11th Ave., Tampa, FL, 33605.
For more information on workshops in connection to Raphael Xavier’s residency, contact Christina Acosta at 813.253.7623 or cacosta@hccfl.edu.
For press review tickets, photo passes or interview requests, please contact Angela Walters Eveillard at aeveillard@hccfl.edu. High-quality images are available upon request.
About Raphael Xavier (Choreographer, Breaker)
Originally from Wilmington, Delaware, Raphael Xavier (pronounced ZAH-vee-ay) has been a Breaking practitioner since 1983. As he has forged an exceptional approach to improvisation, Brenda Dixon Gottschild deemed Xavier, ‘A fine rhythm technician who transforms a bravado dance style into an introspective meditation.’ Extensive research in the Breaking form has led to the creation of Ground-Core, a Somatic dance technique that gives the practitioner a better understanding of the body within all dance forms. His solo and ensemble choreographic dance works have been performed worldwide. XAVIER’S: The Musicians & The Mover is currently being developed as part of New York Live Arts’ Live Feed Artist Residency. Past works have been performed at REDCAT Los Angeles, Kennedy Center in Washington DC, ART (American Repertory Theatre in Boston), the Dance Center at Columbia College Chicago and Painted Bride in Philadelphia, PA among others. He currently lives in Philadelphia and is a Professor of dance at Princeton University. www.raphaelxavier.org
Hillsborough Community College serves more than 45,000 students annually at its five campuses located throughout Tampa Bay. For more information, visit hccfl.edu.
Hillsborough Community College is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on
Colleges (SACSCOC) to award associate and baccalaureate degrees. Hillsborough Community College also may offer credentials such as certificates and diplomas at approved degree levels. Questions about the accreditation of Hillsborough Community College may be directed in writing to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, GA 30033-4097, by calling (404) 679-4500, or by using information available on SACSCOC’s website (www.sacscoc.org).
Visit hccfl.edu/accreditation for more information.