Niv Acosta facts for kids

Niv Acosta (born in May 1988) is an American dancer, choreographer, and artist. He is known for his creative dance pieces. His project Discotropic was shown at the New Museum in 2015. Acosta's work often explores big ideas about identity and performance.

Early Life and Learning

Niv Acosta was born in Washington Heights, a neighborhood in New York City. His mother was a young Black Dominican woman. He started dancing early.

Dance Training

Acosta studied dance at Washington Irving High School. From 2005 to 2006, he received a scholarship to attend the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance. After high school, he went on to study dance and choreography at the California Institute of the Arts in Los Angeles.

During his summer breaks, Acosta attended the American Dance Festival at Duke University. This is where he began to develop his own unique style as a choreographer.

Discovering Himself

Between 2009 and 2010, Acosta took a break from dance. He used this time to understand more about himself. He realized he is a transgender person. This helped him understand why he had found it difficult to identify as a female dancer before. Acosta started choreographing again in 2010. Soon after, he moved back to New York City.

Creative Career

While at the California Institute of the Arts, Niv Acosta created two dance pieces. These works were inspired by the actor Denzel Washington. After moving back to New York, he started working on a third piece called denzel superstructure.

The Denzel Series

In 2011, Acosta auditioned for Fresh Tracks at New York Live Arts. He began working on another version of his "denzel" series. By the end of 2011, he became a resident artist at New York Live Arts. He showed his first draft of the fifth "denzel" piece, called denzel mini petite b a t h t u b happymeal. This piece later premiered in March 2012.

During the summer of 2012, Acosta started developing the final part of the "denzel" series. This piece was titled i shot denzel. He successfully raised money through a Kickstarter campaign for its world premiere on January 30, 2014. Acosta later said that the attention from this premiere greatly helped his career.

Discotropic and Sci-Fi

For his piece Discotropic, Acosta found inspiration in the 1978 TV film Star Wars Holiday Special. In that film, the network CBS cast Diahann Carroll as a hologram character named Mermeia. This was because people wanted to see a Black person in the film.

Acosta was inspired by this character. In his performance, he lip-synced the words that Carroll's character sang. He explained that through this performance, he explored science fiction films. He focused on the experiences of Black Americans. He also showed how he, as a transgender artist, reworks these ideas in today's world.

Black Power Naps

In 2018, Niv Acosta and Fannie Sosa created niv Acosta and Fannie Sosa: Black Power Naps. This work was for an exhibition in Madrid, Spain. It was shown again in 2019 at Performance Space New York. This project also won a 2019 Creative Capital Award.

The exhibition looked at the "Sleep Gap." This is the idea that people of color often get less sleep than white people. The artists made soft, comfortable spaces for the exhibition. People of color were invited to relax and rest in these spaces. This piece was one of the first works reviewed by Performa Reports. It also influenced Solange's 2019 album When I get Home.

Awards and Grants

Besides the 2019 Creative Capital Award, Acosta also received a grant in 2017. This grant came from The Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation.

Main Ideas in His Work

Niv Acosta's art often explores important ideas. He uses his work to share his perspective on identity and society.

The Denzel Series Ideas

The "denzel" series was inspired by actor Denzel Washington. Acosta was interested in Washington as a Black male actor in popular media. He saw him as a strong and inspiring figure. Acosta's "denzel" pieces helped him explore his own complex male identity.

He explained that Denzel Washington represents a certain type of Black masculinity in media. Acosta wanted to show how that masculinity is seen by others.

"Impossible Bodies"

Acosta has used the term "impossible bodies" to describe some of his work. He feels these words describe what is true for him and the people he likes to work with. They have often felt "impossible" outside of their safe spaces.

He has included his mother, younger brother, partner, and friends in his past projects. He also works with other artists of color. Acosta believes the idea of "impossible bodies" is something everyone can understand. He asks: if "possible bodies" are shown as ideal, how do we feel possible without changing who we are? He uses ideas from films, musicals, and dance to explore these questions. This helps him find ways to feel strong and empowered.

Major Works

• Discotropic, shown at the New Museum Triennial, 2015
• The denzel series, which includes:
  • denzel
  • denzel prelude
  • denzel superstructure, performed at the Community Education Center in Philadelphia, 2010
  • denzel again, shown at New York Live Arts, 2011
  • denzel minipetite b a t h t u b happymeal, performed at the Upstart Festival at Brooklyn Arts Exchange, 2012
  • i shot denzel, premiered at New York Live Arts, 2014