costume design
L’ag’ya – Pas de deux, 1943-44
Costume Design by Gin Ko
Theoretical Performance and Design inspired by Katherine Dunham
2023 Northwestern MFA Class Project
Katherine Dunham’s first full-length ballet.
It was inspired by an experience she had while doing research in the Caribbean, where she witnessed and filmed the ag’ya, which was a fighting dance of Martinique that included drum accompaniment. This is the Pas de Deux from it.
The dance conveys love, revenge, and the competition among men for the pursuit of an attractive woman, whom Dunham played herself. In the dance, Dunham combined ballet, modern dance, traditional folk, and social dance forms from Cuba and Brazil.
Gin Ko 