Bed-Stuy Choreographer Profiled In The New York Times

BEDFORD-STUYVESENT, BROOKLYN — A local choreographer bringing dance to the streets of Bed-Stuy earned citywide recognition this week with a tip of the hat from the New York Times.

The Gray Lady published Tuesday a profile piece on Jordan Demetrius Lloyd, whose upcoming performance at a Bed-Stuy School yard was inspired by, and made for, Bedford-Stuyvesant.

“I can feel all these different parts of myself forming and crystallizing in this work,” Lloyd told the Times. “And I’m putting it in the middle of the concrete schoolyard where literally anyone can see it"

The profile covers Lloyd's prolific career as a dancer — which according to his bio includes work with New York Live Arts, BRIC, and The Center for Performance Research — as well as an invitation to an upcoming performance.

"Jerome" will be performed at Stephen Decatur Middle School 35 at 272 MacDonough St. at 7 p.m. on June 2 and 3, according to the Lloyd's website.

Lloyd, 28, lives on Halsey Street and Lewis Avenue and, during the pandemic, often found himself seeking outdoor spaces in Bed-Stuy because his parents didn't want him to ride the subway, the Times reports.

“Everything I need is right here within my local neighborhood," Lloyd remembered thinking. "I wanted to add dance productions to that list.”

"Jerome" is inspired by the people he met, and the neighbors he hopes will fill Stephen Decatur's school yard this Thursday and Friday.

"It’s my dream that we flood the park with Black folks that have been in Bed-Stuy for years,” Lloyd told the Times.

"I’ve told a lot of my neighbors that I’m a dancer...but they haven’t necessarily seen what I do."

Read the full New York Times profile here.