Please note: A prop gun and gunshot sounds are used in the evening performances. The children's matinee on Saturday will have gunshot sounds. All performances will contain haze.

This Gospel House masterpiece addresses morality, spiritually, and the community that Rennie Harris grew up in. Raised a Catholic, Rennie often attended his neighbors’ Baptist church which inspired his love for gospel music. This work is set to the brilliant and overwhelming sounds of a live choir whose soulful singing moves the audience to tears. Joshua, the lead character of LIFTED, loses his parents in a car accident and moves in with his uncle and aunt. Quickly he finds himself in a precarious position when he decides to run away and join a gang. Forced to make hard decisions by facing down his demons, he eventually returns to his family and the church.

Direction, Choreography, & Written By
Lorenzo Rennie Harris

Lighting Design
Bob Steineck

Musical Composers
Raphael Xavier    Darrin Ross

Sound Design, Musical Direction, & Production 
Darrin Ross 

Projections & Visual Design
David Dowling

Rennie Harris Puremovement (RHPM), founded by Rennie Harris in 1992, preserves and disseminates Hip-hop dance and culture (including national indigenous Street Dance styles/movement) globally, performing for the Queen of England, the Princess of Monaco, and as U.S. Hip-hop ambassadors (President Reagan American Embassy Tour '86, President Obama Dance Motion USA 2012). 

Harris introduced Street Dance to concert stages, coined the term “Street Dance Theater," and pioneered the dance style globally as a powerful teacher/spokesperson for the significance of “street” origins in any dance style. Recognized as a leading ambassador for Hip-hop dance art (U.S. Department of Education), Harris’ work encompasses African American traditions of the past, while presenting new generational voices through its ever-evolving interpretations of dance. 

Harris’ RHPM has and continues to bring people together in community, across diverse identities and dance backgrounds, to engage, share, inform, create, and witness universal stories through Street Dance.

The 2022 ADF Season is made possible through the generous support of the SHS Foundation, Duke University, The North Carolina Arts Council, The Shubert Foundation, and City of Durham.

The presentation of RENNIE HARRIS LIFTED: A Gospel House Musical is made possible in part by a grant from the Association of Performing Arts Professionals, made possible through support from The Mellon Foundation. Additional support provided by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Rennie Harris PUREMOVEMENT American Street Dance Theater’s community engagement activities are made possible by an anonymous donor.

Additional funding provided by the Nathan M. Clark Foundation.