Alvin Ailey choreographer Jesse Obremski believes there is beauty in what most people spend their lives trying to hide. For his new work Beneath the River, created for Johannesburg-based WGRUV Dance Company, he draws on the Japanese philosophy of wabi-sabi – the acceptance of imperfection, transience, and human vulnerability.
For Jesse, a faculty member at The Ailey School and performer with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, his first visit to South Africa was less about discovering differences than finding common ground. Working with WGRUV Dance Company, he found a shared artistic language that allowed him to focus quickly on the ideas behind Beneath the River.
Created for WGRUV’s upcoming production, Highlights: Tracing the Line, the piece draws on the Japanese aesthetic philosophy of wabi-sabi, embracing imperfection rather than striving for flawlessness. Through the work, Jesse explores empathy, vulnerability, and the beauty found in life’s irregularities.
“Not everything needs to be perfect,” he says. “There can be an acceptance of my own faults or someone else’s faults and the support and empathy that we have for that.”
The theme is a personal one. Through his own company, Obremski/Works, the Japanese-American choreographer has often explored questions of identity, representation, and human connection. For Beneath the River, those ideas find expression through movement, music, and costume, inviting audiences to reconsider what beauty looks like when perfection is removed from the equation.
Jesse’s creative process begins with music. A trained singer before he turned his focus to dance, he selected a score that reflects the work’s central ideas. The compositions build through layers of repetition and response, creating moments of harmony and friction that reinforce the themes running through Beneath the River.
His artistic philosophy also reflects lessons absorbed through the Alvin Ailey legacy. Rather than presenting a single version of humanity, he is interested in showing its full range – joy, struggle, empathy, and resilience.
“I like to show the breadth of humanity,” he says. “To show the struggle, to show the joy, to show empathy.”
Founded by Holly Gruver, WGRUV is establishing itself within the South African contemporary ballet scene and performing across the country. Based in Johannesburg, it regularly collaborates with local and international choreographers while developing a distinctive artistic identity of its own. Highlights brings together works by internationally respected creators, including Jessica Lang, Michael Trusnovec, and WGRUV’s own Holly and Lex Gruver.
Jesse believes that commitment to artistic exchange is helping shape the company’s future. Having worked with dance organisations around the world, he sees significant potential in a South African company willing to invest in both its dancers and global collaboration.
“I think they are really setting themselves up for fantastic growth,” he says.
For audiences, however, the takeaway may be simpler. Beyond the choreography and technique, Beneath the River is an invitation to look at ourselves – flaws, contradictions, and all – with a little more empathy.
WGRUV’s Highlights: Tracing the Line continues its season at the UJ Arts Centre from 20–23 August and at the Homecoming Centre in Cape Town from 27–29 August. Bookings are available through Webtickets.
