Untold RVA presents
Brother General Gabriel
Co-conceived, guided by and co-directed with historical strategist, Free Bangura (founder and executive director of Untold RVA), Untold RVA presents Brother General Gabriel (2019), is a Commemorative Justice and site based dance work that transforms the previously unmarked gallows at Shockoe Bottom’s African Ancestral Burial Ground by calling forth the re-emergence of young General Gabriel’s invisible army from the year 1800.
This community-honoring project amplifies the deliberately submerged legacy of Richmond’s audacious warriors for Black Freedom, as the narrative continues to inspire new generations towards self determination, intersectionality and resistance. It premiered on October 10, several hundred years to the day of General Gabriel's death. Over 400+ audience members came to witness, each experiencing the sound score on individual Bluetooth headsets.
Brother General Gabriel was produced by Untold RVA, in collaboration with Virginia Commonwealth University Department of Dance + Choreography and the University of Richmond Department of Theatre and Dance. It was commissioned by the University of Richmond as a part of the Tucker Boatwright Festival of Literature and Arts.