There’s never a moment that doesn’t feel special entering Jazz at Lincoln Center, but it’s even moreso in a moment to celebrate a choreographer you love. In my time as a dance photographer, I had the pleasure of photographing Kyle Abraham’s work, always grateful to observe the way he blends a multitude of cultural linguistics into his work–from dance, from music, from art–to form a language all his own. Tonight is the gala for Abraham’s dance company, newly renamed Kyle Abraham Dance Vanguard, a company often at the forefront of contemporary dance now. 

Set with a sip of Prosecco-induced liquid courage, I make my way through the high top tables at cocktail hour, meeting everyone from pianists to writers to dance pioneers and composers (shoutout to the great Princess Lockeroo and Shelley Washington; thank you for chatting with me!). I spot the legendary Bebe Neuwirth, who’s on the board, in a wave of elegant silver hair, glittering red and black patent leather Mary Janes on her feet. I spot Mickalene Thomas, also on the board, in her signature statement glasses. Abraham, endlessly innovative, attracts the same kinds of people to his audiences–and they dress accordingly. The choreographer Roderick George wears a red and white textured, checked suit. Others wear feathers, bright colors, sequins, in a veritable fashion show of patronage.

The night’s honorees are the distinguished civil rights lawyer Sherrilyn Ifill, Founding Director of the 14th Amendment Center for Law and Democracy at Howard University School of Law, and Vice President of Employee Engagement at Google Melonie D. Parker, whose missions of proud civic and workplace engagement are deeply embedded in the culture of the dance company. 

The evening proceeds–in the same atrium recently featured in The Devil Wears Prada 2–with performances of some of Abraham’s signature and newer works, like The Bystander and White Space. Dancers’ limbs trace lines of Abraham’s construction, smooth and curving, ever his self-described “postmodern gumbo” of dance styles, set to music across genres. Nights like this make my job a gift. 

We adjourn from the atrium to the ballroom for dinner, helmed by the great chef Kwame Onwuachi, a James Beard and Time 100 honoree, of the restaurant Tatiana–which I regularly see people lining up for a half hour before it opens in hopes of snagging a free table (while I know it’s not the main focus of the evening, the shortrib, so tender and tangy, is exquisite. Not that I’m surprised). My table is filled with fascinating people, among them the filmmaker Christian Padron, who partnered with the company to make their new dance film, and the artist Devin B. Johnson, whose paintings became sets for Abraham performances. 

The real news of the night, though, is that company name change. Previously A.I.M., or Abraham in Motion, the title Kyle Abraham Dance Vanguard arrives as the company seeks to make even deeper and more viable roots for itself in the arts world. “With our new identity of Kyle Abraham Dance Vanguard, we are grounded in a name that embodies our commitment to building and sustaining community in the most forward-thinking and unified way,” Abraham said in a press release. “To us, Vanguard comes down to a simple truth that the future of art is something we have a responsibility to build together. Creating the conditions for artists to build sustainable careers and work without compromise requires imagination, collaboration and a shared vision. We believe in the community we have built, and who have held me for so many years. It feels right to mark this unified fire with a new chapter.” The company seeks to not just eventually hold a permanent physical space, but to make dance a financially supportive atmosphere for artists–dancers with Kyle Abraham Dance Vanguard will have a “a 52-week employment structure including salary and benefits for dancers, as well as financial and business education for artists through its Dancer Development Program,” and “recognition and royalties in perpetuity to its dancers for their contributions to the creation of new work.” 

The use of the word “vanguard” comes up regularly throughout the evening, an acknowledgement in part of the late, great R&B performer D’Angelo and his band the Vanguard, to whose music Abraham set his lauded work “An Untitled Love.” Quite literally it means “the forefront of an action or movement,” and with steps toward sustainability in dance and a constant artistic forward-thinking, Kyle Abraham Dance Vanguard lives up to both its name and the values it has always set forth.