BAM: NEXT WAVE 2026

BROOKLYN ACADEMY OF MUSIC, NY

october 29, 7:30 PM

A book-length poem about a basketball legend, performed live with uncompromising contemporary music and groundbreaking video art? That’s a slam dunk for a series curated by poet Hanif Abdurraqib, the MacArthur Fellow who titled one major book There's Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension. This evening length concert of Ross Gay’s Be Holdingdraws on the poem’s love song to legendary basketball player Julius Erving—known as “Dr. J”—who dominated courts in the 70s and 80s as a small forward for the Philadelphia 76ers. Both poem and performance connect Dr. J’s famously impossible baseline scoop shot against the Los Angeles Lakers during the 1980 NBA Finals to Black flight and joy.

Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Tyshawn Sorey provides the score, performed by celebrated new music quartet Yarn/Wire. The performance is directed by Brooke O’Harra, with text recited by Gay and fellow poet David Gaines, and video designed by Catching on Thieves and Matt Deinhart.