“We didn’t aspire to be a group,” reveals Steven Sapp, founding member of the Bronx-based Universes theater ensemble, after a recent Harlem performance. But 10 years ago, bored by the disjointed flow of open mic nights, Sapp and his fellow Nuyorican Poets Café regulars teamed up, fused their poetic visions with dance, drama and music and formed the group. This weekend the quartet—which is currently comprised of Sapp, Mildred Ruiz, her brother Ninja and Gamal Abdel Chasten—celebrates its 10th anniversary with a look back at an inventive decade and a sneak peak at its works-in-progress. Universes kicks off its anniversary Thursday by paying tribute to poets Dael Orlandersmith, Reg. E. Gaines and Willie Perdomo with live remixes to their classic poems. On Friday the ensemble turns to Blue Sweat, directed and developed by Singapore-American Chay Yew. The show tells a magical tale set in New Orleans about a young trumpeter who mixes Flamenco with Miles Davis. But Saturday should certainly prove to be the highlight of the weekend as Universes reprises its well-traveled signature piece, Slanguage. Ruiz’s church-bred voice, Ninja’s hip-hop sensibilities, Sapp’s impassioned storytelling and Chasten’s gruff vocals and furious stepping meld in the recounting of an eventful cross-borough subway ride. Modern, powerful, insightful and funny, Universes thwarts the contrivances of most performance poetry and pushes the form forward. “We feel like we’re the next link in the chain,” Sapp explains after rattling off a slew of influential poets from Sekou Sundiata to Ntozake Shange, “and it’s our responsibility as artists to keep that going.”
Nov. 16-19. Abrons Arts Center, 466 Grand St. (at Pitt St.), 212-598-0400; Thurs.-Sat. 7:30; Sun. 2, $20 (Thurs. Gala performance $50).
