Artists have often turned to old stories to make sense of new truths. On today's episode of The Ampersand, Hip Hop choreographer and artistic director Rennie Harris gives insight into that process. Known for works like Lazarus and Rome & Jewels—retellings that play with familiar stories to reveal new understanding—Harris was praised by the New York Times in 2025 as an artist who "has done more than any other choreographer to reveal and develop the metaphorical and narrative expressivity of American street dance."

In this conversation, he traces the personal experiences that catalyzed one of his first commissioned works, Endangered Species, and how they shape a creative process that turned lived trauma into something audiences have called transcendent.

Learn more about Rennie Harris Puremovement.

For more about Harris’ scholarship and teaching, visit his CU Boulder faculty profile.

---

Written and produced by Erika Randall and Tim Grassley.

Original music composed by Nelson Walker.

Recorded at Interplay Recording and Multimedia.

The Ampersand is a production of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder.