TRIBE
BLACK HOLE – Trilogy and Triathlon
Thurs & Fri | Aug 1 & 2 | 7:30PM
Schaeffer Theatre
Tickets on sale June 1
Adult: $35
Student/Senior/Educator: $15
A limited number of $5 tickets will be available to anyone while supplies last!
In BLACK HOLE a trio of Black performers shares the stage in a narrative of unity, vigor, and unrelenting advancement. Their journey originates in the darkness of the titular Black Hole, understood not as a cosmic void but a metaphorical place of transformation and potential. Deeply inspired and infused by the spirit of Afrofuturism, this contemporary Gesamtkunstwerk combines dance, original sound, video projection, and light design in a tale of vitality and tenderness, darkness and light, personal growth and collective empowerment. BLACK HOLE is the final installment of choreographer Shamel Pitts’ “BLACK Series” triptych.
“These bodies are bronzed and creaturely. These are dancers of strong presence and control.” – Brian Seibert The New York Times, Critics’ Pick
TRIBE is a Brooklyn, New York based multidisciplinary arts collective founded by Shamel Pitts in December 2019. The arts collective is composed of international and local artists working across mediums such as movement, choreography, lighting design, video mapping projection, poetry, spoken word, painting, cinematography, scenography, dramaturgy, costume styling, and music composition.
Shamel Pitts is a performance artist, choreographer, conceptual artist, dancer, spoken word artist, and teacher. Born in Brooklyn, New York, Shamel began his dance training at LaGuardia High School for Music & Art and the Performing Arts and, simultaneously, at The Ailey School. He is 2003 YoungArts Finalist and a first prize (level 1) winner of the YoungArts competition. Shamel then went on to receive his BFA in Dance from The Juilliard School and was awarded the Martha Hill Award for excellence in dance. He began his dance career in Mikhail Baryshnikov’s Hell’s Kitchen Dance and BJM_Danse Montreal. Shamel danced with Batsheva Dance Company for 7 years, under the artistic direction of Ohad Naharin and is a certified teacher of Gaga movement language. He is an adjunct professor at The Juilliard School, a guest faculty member at Princeton University, New York University, Wesleyan University and has been an artist in residence at Harvard University. He is the recipient of a 2018 Princess Grace Award in Choreography, a 2019 NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellowship Award winner in Choreography, a 2020 Jacob’s Pillow artist in residence, a 2020 Guggenheim Fellowship, and a 2021 New York Dance Award winner (The Bessies). Shamel is the Founding Artistic Director of TRIBE, a Brooklyn-based multidisciplinary arts collective. TRIBE was a 92Y Harkness Dance Center’s Artist In Residence for the 2020-2021 season. Shamel Pitts | TRIBE is also a New York Live Arts Live Feed artist in residence. shamelpitts.com & itsatribe.org
BLACK HOLE – Trilogy and Triathlon
Concept Direction & Choreographer: Shamel Pitts
Performers: Shamel Pitts, Tushrik Fredericks & Ashley Pierre-Louis
Video Mapping & Lighting Designer: Lucca Del Carlo
Musician & Composer: Sivan Jacobovitz
Artistic Production Manager: Rus Snelling
Black Tarp Designer: Naomi Rapaport
Costume Designer: Mirelle Martins
Photographer & Cinematographer: Itai Zwecker
Photographers & Cinematographers: The Adeboye Brothers
Spoken Word Text: Shamel Pitts
Stage Managers: Chanel Bryan-Pinnock & Kaz Russell
Creative Director: Mirelle Martins
Artistic Administrator: E Katrina Lewis
Managing Director: Brittany Wilson
Social Media Manager: Pam Panozzo
Press Agent: Kamila Slawinski
Worldwide Bookings: Lotus Arts Management,
Sophie Myrtil-McCourty, sophie@lotusartsmgmt.com
