Northrop and the Walker Art Center Present
Shamel Pitts | TRIBE
Touch of RED
Thu, Mar 6-Sat, Mar 8, 8:00 pm
Onstage Seating Only
Touch of RED is a multidisciplinary duet performance inspired by the rapid-fire footwork of boxing, the African American jazz dance style Lindy-Hop, Gaga movement language, and nightlife culture. Set in a stylized “boxing” ring designed by the MacArthur Fellow Mimi Lien, with the audience seated on the stage surrounding it, this powerful dance duet examines the way Black men are perceived and perceive themselves in contemporary society, and how masculinity and vulnerability can be reconsidered and reconciled in a non-combative, compassionate, and healing way.
Bold. Boiled. Blood.
Touch of RED is part of the “RED Series” which continues the research to propose and share the colorfulness within Blackness, creating a body of work that supports, shelters, and cultivates an Afrofuturistic performance art landscape in which the multitude of Black diversity and capacity is realized, allowed, nurtured, and shared.
You might enjoy this performance if you loved:
Shamel Pitts | TRIBE BLACK HOLE: Trilogy And Triathlon, copresentation with the Walker Art Center; A.I.M by Kyle Abraham; Ayodele Casel; Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company: Afterwardsness.
Quotes / Reviews
“Touch of RED held me in its grasp from the second I entered the venue, from the twisting route to my seat, to the stark intimacy immediately on display. It set all my nerves on fire, still burning as I recall the experience.”–See Chicago Dance
“So often I felt like my vulnerability and sensitivity and fragility was a weakness. But I wish to share with people, particularly other Black boys and men, that there is power within vulnerability.”–Shamel Pitts, DANCE Magazine
“Touch of RED is a work where the space–as opposed to time–determines the movement, exploring both the lethality and vulnerability with being close to another person.”–BODIES NEVER LIE
“It’s a dazzling show.”–Fjord Review
“Another person challenging the traditional views on Black masculinity is Shamel Pitts, one of the most acclaimed dancers/choreographers of his generation and a shining example of Black excellence.”–AFROPUNK
"Pitts and Fredericks bring their radical vulnerability to the audience."–Fjord Review
