May, 9-12, 2019

BLACK VELVET: Architectures and Archetypes

Shamel Pitts and Mirelle Martins in BLACK VELVET Photo by Alex Apt

A former company member of Batsheva Dance Company and the 2018 recipient of the Princess Grace Award in Choreography Shamel Pitts returns home to Brooklyn with his recent work BLACK VELVET: Architectures and Archetypes. The piece, which played to sold-out houses in NYC and around the world in 2017, is the second installment of the Black Series and a follow-up to his autobiographical solo Black Box. Comprising vignette-like solos and duets immersed in intense music, evocative lighting and complemented by the spoken word, BLACK VELVET is a theatrical meditation on transcending the boundaries of gender, race, love, friendship, and identity.  This multimedia-infused work, choreographed by Pitts, is a product a of two-year collaboration with his performing partner Mirelle Martins and lighting designer Lucca del Carlo. The performance is accompanied by an exhibition of photographs by Mauricio Pisani, Alex Apt, Wilian Aguiar, and Rebecca Stella.

 

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A photo of dancers lifting another up in the air in a studio of a Summer MELT workshop. There is a standing lamp off to one corner as the lifted dancer reaches up in the air. Photo by Rachel Keane.

 

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