“Virtuosic and unrelenting” —LA Dance Chronicle
Movement artist Shamel Pitts and his Brooklyn-based arts collective TRIBE return to the Twin Cities this March with the intimate and expressive Touch of RED. Copresented by Northrop, the performance is the second in the organizations’ three-year engagement with the artist following BLACK HOLE – Trilogy And Triathlon presented in the spring of 2024.
In Touch of RED, the award-winning choreographer delivers a multidisciplinary duet inspired by the rapid footwork of boxing, nightclub rituals, and Gaga movement techniques. Audience members join the performers on stage seated in a stylized ring designed by MacArthur Fellow Mimi Lien for an intimate view. The presentation continues Pitts’ examination of Black masculinity and vulnerability in a gladiatorial exchange that ultimately yields compassion and reconciliation.
Copresented with Northrop on the Carlson Family Stage.
Shamel Pitts | TRIBE: Touch of RED
Thursday–Saturday, March 6–8, 8 pm
Onstage Seating Only
Northrop, 84 Church St SE, Minneapolis
ABOUT SHAMEL PITTS
Shamel Pitts, a 2024 MacArthur Fellow and 2024 Doris Duke Artist Award recipient, is a performance artist, choreographer, conceptual artist, dancer, spoken word artist, director, and teacher. Born in Brooklyn, NY, Pitts began his dance training at LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts and, simultaneously, at the Ailey School. He is a first prize winner in the National Arts Competition from YoungArts. Pitts 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. Pitts danced with Batsheva Dance Company for seven years under the artistic direction of Ohad Naharin and is a certified teacher of Gaga movement language. Pitts has created a triptych of award-winning multidisciplinary performances, with his arts collective TRIBE, known as his “BLACK series,” which has toured extensively to many festivals and performance spaces around the world since 2016. 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 Princess Grace Award in Choreography, a NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellow, a Jacob’s Pillow artist-in-residence, and a 2020 Guggenheim Fellow.
ABOUT TRIBE
TRIBE (TRI314 Multidisciplinary Visual Performances, d.b.a. TRIBE) is a Brooklyn, New York-based multidisciplinary arts collective founded by MacArthur Genius Grant Fellow 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.
TICKETS
Tickets to Shamel Pitts | TRIBE Touch of RED are available online or by phone at 612.624.2345, Monday–Friday from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm.
ACCESSIBILITY
Because seating for Touch of RED is all onstage, we encourage people with mobility issues or accessibility needs to call or email ahead with questions about accessibility needs or to request additional accommodations. Call the Northrop Box Office at 612.624.2345 or email umntix@umn.edu.
EVENT INFORMATION
Onstage Seating Only, ticket required
Theater Doors Open: 7:45 pm
Performance Begins: 8:00 pm
Attendees are encouraged to arrive early to view the short film TORO – Touch Of RED Overture in the lobby, which will play on loop beginning at 7:00 pm. Due to the onstage seating, ticket holders should arrive by 7:30 pm to be sure to be seated. Late seating will be unlikely and decided by the company.
Detailed Event Information: Find Your Event Info link on your order confirmation or check your email within 48 hours from event date for detailed information from Northrop, U of M.
If you need assistance with your tickets, please call 612.624.2345, email umntix@umn.edu
ABOUT NORTHROP
Situated at the heart of the University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus and a state historic landmark, Northrop has served as the University’s primary gathering place for the performing arts, world-renowned dance performances, concerts, academic ceremonies, and major civic events for nearly 100 years. From touring international and favorite local dance companies, musicians, and film screenings to the hottest comedy acts, renowned speakers, celebrated authors, and prestigious UMN lectures, Northrop offers opportunities for all ages to explore, learn, and engage.
ABOUT THE WALKER ART CENTER
The Walker Art Center is a renowned multidisciplinary arts institution that presents, collects, and supports the creation of groundbreaking work across the visual and performing arts, moving image, and design. Guided by the belief that art has the power to bring joy and solace and the ability to unite people through dialogue and shared experiences, the Walker engages communities through a dynamic array of exhibitions, performances, events, and initiatives. Its multiacre campus includes 65,000 sq. ft. of exhibition space, the state-of-the-art McGuire Theater and Walker Cinema, and ample green space that connects with the adjoining Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. The Garden, a partnership with the Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board, is one of the first urban sculpture parks of its kind in the United States and home to the beloved Twin Cities landmark Spoonbridge and Cherry by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen. Recognized for its ambitious program and growing collection of more than 15,500 works, the Walker embraces emerging art forms and amplifies the work of artists from the Twin Cities and from across the country and the globe. Its broad spectrum of offerings makes it a lively and welcoming hub for artistic expression, creative innovation, and community connection.
Acknowledgments
In honor of Dale Schatzlein (1948–2006) and his important work in dance and jazz in the Twin Cities, support is provided by Emily Maltz.
The Walker Art Center’s Performing Arts programs are made possible by generous support from the Doris Duke Foundation through the Doris Duke Performing Arts Fund, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
In honor of Dale Schatzlein (1948–2006) and his important work in dance and jazz in the Twin Cities, support is provided by Emily Maltz.
Producers Council
Performing Arts programs and commissions at the Walker are generously supported by members of the Producers’ Council; Christina Evans and Weston Hoard; Nor Hall and Roger Hale; Judith Brin Ingber and Jerome Ingber; Neal Jahren; King’s Fountain/Barbara Watson Pillsbury; Sarah Lutman and Rob Rudolph; Emily Maltz; Leni and David Moore, Jr./The David and Leni Moore Family Foundation; Therese Sexe and David Hage; and Mike and Elizabeth Sweeney.
Media partner
Northrop Acknowledgments
Northrop 2024-25 Season activities are made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota State Arts Board Operating Support grant, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.
The presentation of Shamel Pitts | TRIBE was made possible by the New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Dance Project, with lead funding from the Doris Duke Foundation and the Mellon Foundation.
Artists and programs are subject to change.
The University of Minnesota is an equal opportunity educator and employer.