Shamel Pitts, Touch of RED & the Knockout Power of Vulnerability

New York native Shamel Pitts cannot be boxed in by one creative role, as he is an award-winning choreographer, dancer, conceptual artist, performance artist, spoken word artist, and teacher. Pitts founded the multidisciplinary arts collective TRIBE in 2019, largely inspired by the Afrofuturism movement and its tenets of reclamation, reinterpretation, and reimagining of Black history and culture, entirely separate from the “white gaze.” Through his profound TRIBE pieces, Pitt has won a slew of accolades, including a 2020 Guggenheim Fellowship. In 2024 alone, he was recognized as a MacArthur Fellow, The Center for Ballet and the Arts at New York University Fellow, a Doris Duke Artist Award winner, and a Knight Choreography Prize winner.

Touch of RED is a duet performed by two men of color, Pitts and Tushrik Fredericks—a South African-born, New York-based dancer, teacher, and choreographer. Touch of RED uses the stereotypically masculine, attack-and-defend sport of boxing as a vehicle to explore the perception of Black men, by both themselves and contemporary society. Pitts wondered what would happen if a match between two men in a ring was not met with competition nor violence, but instead with “curiosity and an electricity towards each other,” allowing them to safely soften and “find the power within that softness” (YoungArts - YouTube). Pitts flips the narrative of vulnerability, encouraging Black masculinity to be reconsidered and reconciled in a non-combative, compassionate, and healing way. “Forged in the sweaty heat of physical closeness, in the instantaneous reaction of souls laid bare in a fraught arena illuminated by scarlet light, Touch of RED may be Shamel’s most personal work” (Miami Light Project).

Award-winning set designer Mimi Lien created the set of Touch of RED: a contemporary, confined boxing ring that references a “futuristic and voyeuristic gladiator entertainment site” with onstage, in-the-round style seating. Lien created this abstract boxing ring with two fabric squares horizontally split by open space, allowing the audience to pryingly peer inside the arena fraught with sweat, blood, and physical contact (Miami Light Project). The first set designer to ever win a MacArthur Fellowship, Lien has designed sets for a variety of disciplines including theatre, dance, opera, and installation projects. She was nominated for a Tony award in best scenic design for a musical for Sweeney Todd (2023) and won a Tony award in the same category for Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 (2017).

Originally put off by boxing due to its violence, Pitts noticed a moment post-match when two boxers exhaustedly embraced each other. This moment inspired Pitts’ reflection on the intimacy, electricity, and intrigue of the sport. In the boxer's movements, especially in the fast, intricate footwork of Muhammad Ali, he made a connection to the Lindy Hop, swing dancing, and nightlife culture. He wove those influences together to create the choreography for Touch of RED. Listen to Pitts discuss these inspirations and how this research informs his work in this Performance Preview with Kristen Brogdon, Northrop director of artistic and community programs. In conjunction with the presentation of Touch of RED, Pitts is offering an In~Practice Movement Workshop for all dance levels, through Northrop in collaboration with the Walker Art Center and TU Dance Center, on Mar 3 at 9:30–10:45 am.

Pitts’ “RED” series consists of Touch of RED, Solace of RED, and Lake of RED—all of which continue TRIBE’s goal to share the colorfulness within Blackness, allowing and nurturing multiplicity in Black identity. Solace of RED is a performance art residency incubator highlighting TRIBE artists’ singular works, and Lake of RED is a short film featuring Gaga movements, spoken word, and lighting techniques within a fragmented space. In partnership with the Walker Art Center, Northrop committed to Pitts for a three-year cycle of work, beginning last season with BLACK HOLE - Trilogy And Triathlon from the award-winning “BLACK” triptych, Touch of RED this season, and culminating next season with a newly commissioned work, supported by Northrop Centennial Commissions—a collaborative program that assists and amplifies the new works of artists for years to come.