Shamel Pitts | TRIBE Presents an Afrofuturist Meditation on Black Embodiment in Marks of RED
“Virtuosic and unrelenting.” —LA Dance Chronicle
Dancer/choreographer Shamel Pitts | TRIBE’s Marks of RED makes its world premiere as the final installment of a three-year partnership between the Walker, Northrop, and Pitts, following Touch of RED in 2025 and BLACK HOLE – Trilogy And Triathlon in 2024.
Marks of RED is a visceral journey of rupture and rebirth, exploring the multiplicities within Blackness. Anchored in the distinctive Gaga movement style in which Pitts was trained, an all-femme cast of dancers gather to create a cocoon-like space for profound transformation. This work of magical realism—narrated by and featuring the viewpoints of six women—draws inspiration from sumo wrestling, butoh dance, and techno music, molding ritual, movement, and sound into an Afrofuturist meditation on Black embodiment.
The fourth chapter in the RED Series by Pitts, Marks of RED includes scenic designs by Mimi Lien, projection lights by Lucca Del Carlo, and production by TRIBE arts collective.
Shamel Pitts | TRIBE: Marks of RED
March 20–21, 7:30 pm
McGuire Theater
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
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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 16,000 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.
Marks of RED was developed at a Summer Stages Dance @ ICA/Boston residency in 2024. Marks of RED was commissioned by Northrop at the University of Minnesota and the Walker Art Center 2026. Marks of RED creation is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
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. Walker commissioning support provided by Lois and John Rogers.