May 4th / 12:30pm
Palau de la Generalitat
May 11th / 1:30pm and 8pm
Plaza del Ayuntamiento
Art, in its depth and regard, is a violent act. One has to dig deep towards the bottom of one’s self in order to share things unseen at the bottom of our humanity. And with this bravery, comes a force of violence; A violence that we, as artists, should not shy away from But rather be brave in exposing its light.
Dance is a violence of articulation through movement, content, and community. With my choreography, I will engage the participants of performers towards a forceful gathering of sorts, with the main content being our connectivity; How connected we are through movement, rhythms, body contact, and compassion. There will be a tribal groove, and a force of togetherness that will link itself powerfully throughout its environment. For the observer, the only way to pass through this small dance is to join it. Shamel is a recipient of a 2018 Princess Grace Award in Choreography. Born in Brooklyn New York, he began his dance training at LaGuardia HighSchool for Music & Art and the Performing Arts and, simultaneously, at The Ailey School. He then went on to dance with Batsheva Dance Company for 7 years, under the artistic direction of Ohad Naharin.
Shamel received his BFA in Dance from The Juilliard School and was awarded the Martha Hill Award for excellence in dance. Shamel has created a triptych of multidisciplinary performance art works entitled: BLACK BOX: Little Black Book Of RED (featured in The New York Times), BLACK VELVET: Architectures And Archetypes (which received the Audience Choice Award At Stockholm Fringe Festival) and BLACK HOLE: Trilogy And Triathlon which has received the CROSS Award Residency IV Edition in Italy. Shamel is an adjunct faculty member at The Juilliard School and has been an artist in residence at Harvard University.
For more information, visit www.shamelpitts.com
