BLACK VELVET Open Rehearsal
Shamel Pitts | TRIBE
“A haunting duet.” — Siobhan Burke, The New York Times
BLACK VELVET is an award-winning live performance created by MacArthur “Genius Grant” Fellow Shamel Pitts. It is a dovetailing of texture, beauty, delicacy, and power within “a poetics of being” (Kevin Quashie). A deeply reflective performance, it explores the colorfulness of Blackness—especially in regard to Black women—through a relationship of camaraderie, consolation, and compassion.
Originally premiering on November 11, 2016, in São Paulo, Brazil, BLACK VELVET toured internationally across nine countries between 2017 and 2020. This transformative tour served as the foundational blueprint for TRIBE, the multidisciplinary performing arts collective founded by Pitts in 2019.
For its 10th anniversary, BLACK VELVET remounts: first in residency at PS21, then with a 10th-anniversary performance run in New York City at The Flea Theater on November 19-21 2026. The work will be available for touring in Spring 2027.
Join us for a special open rehearsal, free and open to the community, at the conclusion of TRIBE’s PS21 residency.
Photo Credit: Itai Zwecker
Founding Artistic Director, Concept Direction & Choreographer: Shamel Pitts
Performers: Channce Williams, Ke’ron J. Wilson
Artistic Production Manager: Sarai Frazier
Video Light & Mapping Designer: Lucca Del Carlo
Costume Designer: Errin Shin, David Gap
Audio: Ed Côrtes
Graphic Design: Idan Epshtein
Photographer & Videographer: Itai Zwecker
Artistic Administrator: E Katrina Lewis
Managing Director: Seta Morton
Development Director: Eric Umble
Digital Creative & Development Associate: Pam Panozzo
Press Agent: Kamila Slawinski
Worldwide Bookings: Lotus Arts Management, Sophie Myrtil-McCourty, sophie@lotusartsmgmt.com
BLACK VELVET 10th Anniversary performances are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, Mellon Foundation, Howard Gilman Foundation, SHS Foundation, The Harkness Foundation For Dance, Arison Arts Foundation, Trust for Mutual Understanding, New York Community Trust, TRIBE’s individual donors, and our Board of Directors. To view TRIBE’s complete list of supporters visit itsatribe.org/support.
This project has been supported by a developmental residency from PS21: Center for Contemporary Performance and Performance Space New York.
BLACK VELVET premiere in 2016 in São Paulo was made possible with the commissioning, production, performance, and creative direction support of Mirelle Martins, with the collaboration of Lucca Del Carlo, Mauricio Pisani, Raoni Maddalena, Anna Zêpa, Robson Simon, Carolina Garcia Marques, and the support of São Paulo Dance Company (SPCD), Escola de Dança de São Paulo, Teatro Sergio Cardoso, Liliane de Grammont, Susana Yamaguchi, and Carolina Amares.
International Tour from 2017-2020 Artistic Team includes Naomi Maaravi, Derek Van Heel, Katherina Vasiliadis, and Elizabeth Schmuhl.
