THE BLACK BLACK BLACK WEEK
BEYOND THE BLACK BOX

SEPTEMBER 17

Breath work Led by Karine Plantadit

BBB: Family Reunion
Performers: Cemiyon Barber, Dominica Greene, and Chanel Stone

-INTERMISSION-

Ishmael Houston-Jones

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Batucada
Choreography: Victoria L Awkward
Performers: Victoria L Awkward and Kashia Kancey
Costume design & fabrication: Victoria L Awkward
Sound: Batucada and Y’Y by Amaro Freitas

Batucada is a duet featuring Victoria L Awkward with Kashia Kancey. The dancers replace each other’s steps absolutely in sync. Their repetitive movements highlight a sense of urgency until it spills into an echo of breath and softer vulnerable folding of limbs. They are conjuring a call of presence, a cry to themselves and the audiences to stay alert, attentive, and reject complacency. The duet is set to Amaro Freitas' Batucada and Y’Y and is an excerpt to a longer work-in-progress choreographed by Victoria entitled, "Enchant This Room."

-INTERMISSION-

BLACK LAZARUS

KYLE KIDD
Smith Taylor
Matthew Jamal

Thank you to Beyond the Black Box for having us back to celebrate another year. Thank you to the Trisk Family for your support and artist care. Matthew Jamal we thank you for joining us on this ride.

SEPTEMBER 18

Breath work Led by Karine Plantadit

BBB: Family Reunion
Performers: Cemiyon Barber, Dominica Greene, and Chanel Stone.

-INTERMISSION-

The Show Must Go On

Choreographed, written, and sound design by JOYBOY
Performed by JOYBOY
Music: “The Entertainer” composed and performed by Scott Joplin; “On Broadway” composed by Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil, Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller, performed by The Drifters; “L.E.S. Artistes” composed by Santigold and John Hill, performed by Santigold
Sound Design by JOYBOY
Costume Styling and Makeup by JOYBOY

Follow JoyBoy, your favorite disgruntled theater fool mascot as they perform a special dance for you… until…

Inspired by the New York City and Brooklyn dance community, “The Show Must Go On” affirms the action of trying to make art to keep up momentum in the fast paced entertainment industry while experiencing burnout and feelings of disillusion.

Special thanks to the Beyond the Black Box team, Triskelion Arts, Jessica Smith, and Scott Joplin for his timeless song.

drifters. / my friend.

Choreographer and Director: Kar'mel Antonyo Wade Small
Performers: Charrie Burke, Arnel Wilson
Music: aja monet & Annahstasia; Frank Ocean

This duet explores the difference between love as perception and love as practice. "driters. / my friend." reflects on the meditative acceptance of distance within an inseparable connection through the act of closure. The truth of love appears in the moments receptive to its practice, rather than projection. The work creates space for two people — strangers, friends, family, or former lovers — to embody this dialogue, leaving their relationship open to interpretation. Yearning is born from the expectation that love must be repeated, but acceptance arrives when you are fulfilled with what has already been given. Lastly, this is a journal entry for me to find the answers I have had questions for when it comes down to my care and devotion. It's natural, it is vulnerable, it is human.

Thank you Cemiyon, Chanel, and the whole BBB team for allowing me to share the love!

-INTERMISSION-

BLACK LAZARUS

KYLE KIDD
Smith Taylor
Matthew Jamal

SEPTEMBER 19

Breath work Led by Karine Plantadit

BBB: Family Reunion
Performers: Cemiyon Barber, Dominica Greene, and Chanel Stone.

Portrait
Choreographed and Performed by Taylor Stanley

In their debut solo choreographic work titled PORTRAIT, Taylor navigates the restless discourse of the mind through instinctual, autonomic movement. Vulnerability threads the piece, exposing the psychological repercussions of isolation, the precariousness of self-perception, and the courageous pursuit of inner peace. A selection of solo piano works by Igor Stravinsky, idiosyncratic in nature, reflects a certain resonance with organized chaos and the eerie vastness of solitude. Personal and reverent, PORTRAIT culminates in the actualization of scattered inner thought, embodied as emotional depth and the articulation of Taylor’s unique imaginative voice.

-INTERMISSION-

On Jeff Hill

Created by Christian A. Warner
Performed by Taylor Collier and Christian Warner
Sound: Christian A. Warner, Jefferson Family Descendants

A special thank you to Taylor Collier, my grandmother, and my family.

Spirit: we're on the way

Choreography: Jasmine Hearn
Performance: Jasmine Hearn
Video: Myssi Robinson and Hayden Huber
Video Editing: Myssi Robinson and Jasmine Hearn
Sound: Jasmine Hearn
Styling: Jasmine Hearn

Since 2014, I have been developing a creative process that is centered in practices of listening and responding. For the past ten years, I have had the chance to travel around the country to listen to oral narratives shared by family, friends, mentors, and teachers to archive their memories and stories as interdisciplinary performance practices.

I give gratitude to Spirit, my mothers and aunties, and all the mothering people who have supported my moving, remembering body with their stories, rest, work, and inspiration.
Thank you to the BBB constellation for inviting me to be a part of their collective memory and impact.
Thank you to Triskelion Arts for facilitating the space and place for stories to unfold.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

BEYOND THE BLACK BOX

Beyond the Black Box (BBB) is an arts and cultural organization focused on amplifying the voices of Black artists and promoting education through immersive experiences. Our mission is to support and uplift the Black dance community by creating spaces where artists can grow and succeed. With a commitment to inclusivity, fairness, and visibility in the dance world, BBB produces live performances, leads community engagement initiatives, and provides mentorship and educational programs. Through these efforts, we highlight the significant contributions of Black artists to the broader cultural landscape.

Kar'mel Antonyo Wade Small is an interdisciplinary artist from the South Bronx. In June, he was named a 2025 recipient of the Bronx Recognizes Its Own (BRIO) Award for Choreography, supported by the Bronx Council of the Arts. In 2022, Kar'mel was recognized by the Jonah Boaker Arts Foundation to become an Artist-in-Residence of Chez Bushwick, where he performed part of his artist journal, project:MEMORABILIA. Kar'mel has appeared on HBO's Random Acts of Flyness, TelfarTV, UNIVISION's Despierta America, and KAYE's music video "Neon God". He has performed nationally and internationally with A.I.M by Kyle Abraham and Battery Dance Company and has performed works by notable choreographers such as Kevin Wynn, Merce Cunningham, Martha Graham, Damani Pompey, Sidra Bell, Kayla Farrish, Roderick George, Keerati Jinakunwiphat, and many more. Along with being versed in dance-sport ballroom since the age of 9, Kar'mel studied at Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School and graduated from SUNY Purchase with a BFA in Composition and Performance. As an interdisciplinary artist, he has developed his artistic journal through music, photography, video, writing, and choreography. His choreographic contributions extend to director Dean Irby’s rendition of Tarell Alvin McCraney’s “The Brothers Size” and in SUNY Purchase Dance Company’s 2024 Spring Concert, LEGACY, through Charrie Burke performing a solo titled ‘la manta de reina’, which made its revival at the 44th Annual Battery Dance Festival in August 2025. Kar'mel's writing and verbal performance made its mark in 'A Beast'-- a duet choreographed by Kayla Farrish-- for both her Baryshnikov Arts Center residency and for MoMA in June of 2025. Kar’mel’s musical composition can be heard in Damani Pompey’s work ‘Empty Hand’— a piece performed by Battery Dance Company. As a teacher, Kar'mel taught and assisted in various institutions such as Gibney, Princeton University, USC, and overseas to school children and teachers.

Victoria Lynn Awkward is a dancer, choreographer, writer and Director of VLA DANCE. She pursued her multiple interests at Goucher College. Through VLA DANCE she researches how to lead with joy and pleasure in and outside of art practices. She most recently choreographed for Huntington Theater, Company One Theater, Boston Lyric Opera, and Commonwealth Shakespeare. Notably she is a Brother Thomas Fellow and a recipient of The Theater Offensive Queer (Re)public Residency.

JoyBoy is an interdisciplinary performing artist, writer, and educator based in Brooklyn, NY who blends physical theater and clowning to create humorously surreal, fantastical, and immersive performances to explore themes surrounding identity, power dynamics, and our emotional lives.

Black Lazarus, formed in 2023, is pioneering a genre we call Field Folk, an alchemic fusion of ancestral influences and deeply rooted cultural sounds. Drawing from a vast range of styles; gospel from growing up in the church, the soul of the blues, the improvisational spirit of jazz, the energy of punk, the rhythm of rap, and the heart of folk; our music exists at the intersection of spiritual power and modern pop culture.

We create soundscapes that feel both timeless and contemporary, offering a unique and immersive experience for our listeners. At its core, our music is a powerful, spiritual experience meant to connect people to themselves and their communities through deep-seated cultural heritage and a universal language of sound.

Jasmine Hearn, born and raised on occupied Akokisa lands (Houston, TX), is an interdisciplinary artist, teacher, doula, performer, and organizer. Jasmine, recently named one of Dance Magazine’s “25 to Watch” (2025), is a recipient of a Foundation for Contemporary Arts Grants to Artists Award (2023), a Cynthia Hazen Polsky and Leon Polsky Rome Prize in Design with Athena Kokoronis of DPA(2023), a Jerome Foundation Jerome Hill Artist Fellowship (2019), and two NY Dance and Performance Bessie Awards for Outstanding Performer (2021, 2017* with the cast of skeleton architecture).

Jasmine has collaborated with Dream the Combine, Bill T. Jones, Saul Williams, Solange Knowles, Alisha B. Wormsley, Vanessa German, Okwui Okpokwasili, will rawls, Marjani Forté-Saunders, Tsedaye Makonnen, Holly Bass, Bebe Miller, and with dance companies, Sandra Organ Dance Company, Urban Bush Women, David Dorfman Dance, Staycee Pearl dance project, and Dance Alloy Theater presenting choreographic work at the Metropolitan Museum, Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York Live Arts, Guggenheim Museum, Getty Center, Venice Biennale, Ford Foundation, Kelly Strayhorn Theater, Danspace Project, and the Hobby Center for Performing Arts.

Jasmine is committed to performance as an expansive practice that includes a spectrum of dance and somatic traditions and methodologies, sound composition, garment design, and the archiving of matrilineal memories.

Taylor Stanley, born in Philadelphia, trained at The Rock School and the School of American Ballet before joining New York City Ballet in 2009, becoming a Principal Dancer in 2016. A Bessie Award recipient, they have originated roles with Justin Peck, Alexei Ratmansky, and Kyle Abraham, and collaborated with Jodi Melnick, Andrea Miller, Shamel Pitts, and others. Their performances span venues from Jacob’s Pillow to Guggenheim Works & Process, exploring the intersection of classical and contemporary dance.

Christian A. Warner, a Houston Native, is an interdisciplinary performing artist, choreographer, sound maker, and educator whose work spans concert dance, musical theatre, and film. His choreographic and creative direction has been commissioned by JCAL, Pepatian/BAAD, Triskelion Arts, the BlackLight Summit, McKoy Dance Project, and Jeremy McQueen’s Black Iris Project. His creative research "Locating Lucidity," developed with Attack Theatre, was awarded and supported by a Creative Development Award by The Heinz Endowment. Most recently, Christian was recognized as a 2025 Princess Grace Award Winner in Choreography and a 2025 New York Dance Festival Choreographic Fellow.

His performance career includes work with renowned companies such as Sidra Bell Dance New York, Boca Tuya, NVA & Guests, GauDanse, Owen/Cox Dance Group, Pony Box Dance Theatre, slowdanger, Kayla Farrish, Deeply Rooted Dance Theater, and TU Dance. As a sound maker, Christian contributed original vocal soundscapes for Sidra Bell Dance New York's "GRAPH", presented at The MET Museum for their exhibit Flight To Egypt, creating layered sonic textures in real time to complement the immersive dance experience. Additional credits include sound for Imani Gaudin's "nanibu," premiering at the acclaimed Marigny Opera House in New Orleans, LA.

ANNA WOTRING (LIGHTING DESIGNER & DIRECTOR OF PRODUCTIONS) is a community-minded dance artist, designer, and production stage manager, dedicated to the practice of collaborative leadership. As the Director of Production at Triskelion Arts, Wotring shapes programming that makes production design accessible to movement artists, whether they're starting to explore an idea or deep in research. Trisk serves as a home, allowing artists to materialize their production vision and find imaginative pathways around and through tangible possibility. Wotring holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance from the Five College Dance Department in Western Massachusetts. She has had the privilege of working with a wide range of dance artists and organizations, including Alvin Ailey Studios, Annie Heath, Attack Theater, Ballet Des Ameriques, BalletNext, Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company, the Dance Conservatory of Pittsburgh, Dance Place, H2O Contemporary Dance, Jennifer Nugent, Lauren Horn, Monica Bill Barnes & Company, New York Live Arts, the Pillow Project, Prayers of the People, RoseAnne Spradlin, Scapegoat Garden, slowdanger, Time Lapse Dance, and many others. Wotring is deeply grateful and honored to be working, imagining, and making magic with the Trisk team and community.

We respectfully acknowledge that the work of Triskelion Arts is situated on the traditional, ancestral, unceded territory of Lenapehoking, the homeland of the Lenape peoples. We pay our respects to their land, water, and ancestors, past, present, and future. This acknowledgment demonstrates a commitment to the process of working to dismantle the ongoing legacies of settler colonialism and to learning to be better stewards of this land.