Co-Presentations

Created by the visionary arts collective TRIBE—led by artistic director and choreographer Shamel Pitts—Touch of RED will have its world premiere at MASS MoCA this fall. Reimaging the boxing ring from a space of duels to one of duets, in Touch of RED energy builds not out of aggression or combat but through an electrifying effeminacy that heals.

In conjunction with William Kentridge Studios, Thulani Chauke, a principal dancer in Kentridge’s The Head and the Load—which was developed and previewed at MASS MoCA in 2018— will be in residence developing a new site-specific durational dance work set in a gallery space. Created in collaboration with Chauke’s fellow South African dancer, Albert Fana Tshabalala, and featuring improvised live music, museum visitors are welcome to come and go throughout the day.

Joined by a smoking hot jazz trio and an ensemble of fellow hoofers, tap queen Dormeshia brings her critically acclaimed, classic-style tap concert to North Adams for an evening of thrilling percussive dance and music co-presented by Mass MoCA. Rhythm Is Life explores the grooves, breath, and pulse of life. Through a series of rhythmic explorations, Dormeshia creates a kaleidoscope of choreography that both moves with the universal pulse of life and invites others to find their own groove.

After a multi-year developmental process working in collaboration with communities, artists, and presenters in Miami, Martha’s Vineyard, New Orleans, New York, and North Adams, Urban Bush Women returns to MASS MoCA with its newest artistic endeavor for a site-responsive performance in the galleries and throughout the museum campus.