I have been following Shamel Pitts and the development of his BLACK Series, and subsequently RED Series, for a few years now — he has a way of bridging themes both deeply personal and poignantly universal. I find his work so emotionally and physically thoughtful that it his inner process is innately compelling, making the viewer hungry to learn alongside him.
In Touch of RED, which appeared at the CAP UCLA Freud Playhouse March 3 & 4, 2023, the first of the RED Series, Pitts and collaborator Tushrik Fredericks are already engaged as the audience enters to sit on four sides of what seems to be a boxing ring: a black box split into top and bottom halves so we can see into the center, designed by Mimi Lien.
L-R Tushrik Fredericks, Shamel Pitts in dress rehearsal for Pitts’ “Touch of RED” – Photo by Bailey Holiver
They are on their toes, circling and exhaling and dancing like boxers, in a quirky groove that sits above their weight. They switch and swivel in and out of Lindy Hop steps — learned from the inimitable performer-teacher-activist LaTasha Barnes — to a thumping club beat that belongs to Sivan Jacobovitz’s original score. They have already flipped the script. The confrontation and aggression the spectator usually finds in the boxing ring is translated into a form centered in Black community and connection. They touch a few different patterns from the Black vernacular dance continuum, inviting connection rather than spectacle.
The push and pull between the two becomes more rigorous, and the movement language shifts. Pitts and Fredericks are daring in different ways, but both inhabit strength through softness. Their effeminacy is solace, reprieve. The tension between them waxes and wanes as they come together. There is not so much ease in this exchange as there is fixation, a sensitive tension marked by sensuality. But there is a gentle intention each time their bodies meet, as they circle and circle and circle each other.
L-R Tushrik Fredericks, Shamel Pitts in dress rehearsal for Pitts’ “Touch of RED” – Photo by Bailey Holiver
In these rounds there is both victory and surrender for both artists, and yet their connection remains strong, as though a thread between them is always pulled taut so they can listen and respond. At the end of the first round, they depart to their corners for water, and Pitts releases with a simple acknowledgement: “okay.” There is permission to soften.
The second and third rounds expose more of Lucca Del Carlo’s video mapping and Rus Snelling’s stunning lighting design, oscillating between flashing club lights and video game-like imagery. Their visual cues build a world around the dancers’ red spandex and black boots, designed by Dion Lee and styled by Fredericks and TT Britt.
L-R Shamel Pitts, Tushrik Fredericks in dress rehearsal for Pitts’ “Touch of RED” – Photo by Bailey Holiver
The movement remains virtuosic and unrelenting, which is what makes Pitts’ and Fredericks’ softness so radical. They accomplish breathtaking feats at all levels, and always return to each other. You can catch glimpses of a smirk between them as they play with the energy, in and out of unison but always anchored in a common ground. In their resilience — an hour of this dance is taxing — there is vulnerability, and an acknowledgement that there must be pause and give to strengthen the connection. And they come back to embrace, over and over again.
Shamel Pitts goes next to Serbia and then returns to the States for an East Coast tour next month.
For more information about Shamel Pitts, please visit his website.
For more information about the CAP UCLA Freud Playhouse, please visit their website.
This article was edited on 3/9/23.
Written by Celine Kiner for LA Dance Chronicle.
Featured image: L-R Shamel Pitts, Tushrik Fredericks in dress rehearsal for Pitts’ Touch of RED – Photo by Bailey Holiver
