PERFORMA 2021

Artist: Shikeith
Curator: Job Piston
Producer: Bob Kalas
Stage Manager: Cassie Fraser

CHOIR
Altos: Tradonia Baker, Amanda Barise, Nia Drummond, Jazmin McCray, Kareda Robinson, Monet Ulerio
Sopranos: DaChelle Antoine, Nakia Cook, Crystal Fauntleroy, Tyneshia Hill, Keeara Powell, Brianna Turner
Tenors: Daniel King, Johnny Lowe, Darnell Pittman, Michael Reid, Brian Wright

DANCERS
Maxi Hawkeye Canion, Angel Glasby, Kehari Huthcinson, Alemu Lattanzio, Raymond Pinto

MUSICIANS
Keyboard: Evan Ferguson
Bass Guitar and Programming: DeVaughn Denegall
Drum Synth/Programming: Jonny Fung

PRODUCTION
Musical Director and Composer/Arranger: Rashad McPherson
Choreographer: Morgan Bobrow-Williams
Costumes: Carlos Soto and Victoria Bek
Producer: Bob Kalas
Stage Manager: Cassie Fraser
Sound: Jim Toth, Jupiter Sound
Staging: Revamp RBNY

SUPPORTERS
The Heinz Endowment


BIOGRAPHIES

SHIKEITH
Shikeith was born in Philadelphia, PA, and lives and works in Pittsburgh, PA. Recent exhibitions and screenings include: Feeling the Spirit in Darkness, Mattress Factory, Pittsburgh (2020); The Language Must Not Sweat, Locust Projects, Miami (2019); Notes Towards Becoming A Spill, Atlanta Contemporary, Atlanta (2019); Shikeith: This was his body/His body finally his, MAK Gallery, London (2018); Go Tell It: Civil Rights Photography, Seattle Art Museum, Seattle (2016); A Drop of Sun Under The Earth, MOCA LA, Los Angeles (2019); Labor Relations, Wroclaw Contemporary Museum, Poland (2017); and Black Intimacy: An Evening With Shikeith, Museum of Modern Art, New York, (2017). He is a 2019 recipient of the Joan Mitchell Foundation Painters & Sculptors Grants. His forthcoming book, notes on a spill, will be published in 2022 by Aperture Foundation. He received a BA from The Pennsylvania State University and an MFA in Sculpture from The Yale School of Art.

CHOIR & MUSCIANS
Amanda Barise is an NYC based R&B vocalist and songwriter. Her passion for music and performance has brought her to many stages such as The Apollo Theater in NYC, Place Vendôm in Paris, and countless others.

DeVaughn Denegall, CEO of DDB Official Entertainment, is a bassist, composer, and producer. Denegall was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY.

Nia Drummond, described as a “moving and electrifying performer” by the Wall Street Journal, combines her jazz roots, operatic training, early gospel influence, and R&B stylings into a unique, “genre fluid” sound. Nia has been a featured artist of Steinway & Sons and has collaborated with Sir Elton John, Valerie Simpson, Renee Fleming, Bill T. Jones, Mikhail Baryshnikov, and more.

DaChelle Elie is a singer-songwriter from Queens, NY. She has worked with artists including "The Voice" runner up Troy Ramey, Mr. Eazi, Tye Tribbet, and Richard Smallwood. She is currently working on a few upcoming projects and is excited to be part of this auspicious event!

Crystal Fauntleroy is a singer and actor from Long Island, NY. Her acting credits include Dreamgirls (Effie White) at CMPAC & SPAC, and Ghost (Oda Mae Brown) at CMPAC. She has sung and recorded with several groups, including Isaiah Grigg & A Nu People, Jeff Roberson & LIFE, The Groove Band, and First Baptist Church of Crown Heights.

Tyneshia Hill, a native New Yorker, is a singer, song writer, actress, and current, Artistic Director of The Boys and Girls choir of Harlem Alumni Ensemble.

Daniel King is a graduate of the Boys Choir of Harlem, and current member of the Alumni Ensemble of Harlem. He studied Vocal Performance under the tutelage of Curtis Rayam at Bethune Cookman College. He is currently the Choir Director and Vocal Coach at Miller Evangelical Christian Union Church.

Rashad McPherson is a performer, composer, and arranger based in New York, NY. His music is an exploration of both the socio-political conscious and the inspirational. McPherson is an ordained and seminary-trained minister who has served Marble Collegiate Church and

First Baptist Church of Crown Heights. He is a graduate of Berklee College of Music, Boston University: School of Theology, and Union Theological Seminary. McPherson recently released Forward (2020) and will soon release Forward LIVE (2021), a visual album.

Keeara Powell, born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, is truly a graduate of the School of Hard Knocks. A breast cancer survivor and budding kickboxer, she has a BS in Business Administration. She is a graduate of the Girls Choir of Harlem and a standing member of the Alumni Ensemble of Harlem.

Brian Keith Wright, Jr. is a native of Rock Hill, South Carolina, and holds a BA in Music from Benedict College. His love and passion for music has allowed him to be featured as a classical and gospel singer across East Coast United States and in various countries.

Jazmin Yvonne, a Poughkeepsie native, is a gifted vocalist with a unique sound that blends soulful and experimental styles. Jazmin is a graduate of Berklee College of Music and is currently based in New York City working on collaboration projects and original music.

DANCERS
Morgan Bobrow-Williams is a NYC based, transdisciplinary artist, working in performance, sound, video, and multi-media installation. Morgan holds a BFA in Dance Performance from Marymount Manhattan College. Between 2018–2020, they danced for Staatstheater Kassel in Germany under Johannes Wieland, and were a 2021 Merriweather District Artist-in-Residence. Their debut album SUM1 is available on all streaming platforms.

Angel Glasby is a multidisciplinary artist based in Brooklyn. An alumni from Purchase College, Angel has performed works by Marco Goecke, Andera Miller, and Sidra Bell. Currently pursuing a MA in Art Management at The New School.

Maxi Hawkeye Canion is a Queer Agender Black Mexican-American movement artist based in Brooklyn, NY. They hold a BFA in Dance from The University of Texas at El Paso. They physicalize their subconscious terrains through durational trances and feedback loops, crafting dream realms. Their current work in progress, Tomorrow as it will be, is supported by the City Artist Corps Grant.

Kehari Hutchinson is a dancer, performance artist, and choreographer who has recently graduated from California Institute of the Arts. Kehari has performed in works including Chris Emile’s Amend, Gerard and Kelly’s Modern Living, Solange Knowles’ Metatronia, Beyoncé’s Black Is King, and Kevin Frilet’s film One Another.

Alemu Lattanzio is 14 years old and currently attends LaGuardia High School for Dance. He began his ballet training with Ballet Tech at the age of 9, and has attended summer programs at Manhattan Youth Ballet and Diversity of Dance.

Raymond Pinto is an artist and performer based in the tri-state area. They dance every day, grounding themselves in a practice of movement that situates a Black aesthetic. Their passion for movement at its core refuses anti-Black heteronormative tropes whilst negotiating epistemologies of compliance.

PRODUCTION
Carlos Soto is a designer and creative director based in New York City. Credits include: Solange Knowles & Wu Tsang’s Passage, International Woolmark Prize/Saint Heron (2021); Solange’s Nothing to Prove/Nothing to Say, Venice Biennial (2019); Witness!, Elbphilharmonie, Hamburg/Sydney Opera House (2019); When I Get Home (2019); Scales, Chinati Foundation (2017). Costumes and/or scenography: Only An Octave Apart (2021); The Black Crown (2018); Triptych (Eyes of One on Another) (2019); The Mile-Long Opera (2018).