Black Life Chord Changes (2024)

The Chocolate Factory Theater
June 5-8, 2024

Out-FRONT! Fest.
January 11, 2025
NY, NY

Out-FRONT! Festival presents a studio adaptation of Angie Pittman’s solo performance, Black Life Chord Changes, in partnership with BAM. Originally commissioned and presented in June by The Chocolate Factory Theater.

“Since moving to New York in 2015, Ms. Pittman has emerged as a bright but subtle voice in the city’s experimental dance scene, both as a choreographer and a performer.” - Siobhan Burke, The New York Times

Angie Pittman’s reprised evening length solo performance (broken into scores for “day” and “night”) uses dance improvisation - skillfully pulling from, and synthesizing, folk traditions of liturgical dancing, Soul line dancing, Umfundalai, and post-modern improvisation - with layers of sung and spoken text, patient listening, and recorded sound, to open an experimental improvised movement portal. Blackly so. Through these visceral Black womanist traditions, Black Life Chord Changes slips in and out of deep listening, seeing, improvisation, and truth telling.

Choreographer/Performer: Angie Pittman

Composer: Cody Jensen

Lighting Designer: Tuçe Yasak

Recording Artists: Tiffany Williams, Carla E. Jones, Aaron (A+) Wilson

Arrangement: Ther’Up.Y

Lyricist: Angie Pittman

Cape: Vincent Tiley

Words: Angie Pittman with contributions from A Sef

Dramaturgical Support: Iris McCloughan

Rehearsal Assistance: Jessie Young

Graphic Design: Katie Dean

Research Assistant: Talia Bartley