When choreographer Shamel Pitts had his first residency at Jacob’ s Pillow in the fall of 2020, he sensed the spirits of the land and creatives who were there before him—” queer artistic spirits like Ted Shawn and his men dancers,” Pitts says of the Pillow’ s founder.
It felt powerful and palpable to be there creating Touch of RED, which is a duet about male intimacy. Pitts and his collective, TRIBE, were in residency at the Doris Duke Theatre the day before it was destroyed by fire on November 17, 2020— an experience he described as incredibly traumatic.“ Since then, I’ ve been burning to share this work,” Pitts says.
Touch of RED went on to have its debut at MASS MoCA in October 2022, co-presented by Jacob’ s Pillow. This summer, his collective will return to the Pillow to perform the work from June 24-28 in the rebuilt Doris Duke Theatre, which opened last summer, in a fullcircle moment.
“ It’ s been incredibly meaningful to us to bring [ Touch of RED ] back,” says Pamela Tatge, Executive and Artistic Director of Jacob’ s Pillow.“ I feel that this duet, which really looks at the vulnerability between men and puts them in a boxing ring— the most masculine, perhaps one of the more violent places two men can be— and within that ring and this brilliant choreography, help us tap into the vulnerability that exists and makes us rethink our perceptions of masculinity. It’ s a really stunning work, and I think it will be so exciting to open the Duke season for 2026.”
Pitts likens returning to the Duke after the devastating fire as a“ phoenix rising from the ashes.” He and his collective considered taking a pause after the fire but decided to keep working on the piece at New York Live Arts, followed by a residency and a world premiere at MASS MoCA.( Pitts returned to MASS MoCA this past March for a residency / rehearsal experience of his latest project, Marks of RED, a subsequent chapter in his RED series, which premiered at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis on March 20 – 21.)
He often thinks back to the Toni Morrison quote:“ Artists have a really bad habit of being resilient.” That resilience is a quality he believes is also innate to marginalized people like his fellow queer artists of color, with a result that’ s“ heartbreaking and beautiful at the same time,” channeling pain and struggle through an artistic voice.
When asked about his inspiration for the Touch of RED choreography, Pitts says the first time he watched boxing on TV, he felt disdain while“ questioning the entertainment value of watching two men get into a ring and beat the crap out of each other.”
“ From that disdain, I started to become curious about boxing and the intimacy that happens between the two men, especially as they become heated and exhausted and physically collapse into themselves and one another,” he says.“ I was wondering if they have that outside of the ring.”
Pitts says he’ s lucky to have that in his queer community, with whom he can experience intimacy, vulnerability, and power together.
For the piece, Pitts thought about the choreography between him and his dance partner— Tushrik Fredericks, who is also a queer man of color— entering into a boxing match without combat or aggression, but rather with intrigue, ultimately enhancing one another.
Also this summer, Pitts will receive the Jacob’ s Pillow Men Dancers Award— a new biennial award that started in 2024 and was created by a donor who wanted to honor great works made by a choreographer of any gender for male or male-identifying dancers, Tatge says. Pitts will receive the award, as well as $ 25,000 to use any way he wishes, during the first week of the festival. The award is intended to honor the spirit of the founder and his company, Ted Shawn and His Men Dancers.
PILLOW PRIDE WEEKEND
Later this summer, on July 11 and 12, Jacob’ s Pillow will hold its annual Pillow Pride Weekend, which is rooted in the Pillow’ s history as an early“ gay utopia”— a safe, self-sustaining, queer artistic community. It will bring together LGBTQ + artists and audiences for performances, tours, and dancing.
“ The idea of the Pillow being a place where you can be yourself is in our DNA,” Tatge says.“ Ted Shawn was a queer man who was closeted. He founded Jacob’ s Pillow as a place for his men dancers— not all of whom were queer— but for all of them to be themselves and delve into the question,‘ What does it mean to be a male dancer?’”
This year during Pillow Pride Week, the Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance( BAAD) will feature three high-octane artists— Abdiel, Imani Gaudin, and Edrimael Delgado Reyes— performing hustle, vogue, and contemporary dance on the outdoor Henry J. Leir Stage on Saturday, July 11, at 5:30 p. m. That night, the annual Pride dance party will be held inside the Duke.
The next morning at 11, the Pillow’ s founding director of preservation, Norton Owen, will lead a tour exploring the historic grounds of Jacob’ s Pillow and how gay history is intertwined throughout its 94-year legacy. At 2 p. m., Akram Khan Company will perform in the Ted Shawn Theatre in a work that journeys through tradition, deeply rooted in the power of rituals as it explores the echoes of a colonized past, according to Jacob’ s Pillow.
Tatge says she believes the arts have always been, and continue to be, an important space to explore identity and celebrate individuality.
“ We can’ t underestimate the power of places like Jacob’ s Pillow to be a refuge, a haven,” Tatge says.“ It’ s always been that for dance artists and audiences who see it as a safe space. And we want to continue that reputation by really thinking deeply about how we care for all of the constituents that the Pillow serves: our staff, artists, audiences. At a time of great division and uncertainty in our country, places like Jacob’ s Pillow are even more important.” n
Learn more at jacobspillow. org, and for other Pride events and activities throughout the Berkshires, go to berkshirepride. org.
May / June 2026 BERKSHIRE MAGAZINE // 83