'Circles' will combine Black visual, performing arts

A group of Black artists will layer dance, visual arts and a live original score next month at the August Wilson African American Cultural Center.

“Circles” is the culmination of work by Staycee and Herman “Soy Sos” Pearl, co-artistic directors of the Staycee Pearl Dance Project, PearlArts and Soy Sos. Funded in part by the New England Foundation for the Arts’ $56,500 National Dance Production Grant, the project comes in two parts. The first, “Circles: reclamation,” will be a group visual exhibition featuring work by Black female artists. The second, “Circles: going in,” will be an evening-length dance performance taking place Oct. 28-30 at the center in Pittsburgh’s Cultural District.

“ ‘Circles: going in’ is life lived and observed by me as I take this creative opportunity to honor all that makes up who I am,” Staycee Pearl said.

It will feature dancers Jessica Marino Mitcham, Chandler Maria Bingham and LaTrea Derome, with an original soundtrack that includes club artists like Yah Lioness, DJ Haram, Madame Dolores, Kilamanzego, Kha’DJ, DOTGOV and more.

“We’re proud to work with the August Wilson African American Cultural Center to celebrate the joy and magic of Black womanhood,” said Kelly Strayhorn Theater Executive Director Joseph Hall. “The development of ‘Circles: going in’ has taken place through Kelly Strayhorn Theater and PearlArts’ two-year mutual-aid residency.”

The residency has included “Circles” rehearsals and daily classes at the theater’s Alloy Studios, and the show’s technical elements will be finalized through a production residency in October.

“We’re so excited to see the great art they continue to create in, with and for our community,” Hall said.

The visual arts exhibition, which runs Oct. 9-31, will include Pearl, as well as artists Bekezela Mguni, Kitoko Chargois and Sarah Huny Young.

Tickets to the dance performance are $25. For more, or to purchase tickets, see AACC-AWC.org.