REPERTORY
One of the privileges of dance is being able to share it. Explore our performance history, discover something new, and join us at a show near you.
PATRIOT’S PATH: THE THESEUS LEGACY (2024)
What started as a series of workshops for active duty military in 2016, turned into a multi-year, multi-media PATRIOT Project. PATRIOT’s Path: The Theseus Legacy champions the ongoing collaboration of artists and veterans that originally began in 2019 with PATRIOT. This powerful performance invites audiences to witness the intersection of myth and memory in an immersive, heartfelt exploration of what it means to serve, struggle, and return home.
The legend of Theseus tells of a hero who bravely enters the labyrinth to slay the Minotaur—but in PATRIOT (2019), we learned that the real challenge wasn’t the battle, but finding the way back out. PATRIOT’s Path: The Theseus Legacy picks up from that moment, honoring those who choose to return to the maze—not for glory, but for others. People like Steve Henderson, Alfredo Hurtado, and Kevin Rumley (Veteran Treatment Court) are living that legacy, willingly stepping back into the darkness, again and again, so that others may find the light and make it safely home.
PATRIOT’s Path: The Theseus Legacy was made possible with the support of the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. A special thanks to Deirdre Smith Gilmer, Kendall Teague, Stephen Henderson, and all of the Brothers and Sisters Like These for their incredible dedication to making this work happen.
THIRST (2023)
“There’s a sense that when someone is struck by the sudden lightning of loss, he or she stands on the threshold of the spirit world.”
THIRST is a work choreographed by Black Box Dance Theatre’s Artistic Director, Michelle Pearson. THIRST was commissioned by the American Dance Festival to be part of their 2023 Made In NC production. Since it’s initial premiere in June of 2023, THIRST has been restaged to be performed at Artspace in downtown Raleigh, The Dance Complex in Boston, and was part of the 2024 North Carolina Dance Festival in Greensboro.
THIRST was restaged a final time and performed in May of 2025 during Black Box Dance Theatre’s production of Echoes & Innovations: An Evening of Company Repertory.
In the Lakota/Sioux tradition, a person who is grieving is considered to most waken, most holy. THIRST invites audiences into a space of longing and loss- a space that unapologetically refuses to let go of those things that the soul needs.
THIRST was commissioned by American Dance Festival in 2023 with support from the Mary Duke Biddle Foundation and the Robert and Mercedes Eichholz Foundation, as well as generous donations made in memory of Danny Pearson.
PATRIOT (2019)
In 2019, partnering with the NC Arts Council and the USO, Black Box Dance Theatre began the creation of PATRIOT, a multimedia performance that examines the service and sacrifice of US Veterans, active duty military, and their families. This evening-length work incorporates dance, theater, and storytelling, serving as an emotionally charged and virtuosic living memorial that evolves with each new veteran story. Since its initial premiere in 2021 (Morganton, NC), PATRIOT has been performed in communities across the state. Common themes include mental wellness, deployment, reintegration, substance abuse, and grief. The creation process invites veteran and military participants to share their own personal experiences, inspiring movement and art direction, and eventually a powerful performance. Soon to be featured in a national documentary on the power of the arts, PATRIOT continues to be recognized as a model of healing art.
PATRIOT has been performed in the following cities and settings:
Morganton, NC, CoMMA Performings Arts Center (2021)
Boston, MA, The Dance Complex (2021)
Greenville, NC, East Carolina University (2021)
Goldsboro, NC, Paramount Theatre (2021)
Cary, NC, Cary Arts Center (2022)
Asheville, NC, Diana Wortham Theatre (2021, 2023)
2023 performance featured in documentary anthology series, I FEEL MYSELF TO BE PART OF SOMETHING
PATRIOT was made possible with generous support from the NC Arts Council and South Arts Cross Sector Impact Grant. PATRIOT will be featured in the national documentary anthology series, I FEEL MYSELF TO BE PART OF SOMETHING, in episode WE LIFT EACH OTHER, premiering Nov 10th, 2025.
APPLIED DANCE & INSPIRED MATHEMATICS (2018)
Inspired Mathematics offered an evening of complex math, eloquent dance, and the deeply human connections between them. Funded in part by the National Science Foundation, Inspired Mathematics sought to advance mathematics through the creation of dance “inspired” by current research on knot theory, topology, and the 4th dimension. The piece displayed a multimedia showcase that captured the imagination and forced audiences to examine their own understanding of place in the world.
The premiere of Inspired Mathematics in Sept 2018, included several community groups: Rainbow (Intergenerational) Dance Company, NCSU Math and Engineering students, and Enloe High School Dance Ensemble. BBDT has found that community groups have the potential to add production value, scale, and celebration to many of our works. Community participants often experience deeply meaningful connections to the process of making and performing with the Company.
Special thanks to the Rainbow Dance Company, Enloe High School Dance Ensemble, and North Carolina State University Math and Engineering students for making this work possible.
