Synopsis
LINKt, to put it simply, is about the relationship between a Black woman and a white woman. Performed and co-directed by Joy-Marie Thompson and Sherah Shipman, the two women use a orange rubber band that is tied by their waists to represent the power struggles, differences in privilege, and the dynamics of labor between them.
Funding
Funding for LINKt was provided by the Investing in Professional Artists
Grants Program, a partnership of The Pittsburgh Foundation and The Heinz
Endowments.
The Creative Directors
Joy-Marie Thompson
Thompson is a freelance dance artist from Pittsburgh, PA. She graduated from The Conservatory of Dance at SUNY Purchase in 2018. She has professionally performed the choreography of Sidra Bell, Shamel Pitts, Staycee Pearl, and Maxine Doyle for Sleep No More (NYC). She has presented her own choreography nationally and internationally including with Derida Dance Center (Sofia, Bulgaria). TONGUE TIED SHREWS (2018), her first film with Sherah Shipman was screened in various festivals worldwide; including Lincoln Center. Thompson is also the founder of @issadancelook.
Sherah Shipman
Sherah Shipman is a freelance movement artist and filmmaker from Houston, TX. She graduated from the Conservatory of Dance at SUNY Purchase with a BFA in Dance Performance and a minor in Arts Management. There she met, Joy-Marie Thompson, and upon graduation created TONGUE TIED SHREWS (2018). The dance film has been screened nationally and abroad including at Lincoln Center at the Dance on Camera festival in 2018. Based in Brooklyn, NY, Shipman has professionally performed for the likes of Dylan Crossman, Chuck Wilt's UNA Projects and collaborates with Raucous & Quill.
Credits
CREATIVE DIRECTORS
Sherah Shipman and Joy-Marie Thompson
CHOREOGRAPHY BY
Sherah Shipman and Joy-Marie Thompson
PERFORMED BY
Sherah Shipman and Joy-Marie Thompson
FILM DIRECTOR
Casey Brooks
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR
Desmond Confoy
CINEMATOGRAPHER
Victoria Sendra
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
Joy-Marie Thompson
ORIGINAL SCORE COMPOSED AND PERFORMED BY
Sadie Powers
RACIAL EQUITY CONSULTANT
Monica Nyenkan
DRAMATURG
Valencia Wallace
STYLIST
Sherah Shipman
ADDITIONAL COSTUME DESIGN
Jill Thompson
GAFFER
John Frisbie
PRODUCTION ASSISTANT
Rosemarie Albanese
LOCATION SCOUT
Jill Thompson