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Dani Tirrell Black Bois

DANCE | SEATTLE
Thu, Apr 26–Sat, Apr 28 at 8 pm
Sun, Apr 29 at 5 pm

Tickets for all performances are sold out online. A wait list will be started by the Lobby Box Office one hour before showtime; must be present in person to sign up.

Enter a world where Black bodies tell their own stories. Where Black love and Black expression prevail. A world where Black stories heal, grow, and transform the lives they touch. Featuring live music, collaboration with a large cast of local artists/performers, and installations, this performance project celebrates Black bodies in space and an emotional engagement with movement. Black Bois is a love letter to Black bodies, minds, and spirits.

Artist Dani Tirrell writes, “This dance piece, created with original music by Benjamin Hunter and written word by J Mase III, is a ceremony to our ancestors, and a thanksgiving to our past, present, and future. It is a love letter to our bodies, our spirits, and our minds. This is the story of our fathers, brothers, lovers, and friends. A healing space, a space to process, a space to love, a space to create and be. We welcome you!”

Related Programs

Thu, Apr 26
Studio Supper with Lillian Hill (Brown Sugar Baking Company)
Sign up for the Studio Supper email list to know when reservations open up for this dinner. (Reservations can only be made via the form sent out in this email.)

Fri, Apr 27
Post-show conversation with Dani Tirrell.

Sat, Apr 28
WTFJH? Saturdays: After the show the lobby and FUBAR will be open so audience members can connect and talk about the performance.

Sun, Apr 29
-Post-show conversation with Dani Tirrell.
-Onsite workshop/childcare with Sweet Pea Cottage Preschool of the Arts (Studio Theater). The theme of the Apr 29 workshop is DANCE DANCE REVOLUTION; kids will play games and explore different ways of moving to music. (Must reserve in advance; if this is your first time purchasing childcare, you can see the show for free! Learn more)

Dani Tirrell creates movement pieces inspired by Dani’s queer, gender non-conforming, and black experience. Dani has danced with Jazz and Spirit Dance Theater of Detroit, Monroe Ballet Company and Dani Tirrell Dance Theater. Dani has performed and shown work at Black Choreographers Festival (San Francisco), Gay City Arts (Seattle), Bumbershoot: Velocity Dance Center Showcase, Showing Out: Black Contemporary Choreographers (Seattle), Young Tanz Sommer (Austria), Northwest New Works Festival: On the Boards (Seattle), Risk/Reward (Portland), Seattle Art Museum, and Erased (Color Lines Dance Ensemble) as part of Nights at the Neptune (Neptune Theater, Seattle).

About the Artist

dani tirrell

dani tirrell

dani tirrell (pronoun: dani) is an Inkster, MI born and raised, Black, rans Spectrum, Queer choreographer, dancer, and movement guide whose work centers Black identity, collective care, and storytelling through embodied practice. Their artistic work has reached audiences across the United States—from Detroit to Seattle to Washington, D.C.—creating spaces for reflection, connection, ritual, and transformation.

Currently, dani is an Artist-in-Residence at the Inspiration Lab in Renton, WA, where they teach Soul Line Dance at Northwest Tap Connection and Massive Monkees Studio: The Beacon alongside Black social dance practices and modern dance throughout Seattle and surrounding areas. Through their Soul Line Dance classes, workshops, and social gatherings, dani uplifts Black cultural traditions, builds intergenerational community, and creates accessible entry points into movement as both practice and celebration. Dani also hosts a monthly event at The Inspiration Lab: First Sunday Soul Line Dance and Card Party.

Dani is the Founder and Artistic Director of dani tirrell & The Congregation, a movement-based performance ensemble dedicated to amplifying stories from the African Diaspora. Their work has been commissioned and presented by Seattle Theatre Group, On the Boards, Central District Forum for Arts & Ideas, and the Baltimore Black Choreographers Festival, where dani presented work in October 2025. dani maintains ongoing collaborations with Velocity Dance Center and Northwest Tap Connection.

dani is the recipient of Seattle’s 2019 Mayor’s Arts Award and has received fellowships and support from Arts Matter, Artist Trust, 4Culture, and the 2023 NEFA National Dance Project Grant. In May 2025, dani premiered Elysium: Book II of the Leviticus or Love series at Kubota Garden in Seattle.

Their latest work, The Children Were Never Promised a Home on Your Plantation, was developed during a January 2025 residency at Jacob’s Pillow | Pillow Lab.

@danitirrell

@dtcongregation

dtcongregation.com

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Website

The Congregation

Artist page →

Black Bois is partially funded by the National Endowment for the Arts and by an artist grant from 4Culture. It was developed at On the Boards through the Performance Production Program, made possible by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. This performance is also funded by ArtsWA.