Dr. Shamell Bell Featured Speaker on Pillow Talk

PillowTalk: Meet Dr. Shamell Bell

Jacob's Pillow summer Virtual Festival spotlighted Dr. Shamell Bell, visiting faculty member and Street Dance Activism Scholar, and her work creating an alternative strategy for radical social change.  Bell's inspiring and innovative approach to change prompted Professor Ayo Coly, Chair of AAAS, to celebrate Dr. Bell's talk, "The connections she makes (dance, space, bodies, Africa and the diaspora, activism, healing, community, respectability politics, violence, knowledge production, etc..) are brilliant."

From Dr. Shamell Bell:

"Street dance activism provides an entry point to engage the onlooker—and with this level of intrigue, then see what our message is …"

"Racism is embedded in American society. We've never been post-race ... it's just really important when we're seeing so many images of Black death to remind ourselves we are here to live …"

"I think the American political system should be a choreography, having all dancers welcome, like we do in Street Dance Activism."

PillowTalks are live conversations with leaders in the dance field across styles and disciplines. As part of the 25th season of this series at the Pillow, they are newly imagined in an online format with participants from across the U.S. This talk is moderated by Melanie George, a dance educator, choreographer, dramaturg, and scholar who debuted as a Pillow Scholar-in-Residence in 2019. PillowTalks premiere every Friday at 5pm Eastern on YouTube.

Dr. Bell's Pillow Talk will be available to view until August 31.