Past Events Timeline
The BLACK BLACK BLACK Week 2025
You walked in and were greeted with fresh homemade cornbread from our founders of BBB, a warm welcome to set the tone. Hillary, from Hous of Potions poured you a decadent cocktail titled Auntie Got the Aux or Spicy and Sanctified and suddenly you knew you were home.
In the garden, Carter invited you to add your family’s passed-down wisdom to our Things My People Said activation, while Mae Monga from Divine Times Collective guided you through our living family tree, where you added an ancestor’s name. You met Tamisha Guy and learned about HUETAPE, her kinesiology tape brand, before making your way into the courtyard, saying hello to friends while Earth, Wind & Fire played in the background.
Then comes the moment you had been waiting for, Elevate Cater NYC serves you a plate of smothered chicken & chileeeee... you knew they did not come to play! While you ate, you added to our community mural facilitated by Yetunde Sapp.
Just when you thought the pre-show could not give you any more, you stepped into the theater and saw Black Dance Change Makers’ interactive dance lineage map as well as the clothing drive drop. You played a game of spades, grabbed a final photo at Geoffrey Baptiste’s photobooth, and felt so full… and the night was just getting started!
Then the lights dimmed... Karine Plantadit opened the evening with powerful community breathwork and suddenly your heart was wide open. One by one, the performances unfolded, showcasing Black artistry. The magic of the show ends with the electric slide, and you leave knowing you had just been to one of the best dance shows you have ever seen, and also, you had found a loving family at BBB.
JUNETEENTH 2025
Beyond the Black Box’s Juneteenth celebration at House of Yes was a night of pure Black joy, creativity, and community. From Elevate Cater NYC’s unforgettable food and Brandon Looney’s playful Kink Wheel at the door, to the community mural led by Bereket Adamu and the Spiritual Room curated by Mae Monga of Divine Times Collective, every corner of the space offered a new experience. Guests moved between the speakeasy-style Onyx Room, Jay Vic had that room jumping! Also, a packed main dance floor powered by DJs Spinelli, CLASSICNEWWAVE, and DANIRO. The night culminated in a breathtaking finale by Sage Sovereign alongside the Brooklyn United Music and Arts marching band—an unforgettable moment of ritual, celebration, and collective release.
The BBB BLOCK PARTY
From start to finish, the day was alive:
Watermelon slices in hand, people were vibing out to music, grabbing plates from the incredible Elevate Cater, getting massages, tarot readings, hair braids, tooth gems, truly the works! We even had the kiddos everywhere, laughing and jumping in the bouncy house, running through the games area, and even leading the performances!
The Brooklyn United Music and Arts crew?! WOW. A 12-piece drumline plus 3 dancers — they shut it down and set the tone. The performances choreographed by Ogemdi and Tushrik…so much heart, power, and artistry. The energy was so high, the day ended with a full-on dance party; a moment we won’t forget.
With over 800 RSVPs, we watched the space fill with pure joy, connection, and that deep-rooted feeling of belonging.
And we HAVE to talk about the community mural. It’s hard to put into words what it meant to see everyone’s hands, messages, and spirit come together in that piece. It’s emotional. It’s powerful. It’s us. That mural is proof that everyone belongs here, and that when we build together, magic happens.
We’re just so grateful — to the volunteers, artists, vendors, and every single one of you who came out and made it what it was.
Sunday Service 2025
On this sacred Sunday, February 23rd, Beyond the Black Box gathered in community to honor our ancestors, nourish our spirits, and call each other into deeper care and action. With free chicken and biscuits from Faye tha Foodie, a live community mural led by Yetunde Sapp, and a communal altar created and held by Queen Ravenden, the space became both sanctuary and celebration. The air filled with the voices of a gospel choir featuring Fatima Jamal, Kyle Kidd, and Omololu Tunde, and together we moved through ancestral breathwork led by Karine Plantadit, grounding us in the tools our ancestors left for us to build a freer future. Dominica Greene held space for an open forum, where we spoke truth and offered tangible ways to show up for each other in these challenging times. We closed the evening with a powerful performance by Cemiyon Barber and gave each attendee their literal and metaphorical flowers, generously donated by Greenpoint Florist. Sunday Service wasn’t just an event — it was a reminder of what’s possible when we gather, heal, create, and build together.
The BBB Week 2024
BBB returned to Triskelion Arts from September 17–19th 2024 with The “Black Black Black” Week, a three-day celebration of dance, community, and connection. Each night featured choreography showcases by artists Kashia Kancey, Chalvar Monteiro, JOYBOY, Black Lazarus, Damontae Hack, and Claude Cj Johnson.
Doors opened at 6 PM for community activities, including a collaborative mural, photo booth, curated cocktails, soul food, breathwork, and meditation. Performances began at 7:30 PM, starting with a guided breathwork session and live African drumming.
The theme, FAMILY REUNION, united artists and attendees in a shared space of reflection, celebration, and connection. Thank you to everyone who joined us.
JUNETEENTH 2024
We celebrate Juneteenth by throwing a LIT party at House of Yes this year, with over 6,000 RSVPs and so much love from the community! DJs Spinelli, Daniro, KenDollaz, and JayVic kept us dancing all night long, while guests enjoyed a cookout by Elevate Cater NYC, a Dreams & Portals altar installation by Mawu, a collective mural led by Yetunde Sapp, and custom nail art by Jalen Dominique. The night featured massages by Bobby the Experience, live hair art by Tim Daly, the Black History Kink Wheel, and film portraits by Reese. Performances by Twin Eclipse, Sage Sovereign, the Brooklyn United Marching Band, and more made it truly unforgettable.
THE BBB WEEK 2023
In September 2023, BBB hosted a week-long event series at Triskelion Arts called The Black Black Black Week, with the theme of Blaxploitation. This culturally significant gathering of dancers, choreographers, and multidisciplinary artists included live mural painting, an active photo booth, dominoes and card games, soul train lines, and Black artists selling artisinal goods like shea butter and self-made oils.
Each night’s performance started with a guided breathwork and meditation experience accompanied by an African drummer to center our collective energy. The line-up included duendita, Dorchel&Hakeem, Jada Jenai, Claude CJ Johnson, Kashia Kancey, Lamb, Ashley Pierre-Louis, and (of course) your BBB team—and made for a Black-Ass night!
JUNETEENTH 2023
BBB celebrated Juneteenth by throwing an ICONIC party for their first collaboration with House of Yes! With over 2,000 RSVP’s and a packed house all night long, we are so grateful to have provided this celebration for our community for FREE! More than a dance party, we offered free tattoos by Dexter Ambrosius, live hair braiding by Tim Daly, and our signature community mural hosted by Chantal Stone. Twin Eclipse, Sage Sovereign, The Brooklyn United Marching Band, and BBB’s dance collective uplifted the experience with their performances. Mi Za Plaz Cater catered. We were also happy to host a Juneteenth offering ceremony influenced by the Akan and Senegalese altar traditions, initiated by Mawu. This was TRULY A VIBRANT AND ETHEREAL BLACK ENTERTAINMENT experience, and together we uplifted Black joy and freedom through dance and ritual!
The BBB Gala
On February 11th, 2023, Beyond the Black Box hosted a Winter Gala at Triskelion Arts. This evening commenced with breath work lead by Karine Plantadit and was followed with performances by Chanel Stone, Cemiyon Barber, and Eric and Erica Parra: Parra La Gente. We kept our tradition of fostering a community mural to sponsor new connections amongst the attendees, and a memento of the night. A special cocktail menu crafted by our partner, El Silencio, and hors dourves catered by @krisdabronxvegan. Thanks to the support, we were successful in raising money for our full year of programming!
BBB: The First Event
The founding artists of Beyond the Black Box recognized how most dance events in NYC center around sitting in a quiet theater, so we sought to change this by hosting an evening to sponsor community engagement. On September 24th, 2022, the BBB team brought this vision to life. Partnering with Triskelion Arts, we held space for something larger than a dance event. This first experience, at the time called Beyond the Black Box, focused on uplifting and expanding the Black dance community. We offered an experience-based flea market on-site that included hair braiding, stick-n-poke tattooing, a drum circle, a community mural, double dutch, a vegan chef, and more. At sunset, Chantal Stone, a BBB community member and the Mother of our Founder, led a special trauma release ceremony to bring the community together and segway into the evening’s performance. The evening was hosted by The Dragon Sisters, with performances by Christine Shepard, Christina Rae, Jon Joni, Cemiyon Barber and Chanel Stone. In the heart of Greenpoint, where Black queer representation is scarce, Beyond the Black Box intended to connect the community, even for a day, and showcase the beauty and versatility of Black performance art.
“We came together and wrote our traumas on paper that we glued to the body of a sculpture Chantal created. The glue smeared the pigment of the colored pencils, creating a rich textured vibrant layer of dress over the sculpture. We named her Oshun. By giving her our collective traumas she will transform them into something stronger, resilient, and fortified with the love and support of our greater community.” – Chanel Stone
Partnerships
Cadence X Beyond the Black Box
Cadence, a vegan soul food restaurant in NYC's East Village, dedicated a dessert to our organization Beyond the Black Box in honor of Black History Month! At the end of the month, we received 100% of the proceeds. We'd like to thank Sharif Stone for making this happen, as well as Chef Shenarri Greens for creating the most incredible dessert.
Triskelion Arts X Beyond the Black Box
Beyond the Black Box was born at Triskelion Arts, which has served as an incubator for our organization's growth. They assisted us in producing our first event, as well as our first annual gala. Triskelion Arts was the first organization to offer us funding, resources, and guidance. We would not be here without their assistance.
Fyra Yoga X Beyond the Black Box
Beyond the Black Box partnered with Fyra Yoga for a special Black History Month collaboration centered on rest, movement, and creative expression. While the event was produced by Fyra Yoga, BBB contributed a live performance and our signature community mural experience, helping create a space for reflection, connection, and collective care. Rooted in the legacy of Black artists who have long used movement as a tool for healing, protest, and liberation, the collaboration honored dance as more than performance—it is prayer, protest, medicine, and memory.