Targeted – Spectrum Dance Theater @ Cornish Playhouse (Seattle Center)

A new work by Donald Byrd, and the final work in the Insidious trilogy.

Targeted is an evening-length devised dance/theatre work, which will have its premiere in Seattle, on June 2nd, with a limited run through June 4th. The title refers to what appears to be a systemic targeting for the murder of Black people by white supremacists. Buoyed by what has become a widely embraced view of “the great replacement theory” (a belief that whiteness is under threat) white supremacists have put native-born black and brown people, and also non-white immigrants, squarely into their crosshairs.

In 2019, Spectrum Artistic Director/renowned choreographer Donald Byrd began an interrogation into social issues that plagued American history, even before the public murder of George Floyd. The Insidious Trilogy began with Strange Fruit, continued with Grief, and is completed with Targeted. Through this trilogy, Byrd takes on the difficult realities of Jim Crow, its history, its legacy, its transformation, and its contemporary manifestations. Byrd explains, “By all historical descriptions, Jim Crow theoretically ended in 1968 after nearly 100 years of legalized harm against Black people. The impacts linger and are also becoming more insidious, more public, and more dangerous. I use my art to explore the lasting impacts while attempting to encourage our audiences to see what is hidden in plain sight.”

Tickets (sliding scale available to all) here.