The Ritual of Breath Is the Rite to Resist

Responding to the murder of Eric Garner, this meditative work is a creative act of resistance. Centering the voice and plea of an activist/daughter/soprano, The Ritual of Breath Is the Rite to Resist interweaves music, text, visuals and movement, gathering us together as co-conspirers—to breathe and keep breathing any way we can.

Reverberating against the ongoing theft of Black breath by the police, the work was born from a collaboration between Enrico Riley, a painter and Dartmouth professor of Studio Arts, and Jonathan Berger, a composer and professor of Music at Stanford. The two engaged Vievee Francis, a poet, to craft the powerful libretto. As the project evolved to include other artist-activists, pioneering theater artist Niegel Smith joined as director.

Click here to learn more about the project and upcoming rituals. 

To participate in our in-person rituals, please RSVP for the Ritual for Black Levity & Auspicious Attention (Oct 6), the Elevate Our Departed: Ritual for Safe Passage (Oct 7), and the Ritual of Breath Is the Rite to Resist Procession (Oct 14).

A procession of breath from the Black House to Bing Concert Hall to open the Ritual of Breath is the Rite to Resist. For the first performance on Fri, Oct 14, we will gather at the Black House between 5:30–6:00 PM in a ritual of collective breathing before our procession to Bing Concert Hall. Please dress in all white for this event. RSVP for this event here. 

Composer: Jonathan Berger
Visual Artist: Enrico Riley
Librettist: Vievee Francis
Director: Niegel Smith
Conductor: Kamna Gupta 
Soprano, co-choreographer: Neema Bickersteth
Co-choreographer: Trebien Pollard
Co-social impact director: Dr. Shamell Bell
Co-social impact director: Gwen Carr
Consulting choreographer: Jawole Willa Jo Zollar
Creative producer: Kim Whitener