Writer and Performer Marc Bamuthi Joseph '93 Captivates Audience at HS Assembly

Watch a clip from Marc's presentation here

A student choreographer and varsity soccer captain during his time at Dalton, Marc engaged with students, performed some of his rhythmic and powerful poetry, and spoke about his experiences and creative projects.

In his current role as a Vice President at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Marc focuses on art and social impact in America.

On Thursday, Marc asked the students to consider the point in their lives when "they felt most free." In addition, the 2017 TED Global Fellow and inaugural recipient of the Guggenheim Social Practice initiative played a clip from his podcast Active Hope, which explores how the country's leading artists can shape this moment in history.

In pursuit of affirmations of Black life in the public realm, Marc co-founded the Life is Living Festival for Youth Speaks, and created the installation “Black Joy in the Hour of Chaos” for Creative Time. His opera libretto, We Shall Not Be Moved, was named one of 2017’s “Best Classical Music Performances” by The New York Times. His newest opera, Watch Night, will premiere in New York's Perelman Center under the direction of Bill T. Jones in the Fall of 2023. His piece The Just and the Blind investigates fatherhood in the age of mass incarceration and premiered at a sold-out performance at Carnegie Hall in March 2019. Marc is currently at work on commissions for Yale University, the Albany Symphony Orchestra, Lyric Opera, The Minnesota Orchestra, and the Washington National Opera as well as a new collaboration with NYC Ballet Artistic Director Wendy Whelan set to premiere at Lincoln Center.