…on being… first premiered in 2013 at the Kelly Strayhorn Theater. The evening length production opened up a dialogue around blackness and post-blackness, ultimately exploring personal identifiers and their impact on self perception and one's place community. Cheorographer/Executive Director Staycee Pearl says …on being… was inspired by a personal experience where her blackness had been questioned. “It made me realize that there were some who rated and measured Blackness based on historically white supremacist standards masquerading as Black/African traditions,” she said.

Since its premiere, …on being… has been alive in many different iterations with different dancers taking on different roles, and the changes in dynamic adding layers of meaning. We caught up with two dancers who danced the same duet, but 5 years apart to get their reaction on each other’s duets. In the video below, Ethan Gwynn, who was in the original 2013 production of …of being…, and LaTrea Rembert, who was in the 2018 restaging of the work, watch each other’s duets and offer some insight into what was going through their minds when taking on this duet that explored the relationship between 2 people in the context of their sexuality, gender, and race.