The.III.Collective

“HE WHO HAS AN EAR” for 🎺 Love this cast. Loved our time together.

Guest Choreographer | Lamar University, Department of Theatre & Dance — 2026 Commission for “Dance Unleashed,” Spring Dance Concert

DANCERS
Darius Arceneaux
Valyncia Broussard
Reagan Dearing
Kendra Ford
Cameron Hood (Understudy)
Jade J. Johnson
Trevion Martin
Evangeline Sticker

MUSIC
Original score by , featuring archival audio of James Baldwin

LIGHTING
Tiffany Shrepferman

REHEARSAL DIRECTOR
Amy A. Wright

“HE WHO HAS AN EAR” emerges from a critical reflection on the current social climate, drawing conceptual and philosophical grounding from the writings of James Baldwin. The work is rooted in the translation of rhetoric into embodiment, positioning Baldwin’s voice as catalyst rather than commentary. His cadence, layered and refracted through a fractured soundscape created in collaboration with Christian Paris Blue, generates a palpable condition of urgency that permeates the choreographic architecture.
The central inquiry of the work? What does urgency feel like in the body?

“love has never been a popular movement.”

— James Baldwin

THE CHARGE, is what we call this section. It occurs a few moments before the final section of the work. It’s one of my favorite sections. The repetition. The relentlessness of the dancers. The piercing focus. The group moving as a unit. Bodies sweating. Mind fixed. Soul still feeling the residue of what came before.

Thank you students. Thank you faculty, for an incredible residency. Your warm welcome was truly felt. Dancers, your resilience and dedication to the creative process of our work was outstanding! I was inspired and empowered the entire way and I can’t say enough about how incredible each of you are. Continue to persevere. Continue to be brave. Continue to lift each other up. Continue to “hear.”

DANCERS


MUSIC:

“I may know six people, but that’s enough.”

— James Baldwin

Lamar University, Department of Theatre & Dance (Guest Artist Residency 2026)

“everyone you’re looking at is also you.” — James Baldwin

Lamar University, Department of Theatre & Dance, Guest Artist Residency (2026).

THIS TOO, SHALL PASS (sneak peek)

Tomorrow, at the Rialto Center for the Arts, alongside the amazing screen dances from this year’s amazing cohort, you can catch my latest film screening for one day only.

The message is a simple but important one: we can make it.

Thank you to for your continued support of my work. To the , we so appreciated your warm welcome. To my incredible team, I value your relentless dedication to the vision.

To you, link in bio for tickets + more deets. Come see art and come be uplifted.

Directed, Written & Edited by
BILLY JAMES HAWKAINS III

Dancer, Narrator & Co-choreographer
SABASTIAN E. WILSON |

Cinematographer
ZACH SIGLOW |

To those who came before us—who sang the songs, danced the dances, who showed us what it truly means to love, to hold space, to endure and triumph over your trouble—we are grateful to and for you.

THIS TOO, SHALL PASS, premieres tomorrow.

Stay tuned for a preview.

“I was really able to go to some really deep, intimate places where I felt genuine emotion that was not solely for the camera…it was a genuine release for myself.”

— | dancer, researcher & co-choreographer for my latest short screendance, THIS TOO, SHALL PASS.

Catch the premiere for one day only, this Saturday March 21 in Atlanta, GA at the Rialto Center for the Arts as part of Dance On Film initiative. Tickets on sale now. Link in bio.