Be Holding

Thelma Lovette YMCA Members Exclusive Tickets
still of band and large panelled screen showing a basketball in the background
Co-created by Ross Gay, Tyshawn Sorey, Brooke O’Harra and Yarn/Wire, performance still of Be Holding, 2023, Girard College, Philadelphia; Courtesy of the Artist; photo: Ryan Collard
When
Sat., May 2, 7:30–9 p.m.
Sun., May 3, 7:30–9 p.m.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m, performance begins promptly at 7:30 p.m.
Open Seating
Where
Thelma Lovette YMCA

We are so grateful to the members of the Thelma Lovette YMCA for sharing your space with us. Please join us for one of the performances of Be Holding as our guest.

Be Holding is a large-scale performance staged on the basketball court of the Thelma Lovette YMCA. Based on Ross Gay’s poem Be Holding and directed by Brooke O’Harra, the performance draws on the poem’s love song to legendary basketball player Julius Erving—known as Dr. J—who dominated courts in the 1970s and ‘80s as a small forward for the Philadelphia ‘76ers. The poem and its iteration as the performance BE HOLDING connects Dr. J’s famously impossible move from the 1980 NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers to black flight and joy. This performance engages a dynamic collective of artists, as well as high school students from Pittsburgh, who are joining the production as performers and technical support.

The performance is scored and conducted by Tyshawn Sorey for improvisation by the ensemble Yarn/Wire. Directed by Brooke O’Harra. The text is performed by Ross Gay and poet David Gaines and is accompanied by a four channel video installation designed by Matt Deinhart with orginal video designed by Catching on Thieves Lighting is by Itohan Edoloyi. Sound design by Eugene Lew. Stage Manager is Miranda Watkins. Be Holding was originally developed in residency as part of Girard College’s Campus for the City Program and premiered in Philadelphia on May 31, 2023 at Girard College.

Yarn/Wire, Ross Gay, and David Gaines will be joined on the court by an ensemble of Pittsburgh based teenagers: Jesselyn Welsh, Mira Chiarini, Kayaerah Clokey, Unique Dukes, Jewelisa Dutrieulle, Kyrai Nembhard, Te’Mar Carlise, Lorelie Myers, and Nickala Tulloch.

Part of → 59th Carnegie International

May 2, 2026–Jan. 3, 2027

Established in 1896, the Carnegie International is the longest running North American exhibition of international art. Organized every four years by Carnegie Museum of Art, the Carnegie International presents an overview of how art and artists respond to the critical questions of our time.