2026 Master of Fine Arts in Dance: Embodied Interdisciplinary Praxis (MFAEIP) Graduate
My work centers on dance as a profound tool for connection, empathy, and storytelling—one that evokes visceral response while engaging social realities and our shared humanity. Choreography is my primary medium for translating complex ideas into movement, empowering the body to explore personal and collective histories. Through this work, I engage questions of identity and existence within Black communities, revealing the powerful legacies embedded in the Black experience while also addressing the broader complexities of the human condition and our collective pathways toward healing.
I explore the body as a multifaceted vessel—an epicenter of social dance, embodied resistance, and a repository of ancestral and collective memory. Through my Spatial Praxis methodology, which defines the body in relation to physical sites, I connect movement to significant Black heritage spaces, fostering dialogue between the body and place. My research demonstrates that both the body and these sacred sites carry transgenerational memory; when they interact, ancestral knowledge emerges, uncovering inherited trauma and resilience passed down through generations. This process becomes a means of healing, reimagining Black geography, and critically, redefining Black identity.
My interests are shaped by layered communities— those I grew up within, those formed in the studio, voices often overlooked, and the environments where the work lives. I am drawn to interdisciplinary collaboration, intersecting dance with photography, music, poetry, and film to allow multiple narratives and perspectives to coexist. This layering of mediums creates space for connection, dialogue, and reflection. I began developing these approaches with the founding of Tristian Griffin Dance Company in 2019 in Kansas City. Together, we engage the work as a living practice—using movement and multidisciplinary production as spiritual preparation for difficult yet necessary conversations about change. Through this process, we uncover new insights and bring them to life in works that empower, represent, and amplify the voices of the unheard, unseen, and unrepresented.
The Black Palimpsest Credits:
Created and performed by Tristian Griffin in collaboration with:
Alex Kimball (BADALASKAN), musician
Trevor Turla, musician
Pheenix Leeor, musician
Maya Freelon, visual artist
Kenny Johnson, photographer
Poet T.L. Sanders, poet
Michael Williams, tour guide
A native of Kansas City, MO Tristian Griffin graduated from Texas Christian University in Ballet and a minor in English. Following graduation, Tristian began his professional career and danced with Garth Fagan Dance Company, Wylliams- Henry Contemporary Dance Company, the Metropolitan Opera House (NYC), and Springboard Danse Montreal. In 2019, Tristian began his endeavor as a choreographer by starting his dance company, Tristian Griffin Dance Company. As a choreographer, he has been commissioned by over 15 different institutions or companies. To name a few, Kennesaw State University, Newport Contemporary Ballet, Peabody Institute of The John Hopkins University, and Malashock Dance Company. In 2023, Tristian was selected as a recipient of the Jacob’s Pillow Residency: Ann & Weston Hicks Choreography Fellowship. He is currently pursuing his MFA in Choreography at Duke University, with a certificate in African and African American Studies. While at Duke, he received the Outstanding Student Choreography Award from the American College Dance Festival, and his research has been supported by both the Global Affairs Department and the Dean’s Research Grant.
The Master of Fine Arts in Dance: Embodied Interdisciplinary Praxis (MFAEIP) is a two-year, full-time, terminal degree program grounded in Duke’s interdisciplinary approach. This program encourages research that responds to urgent global issues and joins critical conversations both within and beyond the arts.
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