![Review - Penn Today: ‘Be Holding’: A collaboration that feels improvisational](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/632ccc0e3f4b94079d3ace2c/1697812033659-A9HMU46RQB2HSKY3LIJW/be-holding-performance-practice_3841.jpeg)
Review - Penn Today: ‘Be Holding’: A collaboration that feels improvisational
Penn faculty Brooke O’Harra (center, standing), director, collaborated with Tyshawn Sorey (center, seated), music composer, to create a production of the book-length poem “Be Holding” by Ross Gay, in partnership with Girard College in Philadelphia. The quartet Yarn/Wire performed the music, including pianists Julia Den Boer (left) and Laura Barger (second from left), and percussionist Sae Hashimoto (right). (Image: Ryan Collerd)
![Feature - The Courier-Gazette: NYC choreographer brings physical theater to Strand stage using local performers](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/632ccc0e3f4b94079d3ace2c/1690553386869-VNVOMLTY0NAHKOOXAE16/KB_The_Encounter_Baranova-7141.jpg)
Feature - The Courier-Gazette: NYC choreographer brings physical theater to Strand stage using local performers
Photo by Maria Baranova
![Press Release - Broadway World: THE ENCOUNTER: AKRON Announced At Rubber City Theatre, August 10-12](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/632ccc0e3f4b94079d3ace2c/1687537538122-XH1MG2KTLIOKD5J4L089/The+Encouter+Akron+Cast.png)
Press Release - Broadway World: THE ENCOUNTER: AKRON Announced At Rubber City Theatre, August 10-12
Melissa Ajayi, Neema Bal, Katie Beck, Kobe Calain, Kay DePew, Julia Dillard, Josy Jones, Estefania Montes, Elyse Morckel, Britt Oliver, J2 Shepherd, and Larry White Jr
Photos courtesy of the artists.
![Review - Broad Street Review: Ross Gay and Girard College present Be Holding](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/632ccc0e3f4b94079d3ace2c/1687213277243-VQWTJXZ56ZBD916RB3TJ/Be-Holding-2-BSR-6-6-23.jpg)
Review - Broad Street Review: Ross Gay and Girard College present Be Holding
Ross Gay’s Be Holding takes over Girard College’s Armory gym
Photo by Ryan Collerd
![Review - The Gig: Poetry in the Paint](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/632ccc0e3f4b94079d3ace2c/1685744623294-A5TOPQEHCCD6VJ0K54YP/David+and+Yolanda_Ryan+Collerd.jpeg)
Review - The Gig: Poetry in the Paint
Poetry in the Paint
An iconic NBA Finals shot inspires a breathtaking meditation on Black genius
Photo by Ryan Collerd
![Preview - WHYY: Of basketball with gratitude: Ross Gay’s paean to Dr. J becomes a multimedia performance](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/632ccc0e3f4b94079d3ace2c/1685545824774-X21HQSBXRZI2PTJPDLEC/David+Gaines_Emma+Lee%3AWHYY.png)
Preview - WHYY: Of basketball with gratitude: Ross Gay’s paean to Dr. J becomes a multimedia performance
Ross Gay’s ode to Julius Erving and the legacy of Black genius is the basis of a new music composition and performance at Girard College.
Photo by Emma Lee/WHYY
![Preview - The New York Times: High Schoolers Get In on an Avant-Garde Musician’s Latest Show](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/632ccc0e3f4b94079d3ace2c/1685474808866-9KAC3MXRFW51DDB2SKNG/Tyshawn+Sorey_Rachel+Wisniewski+for+The+New+York+Times.png)
Preview - The New York Times: High Schoolers Get In on an Avant-Garde Musician’s Latest Show
Tyshawn Sorey, front, the composer and multi-instrumentalist, who wrote the music for “Be Holding,” a show opening in Philadelphia on Wednesday. Credit...Rachel Wisniewski for The New York Times
![Preview - The Philadelphia Inquirer: Dr. J’s mid-air pirouette with his miraculous baseline scoop has made its way into a poem about Black genius and racial justice](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/632ccc0e3f4b94079d3ace2c/1685471627610-7FUPOW3F9PZYFOO7JWD9/Dr.+J_AP+Press.png)
Preview - The Philadelphia Inquirer: Dr. J’s mid-air pirouette with his miraculous baseline scoop has made its way into a poem about Black genius and racial justice
FILE - Philadelphia 76ers center Julius Erving (6) goes up and around the basket to score against Los Angeles Lakers center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (33) during first period action in fifth game of NBA Championships in Los Angeles, Ca., May 14, 1980. (AP Photo, File)
![Press Release - Philadelphia RowHome Magazine: World premiere at Girard College explores Black genius, justice, and joy](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/632ccc0e3f4b94079d3ace2c/1684526181822-4I7EQJF9DYIF8N7SJ3XD/Beholding_Logo_ORANGE-FNL.jpg)
Press Release - Philadelphia RowHome Magazine: World premiere at Girard College explores Black genius, justice, and joy
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![Press Release - Broadway World: World Premiere of BE HOLDING Girard College Explores Black Genius, Justice, and Joy](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/632ccc0e3f4b94079d3ace2c/1684524313769-WCHOOYSBZXEXLJH0FEIE/Be+Holding.jpeg)
Press Release - Broadway World: World Premiere of BE HOLDING Girard College Explores Black Genius, Justice, and Joy
TL: Brooke O’Harra; TR: Ross Gay; BL: Yarn/Wire; BR: Tyshawn Sorey
Photos by Various