Jeremy McQueen’s The Black Iris Project presents WILD, a groundbreaking four-part dance film documenting & amplifying the voices of system-involved young men of color. Inspired by Maurice Sendak’s classic children’s novel Where the Wild Things Are, WILD follows the journey of several young men as they struggle to break free from the systemic injustices that permeate Black and Brown communities. Using physical movement to illustrate and honor the history of Black bodies moving through space while encountering oppression, this cutting-edge contemporary ballet will incorporate poetry, reflective journal entries, visual art, and original music, WILD transforms the young men’s personal stories into an artistic dance work which is intended to be a reclaiming of time, unity, space, and Black culture.

Founded by choreographer Jeremy McQueen in 2016, The Black Iris Project (BIP) is a ballet collaborative and education vehicle which creates new, relevant classical and contemporary ballet works that celebrate diversity and Black history.Based in New York City, BIP hosts a team of predominantly artists of color, and delivers cross-disciplinary and original works. Championing individuality, the collaborative harnesses the Black inherent creative spirit. The ballets that McQueen choreographs for BIP are rooted in Black history and community, bringing inadequately-represented stories to public attention through an art form that has only recently begun to expand meaningfully outside its privileged past. His works push the boundaries of the ballet world as they highlight the personal narratives of significant Black public figures as well as extraordinary individuals amongst the general public who navigate a world that is prejudiced and dangerous for them. BIPs vision is to encourage and inspire youth of color to pursue art, movement, and music as an expressive outlet and means for collective healing, as well as educating audiences about how Black history relates to the modern Black journey. BIP has performed for audiences around the country and has been featured in numerous publications including The New York Times, Elle Magazine, Village Voice, Out Magazine, Huffington Post, The Root, and received a 2020 New York Emmy®Award-nomination for it’s first dance film, “A Mother’s Rite”.