Apollo Career Panels series continues with barrier-breakers from the world of dance, theater, music, and film

On Tuesday, June 20 at 7pm EST The Apollo Theater will host “CHAMP: Deaf Artists of Color Redefining the Performing Arts,” an in-depth discussion featuring the leading Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing artists, creators, and musicians working in the performing arts space today. The panelists come from all corners of the creative industry, spanning dance, theater, music, and film. Throughout the conversation, they will share their stories—their successes, their setbacks, and the steps they took to get to where they are today. Not only will this be an opportunity to connect and network with trailblazing artists, but also a chance to celebrate all of their contributions and uplift an integral but often under-acknowledged community.

Participants include Anton “DJ Hear No Evil” Abraham, whose DJ career has broken barriers within the music industry, and includes being named winner of the 2018 Spin-Off DJ Battle in Brooklyn; choreographer Fred Michael Beam, who co-founded, directed, and performed with the acclaimed all-male Deaf dance troupe The Wild Zappers; Jade Bryan, the first Black Deaf woman filmmaker and founder of Deaf Talent Casting as well as the #DeafTalent®Movement; Tiffany “Traź” Freeman, an ASL poet, content creator, teacher, and advocate for the Black Deaf LGBTQ+ communities; Briana “Beautiful the Artist” Johnson, the first Black Deaf female rap artist and founder of the Signdance hip-hop dance company; Zavier Sabió, who has worked in theater as a co-director of artistic sign language (DASL) and hosts Nuyorican Deaf Poetry Nights; and Jeremy Lee Stone, an actor and ASL consultant who worked on the set of the Oscar-winning film Sound of Metal, as well as Creed III.

The panel will be sign-interpreted and designed to center the Deaf community and experience; hearing audience members are welcome, but asked to be aware that this is an event specifically catered to those who are Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing.

“CHAMP: Deaf Artists of Color Redefining the Performing Arts” is part of Apollo Career Panels, presented by Apollo Education. The Career Panel series seeks to provide a behind-the-scenes look at lesser-known careers in arts and entertainment and shine a spotlight on people of color working in these creative industries.

TICKETS: Free with RSVP. Register here.