NOW Performance: Shodekeh Sho'dekeh "The Corcoran College of Art and Design (500 17th St. NW) will be hosting Shodekeh at 7 p.m. in collaboration with dancer and choreographer Krysia Bock. He'll also be holding workshops with students all weekend to conceptualize his performance. The performance is part of the weekly Corcoran Uncorked, which is free for members and students." - The Washington Examiner. Photograph by Philip Edward Laubner. 

Department of Dance Shodekeh's Video at the 2011 BMA exhibit "Sometimes people say to me "I'm confused, how does your Beatboxing work in the context of Dance at Towson University?" I try to explain it in simple terms & also extensively other times. But to see your own breath embodied full-out through highly skilled movement & dance? Maybe some things are better left as being totally indescribable." - Dominic Shodekeh Talifero.

"The Towson University Department of Dance's Mission advocates Dancing for a Lifetime by challenging students to examine and refine their approaches to the arts of dancing, choreography, and dance education. Towson offers professional dance training within the context of a comprehensive liberal arts education. Majors experience rigorous preparation to dance and create dance at all ages and stages of life—in professional companies, as educators and as arts advocates." - The Towson University Department of Dance.

Shodekeh — TU's Innovator-in-Residence "I have to take a moment to give a very special shout out to movement collaborator & choreographer Abby Magalee, the Imperator Furiosa of dance...Thank you for your creative contributions, brilliant insights & the overall embodiment of my voice & music as it appeared in the recent video story about my work as the TU COFAC Innovator-in-Residence & my upcoming composer's journey to Carnegie Hall, & especially for the part where it looks like you're about to kick me right in the head, amazing...The Towson University Department of Dance was the first place I became acknowledged as a composer for hundreds of classes, choreographic works & countless mid-term & final performance examinations in a manner that was authentic & creatively sustained, all the way from 2006 - 2018. So it makes such perfect sense to have things come full circle & collaborate once again with TU Dance alumni Abby for this video project, one of the best dance friends I've ever had." - Dominic Shodekeh Talifero. 

"I believe the power of live performance has the capacity to shift our perspectives, drop into the present moment, and connect one another on a deeper level."  - Abby Magalee.

2010 ADF School Catalog by American Dance Festival Friday Guest Artist Classes with Quilan Arnold "ADF is fortunate to have some of the finest dance musicians in the country on its roster. The American Dance Festival has been a magnet drawing together diverse artists, styles, theories, and dance training methods; from this creative mix the ADF has emerged as the sponsor of performances by some of the greatest choreographers and dance companies of our time. Jack Anderson traces the development of ADF from its beginnings in New England to its seasons at Duke University. He displays the ADF for the multidimensional creature it is—a center for performances, a school for the best young dancers in the country, and a provider of community and professional services." - The American Dance Festival @ Duke University. 

Corps de Ballet Aerial Improv with Shodekeh Winner of the 2024 Women Empowerment Award at the Rome Film Festival & the 2023 International Music Video Underground Award.

"The wispy quality of professional ballerinas sets a precedent for aspiring dancers that is often unachievable through healthy practices. As a result, young dancers are typically tempted to change their bodies by overexercising or under-eating. Director Katherine Hutchinson visually expresses how ballet shaped her body image using aerial dance and an original score. The film demonstrates the restriction of body shame and the freedom of relinquishing that shame." - The Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival. 

About | AirKatherine Dear Terry.... Sincerely, Nancy & Jayne jam exploration with breath artist Shodekeh "Meet my friend Shodekeh. He will be making the musical score for my video, “Corps de Ballet”. Dominic “Shodekeh” Talifero is a groundbreaking and highly adept Beatboxer, Vocal Percussionist and Breath Artist who pushes the boundaries of the human voice within and outside the context of Hip Hop music and culture." - Kate Hutchinson.

Official selection at the Tokyo International Short Film Festival, the San Francisco Aerial Arts Festival, the Toronto Indie Filmmaker's Festival & the Aerial Arts Film Festival, 2024.

Senga Nengudi Shodekeh "In this most recent academic year I was awarded the National Endowment for the Humanities Distinguished Teaching Professorship here at Colorado College for 2024 - 2025, & one of my main projects in this fellowship as the very first "Breath Artist-in-Residence" was to reimagine Senga Nengudi's multimedia + fabric art piece "Warp Trance" directly with the legendary "process artist" herself and Ella Boyd Brocker of the CC Dance program" - Dominic Shodekeh Talifero.

"Senga Nengudi has been working in sculpture and performance for over 50 years, and finally the global art world is catching up. Her signature pieces in nylon mesh and sand are suggestive yet insist on an expansiveness of signification.  Her early performances in Los Angeles in the 1970s were integral to the development of the art scene there, and engaged African and Asian performative modalities." - The American Academy of Arts & Sciences.

Senga Nengudi: Warp Trance - Fine Arts Center "The video art of this work is now available for viewing on You Tube, & I'm so very inspired by Senga's holistic brilliance & neverending curatorial process, as she has found a way to subtly edit, stitch, collage & essentially "fabricize" my creative breath techniques + embodied movements & the collaborative choreography of CC dance major Ella Boyd Brocker into the very artwork itself." - Dominic Shodekeh Talifero.

Nederlands Dans Theater "Hello Mr. Talifero, I hope this message finds you well. My name is Kele Roberson, I am dancer currently with Netherlands Dans Theater, a contemporary dance company located in Den Haag, Netherlands. I recently stumbled upon “25x25” and upon listening felt incredibly compelled by your two incredible tracks in the album, Vodalities I & II, that draw on the breath and voice /vocal percussion...I have been searching for music for months now and these two tracks felt like an absolute gift to stumble upon - I feel they somehow link exactly to what I feel and imagine for the piece I’d like to make." - Kele Roberson of the Nederlands Dans Theater.

Vodalities: I. The Universality of Breath Art Dancers & choreographers "Thank you so much for your response and your permission…!! I so greatly appreciate it. And how fitting that you used to make music for dance - you can absolutely feel it when you listen!! I will make sure to send through things / info as it comes along. I would also love to see/ hear any more material related to the music you might have!" - Kele Roberson of the Nederlands Dans Theater.

Sho'dekeh & Alash Iberi Choir live in Baltimore part 1 "Since Alash and beatboxer Shodekeh first met in 2011, they have forged an ongoing friendship and an ever evolving musical collaboration. Shodekeh, based in Baltimore, Maryland, is a vocal percussionist and breath artist who serves as musical accompanist and composer in residence for Towson University’s Department of Dance, as well as dance accompanist at Johns Hopkins Peabody Institute. Shodekeh often tours with Alash in the States, and he has become a regular visitor to Tuva. The 2016 documentary film "Shu-de!" directed by Michael Faulkner, documents Shodekeh’s musical journey to Tuva and features Alash and other musicians. Alash and Shodekeh continue to build a unique musical and cultural bridge between Baltimore, Maryland, and Kyzyl, Tuva. Bady-Dorzhu Ondar of Alash joined Shodekeh and friends to create the music for "Traveler" a short video animated by students at the Maryland Institute College of Art Animation Department. Shodekeh's project EMBODY, dedicated to music created by no instruments other than the human voice, has teamed up with Alash to combine Tuvan music with American hip hop. Most recently, a number of Baltimore hip hop musicians joined Bady-Dorzhu and Shodekeh in recording the album Embodiments. - Alash Ensemble. 

Alash and Shodekeh 2019 Annual Report - National Council for the Traditional Arts "Shodekeh has visited Tuva twice. At the most recent visit, they celebrated Alash’s 20th anniversary. The Ministry of Culture for the Republic of Tuva honored Shodekeh with a certificate of thanks and acknowledgement, highlighting the contributions he has made to advocate for the presence of music on the global stage, he said. “When I got that, let me tell you, I was so touched. It has been a really great challenge and adventure and experience — working with Alash,” he said. “I continue to learn so much not just about their music, but about their language and their culture and their land in Southern Siberia.” - Chicago Tribune.

Kongar-ool Ondar, biographical sketch Shodekeh (BeatBox) & Lithuanian Folk Singers "Kongar-ol Ondar (March 29, 1962 – July 25, 2013) was a master throat singer from the Khemchik River, Tuva.  He enjoyed a long and successful career both at home and abroad and was instrumental in the introduction of the art and culture of his homeland to the world beyond its borders. In 1993 alone, he performed and recorded with The Kronos Quartet, for their album Night Prayers; Ry Cooder, as well as Frank Zappa, the Grateful Dead’s Micky Hart, The Chieftains and Johnny “Guitar” Watson. Ondar was also a special guest at a command performance in New York City, sharing the stage with a troupe of Tibetan Monks and Japanese avant garde pioneer Kitaro. In 1994, Ondar joined forces with San Francisco artist Paul “Earthquake” Pena to record a groundbreaking blend of throat-singing and blues, aptly titled Genghis Blues." - Ondar. 

Celebrity traveler: Shodekeh's musical treks Prudence Mabhena: Ipi Ntombi "Shu-De! is a documentary structured like a spiritual journey. It follows Baltimore beatboxer and vocal percussionist Shodekeh to the open wilds of southern Siberia where he collaborates with, learns from, and competes against world famous Tuvan throat singers. The expansive countryside and multiple performances are the heart of the film where we see and hear people of vastly different cultures connect via their art." - Post Typography. 

High Zero: 2006 Documentation BEAT BOXERS "Last year, Shodekeh was the unexpected star of High Zero, initially only performing at an outdoor High Jinx event, until the organizers realized his versatility and capacity for experimentation and invited him to close out the festival with an incredible unannounced duet with Japanese throat singer Fuyuki Yamakawa, who wordlessly freestyled over the beatboxer’s rhythms." - The Baltimore Sun.

About High Zero Universal Wind: Haegeum Meets Hip Hop 해금 비트박스 즉흥 "Fuyuki Yamakawa (b 1973, UK) is a ‘Khoomei’ singer, performer, sound creator who lives and works in Yokohama. He completes a Master Course in Tama Art University in 1999, and currently teaches in Tokyo University of the Arts and Tama Art University. His performance often includes his improvisation of musical happenings picks up and amplifying the sound of his heartbeat with an electronic stethoscope. By expressing himself through sound and light, he creates a deep resonance to the space as well as to the audience." - San Art. 

IlluminAsia Shodekeh Talifero - OneBeat "Musicians: Bady-Dorzhu Ondar, vocals, igil, doshpuluur, guitar + Anya-ool Sam, vocals, doshpuluur, igil, guitar + Ayan Shirizhik, vocals, kengirge, shynggyrash, shoor, murgu, xomus + Shodekeh, human beatbox, hip-hop-xöömei. The three members are graduates of the Kyzyl Arts College and students of Kongar-ool Ondar, renowned master throat singer and member of the Tuvan parliament who was featured in the movie Genghis Blues.

Trained in traditional Tuvan music since childhood, they also cultivate a love of Western music—and sometimes include nontraditional instruments, old and new, drawing upon their knowledge of complex rhythms and Western harmonies to expand their musical possibilities. Smithsonian Folkways Recordings recently released the group’s latest album, Achai. Alash performs with guest artist Shodekeh Talifero, a professional beatboxer and vocal percussionist currently working in the Baltimore area and beyond." - The Smithsonian Institute.

Our Rhythm Documentary Short | TEDxPittsburgh Cut Cybertrad "In 2011, that other world came to him when Alash Ensemble, masters of Tuvan throat singing, performed at a Baltimore art gallery. The rest is not only history, but it’s historic. Shodekeh jammed with Alash in Baltimore and visited Tuva twice, resulting in a film, “SHU-DE!” – “Let’s Go” – on their cultural, cross-continental collaborations. Since then, Shodekeh has learned from the masters and there have been almost-annual jam sessions during Alash U.S. tours, as well as a collaborative album, “Achai,” to honor Kongar-ool Ondar, the musical father of an entire generation of Tuvan musicians. Alash and Shodekeh will comingle cultures again Thursday, Oct. 17, this time in East Tennessee, at 7:30 p.m. in St. John’s Episcopal Church, 500 N. Roan St., Johnson City. The event is sponsored by the Mary B. Martin School of the Arts at East Tennessee State University." - East Tennessee State University.  

Achai - Smithsonian Folkways Recordings World refugees day Pivot Zotamou feat Shodekeh "Achai, the Tuvan word for father, describes a deep paternal participation in the upbringing and growth of a new generation. It is also a fitting title for Alash’s new album to honor Kongar-ool Ondar, who served not only as a musical father for the ensemble, but also for an entire generation of Tuvan musicians. As Ondar shared memory and tradition, so too does Alash with spirited performances and forward-thinking collaborations. In the group’s first studio album for Smithsonian Folkways, Achai beautifully illustrates the adaptability of Tuvan music—organically created and deeply rooted, yet still interconnected with the sound world of the 21st century. Featuring master beatboxer Shodekeh, alongside time-honored Tuvan throat-singing styles, the album demonstrates how members of Alash have dedicated their lives to performing, preserving, developing, and growing the Tuvan tradition. They are worthy bearers of the culture of their fathers and sons. 57 minutes, 24-page booklet." - Smithsonian Folkways.  

Chügle Sen Sen (Only You) Announcing the Maryland Traditions Folklife Area Program "Alash’s inclusion of master beatboxer and musical adventurer Shodekeh on the album represents a deliberate choice in their vision of the future development of Tuvan music. Since Alash’s formation, the group members have sought to master the roots of their deep musical heritage and yet find ways to participate in the interconnected sound world of the 21st century. Performing with Shodekeh, himself the bearer of a rich but often misunderstood vocal tradition, creates a real-time musical connection between living performers, organically created and deeply rooted, yet futuristic." - Smithsonian Folkways.   

BALTIMORE VOICES BSO Take-Outs @ The Crown Shodekeh & BSO Percussionists Brian Prechtl & Barry Dove "Baltimore beatboxer Shodekeh rehearses Fujiko's Fairy Tale with Music Director Marin Alsop and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. This unique collaboration will be featured in the BSO's Music of Frank Zappa and Phillip Glass concert at the Meyerhoff on Friday, July 23, 2010." - The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. Photograph by What Weekly.

Q&A with Shodekeh Jennah Vainio (arr. Viitasaari): Beatbox Concerto for wind ...Variations for Four Drums "Baltimore beatboxer Shodekeh rehearses Fujiko's Fairy Tale with Music Director Marin Alsop and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. This unique collaboration will be featured in the BSO's Music of Frank Zappa and Phillip Glass concert at the Meyerhoff on Friday, July 23, 2010." - The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.

Meredith Monk Dolmen Music, Part I Shodekeh's Embody & Continuum Remix "It’s darn near impossible to reinterpret material from a musical icon without diluting the original’s vitality or tampering with some key component of the artist’s vision. But local beatboxer Shodekeh effectively re-imagined Meredith Monk’s classic “Dolmen Music” as a hip-hop instrumental by enhancing it with a battery of rhythmic flourishes. Monk’s original displayed plenty of depth but not much drive, while the Shodekeh track, featured on Monk Mix, favored solid beats over the drift of abstraction. It exuded mystery, even as it flexed newfound might, and proved to be the highlight of a collection that also featured Bjork and DJ Spooky." - Baltimore Magazine. Image courtesy of ECM Records.

MONK MIX: Remixes & Interpretations of Meredith Monk Baltimore Magazine "Best of Baltimore" Award: Best Homage for Shodekeh's Meredith Monk Remix, 2012. Featuring co-performers & co-composers Dr. Erik Spangler, Max Bent, Kate Porter & Bonnie Lander.

"Composer, vocalist, filmmaker and MacArthur Fellow Meredith Monk has created a unique body of work that uses the voice as an instrument. Now, her songs have been covered and remixed by a wide array of musicians, from Bjork to Caetano Veloso to DJ Spooky. Monk joins us to share her reaction to the surprising results on “Monk Mix.” - WNYC Studios.

Classical Revolution: Taking Classical Music to the Streets A Midsummer Night's Dream - Michael Ching "Classical Revolution is built around the idea that performing live classical music can change communities. Founded in 2007 in San Francisco, the idea has spread all around the world. Rafaela Dreisin of the Baltimore chapter of Classical Revolution will lead a combined group of musicians from both DC and Baltimore in a regional collaboration crafted specifically for TEDxMidAtlantic 2012. Both groups perform regularly in and around Baltimore and Washington with performances ranging from impromptu public venues to regularly scheduled evening events." - TEDxMidAtlantic. Photo by TED Talks.

Classical *Revolution Classical Revolution Baltimore - The Luckiest (Ben Folds), featuring Shodekeh Classical Revolution Baltimore - Ysaye and Beat Box featuring Shodekeh "Classical Revolution is a chamber music organization known for holding performances of classical music in unusual spaces. Charith Premawardhana founded the organization in 2006 at San Francisco’s Revolution Café. As of 2013, the organization had 38 chapters in different cities in North America and Europe including London, Berlin, and Paris. The group focuses on accessibility to the audience and creating opportunities for local musicians to perform. Its tagline is "chamber music for the people." - Classical Revolution. 

View Program Notes Percussion Studio Recital - Fall 2023: featuring Shodekeh, breath artist Vodalities: Paradigms of Consciousness for the Human Voice was co-commissioned by the Caramoor Festival, Sō Percussion’s New Work Development Program, Bard Conservatory Percussion, Baylor University Percussion, the University of Michigan Percussion, and Vanderbilt University Percussion.

"Shodekeh Talifero’s Vodalities: Paradigms of Consciousness for the Human Voice was composed orally and transmitted to Sō Percussion through recordings. He originally sent us the three movements as completed performances and also as individual stems for transcribing each part. We then translated his vocal percussion sounds into physical percussion. The skill, creativity, and range of colors in Shodekeh’s practice is astonishing. The only way to fully grasp this is to hear him perform, which is why it is essential to listen to the accompanying mp3s before building your own interpretation of the piece." - Dr. Adam Sliwinski of Sō Percussion.

Collaborations Virginia Tech: KandinskyBeatDown 2009 "Vodalities: Paradigms of Consciousness for the Human Voice" by S. Talifero // U-M Percussion Ens. "Vodalities, Paradigms of Consciousness for the Human Voice" composed by Dominic Shodekeh Talifero: Asia premiere @ the University of the Arts Singapore in the National Design Centre of Singapore in 2026.

"In a completely different vein is Vodalities, Paradigms of Consciousness for the Human Voice, created by composer and performing artist Shodekeh Talifero, who pays tribute to Bobby McFerrin, Ella Fitzgerald, and Doug E. Fresh in an exploration of wordless vocal techniques used by musicians around the word. Talifero’s vocal percussion merged with the sounds produced by So Percussion, for whom the piece was written, in a fascinating experience that was as compelling visually as it was aurally." - Classical Voice of North America. 

Performances of Works by American Composers Group 5 Works Organizational Profile Beatboxer Shodekeh joins Hopkins Symphony Orchestra "I would love to see how the composer notated this for beat boxer!" - Davey Doodle.

"There are 6 main beats which were created by Shodekeh (1 for each of the chess pieces) and his part in the score is more like a map, showing when to play each of the beats and for how long. The soloist used a chess board on a music stand for his score in some of the performances!" - Ruby Fulton.

Theatre Review: 'Blood at the Root' at Towson University "The play is written for a cast of six, but Del Valle has supplemented them with a background ensemble of nine, as well as the locally famous beatboxer, Dominic Shodekeh Talifero. The latter opens the show, dressed as a janitor and mopping the stage while creating ominous sounds and rhythms into a well-concealed body mic. Shodekeh reappears many times throughout the play, serving as connective tissue, as well as underscoring or as an accompaniment, to Del Valle’s electrifying movement sequences." - Theatre Review.

Photo courtesy of the Towson University Department of Theatre Arts.

MACHETE x SHODEKEH present Live & Radicalized "Dear Shodekeh, On behalf of the Butler Center, the College’s student-facing office for Identity, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, we would like to extend an invitation to work with, partner, and collaborate on our collective antiracism commitments for the benefit of not only the CC student community, but the college community as a whole. As an Identity-based center, we pride ourselves on centering, advocating, and uplifting those with marginalized identities and lived experiences. We understand the importance of multicultural and diverse spaces on this college campus given the history of the founding of this institution of higher education. Celebrating and uplifting the work of creatives, authors and educators, is one of the many ways we collaborate and advocate for marginalized communities within the college campus. In the coming weeks, we would like to work with and collaborate with you as a creative consultant through your role as the college’s Breath Artist-In-Residence. This letter serves as an acknowledgement of your gifts as a creative force on this campus, a research-based performance artist, and as a program creative. We want to uplift and celebrate your body of work and acknowledge the work you are doing for the CC community. THANK YOU for your interest in upholding the college’s antiracist commitment and being a willing participant in our department’s efforts to educate, celebrate, and advocate for marginalized communities here at Colorado College." - The Butler Center.

Dave Daniels Jr "I'm so excited to be serving as a co-organizer of this event taking place next week, as I've been a student of Wing Chun in the last several years. It's been much more challenging for me than I initially expected, & I still have a very long way to go. But I intend on finishing what I started, as this discipline has been one of the key factors in my continued growth." - Shodekeh.

"Dave Daniels having been a Fitness Professional for over 40 years and is Certified by NASM & various other organizations, is very experienced in various training modalities & is a Traditional Wing Chun Kung Fu Instructor and student under Master Keith Mazza. Mr. Daniels has been studying Traditional Wing Chun for over 20 years, is a student 1st and is always trying to improve and get better for his Clients & Students to best prepare them and help them get in the best shape of their lives." - Human Anatomy in Symmetry. 

Dallo Fall | Giving of Self + Senegal "Through my new ARAIR residency at the Butler Center, one of my main focuses is creating new community connections for the division of Institutional Equity & Belonging centered in cultural identity + artistic advocacy. Tomorrow's event featuring Dallo Fall will be an extraordinary example of that kind of new momentum." - Shodekeh.

"Dallo has been dancing since she was a very young girl. In her rural village in the Casamance region of Senegal, every major event in a person’s life is celebrated with music and dance. Dallo enjoys sharing the vibrant beauty of her culture through traditional percussion rhythm, dance movement, and song. She is an attentive and challenging teacher who works well with dancers of all levels. Dallo teaches African Dance at The Colorado College in Colorado Springs, CO. Together with her drum and dance ensemble,”Jamoral” she offers workshops and performances throughout Colorado’s Front Range." - Peak Radar.

This beatboxer shows you how to make art out of your breath "Next week I'll be leading a very unique Breath Art master class experience tailored specifically for the staff & students of the Butler Center (Anti-Racism + DEI) of Colorado College, & I can't wait to go deeper into it's many creative possibilities in terms of personal restoration & empowerment." - Shodekeh.

"In situations where there is much confusion and / or conflict about "praying," use and / or suggest the use of the following Compensatory Universal Prayer: Quietly "breathe in" (deeply) then breathe out. While doing so, think about "The Source" of your breath and your breathing, and how dependent you are on "The Source" that created it. This is a basic form of "The United-Independent Compensatory Universal Prayer." When you awaken from sleep, breathe deeply, and while holding and releasing your breath, think about The Source of each and every breath that you ever taken. Think about each "part" of your mind, body, and spirit, including your breath, as a gift that you have not yet "earned." Be silently thankful for all of those uncounted breaths that you have ever received. Constantly use logic in constructively thinking about, and appeciating the value of The Source ("The Creator," "The Great Spirit," "Allah," "All-Power," ect.)." - Neely Fuller Jr, "The United Independent Compensatory Code/System/Concept: A Compensatory Counter-Racist Code."

S.P.A. (Sonic Portal to the Afrofuture) "I'll be creating, curating & maintaining a mini "breath art" installation for Iyanla's capstone today & all weekend here at Colorado College. There are still undeniable hopes through the youth." - Shodekeh.

"Shodekeh, Affirming your Wellness & Protection, You are a site of unobstructed flow, of focused power, of first Earth soil, of ancient alchemy, of ancestral reclamation, of spirit-body reparation, and of the reintegration between the seen and unseen. You are a trickster facilitating sublime storms, quiet collisions that will rumble like thunder only because sound travels slower than light. You are creating conditions for a falling apart that is a falling into place. You are, and the ground trembles as if every buried memory awakens like an army behind you, every disremembered story rumbles with a command to be told. You come like lightning and leave like thunder, a two-fold ripple of transformative and fertilizing truth. You are an undeniable storm, and I am honored to have collided with you. You return me to the birthright that is my breath, and you challenge me to do more careful work, the kind that none of the prevailing systems have instructions for or take concerted heed of. There is no chance of a place or person being left unchanged if they knew you. Whatever visions I can support, you let me know." - Iyanla Ayite.

Photograph courtesy of Colorado College. 

Jordan Peele's 'Get Out': The Oral History "This upcoming film screening & discussion of "Get Out" will be one of my main programs this Fall semester through my new ARAIR residency at the Butler Center, & I absolutely can not wait to lead this experience. As I'm currently studying this film in preparation, the countless layers & dimensions continue to reveal themselves, & attending the New York Film Academy as a college student back in 2001 continues to pay off." - Shodekeh.

The Kerner Commission The Riot Report | American Experience | Official Site "Inspired by the Antiracist Book Club Fall 2025 - 2026 selections ("Nuclear Nuevo México: Colonialism and the Effects of the Nuclear Industrial Complex on Nuevomexicanos" by Myrriah Gómez & "Noor" by science fiction author Nnedi Okorafor) during my Anti-Racist Artist Residency, I decided to carefully choose my very own reading / research endeavor specific to my pilot launch, which became "The Kerner Report," first published in 1968 and commissioned by President Lyndon B. Johnson. This legendary report will be having it's 50th anniversary in 2028, hence the highly anticipated and dynamic relevance of my selection." - Dominic Shodekeh Talifero. 

"Today I designed & installed my very first "Black History Lab" as a creative consultant for the Butler Center of Colorado College, including a rare 1968 copy of the "The Kerner Report," & my heart is so full right now. This immersive & hands-on lab experience was composed of the knowledge systems of libraries, art museums, special collections / archives, record stores, numismatics & oral histories + oral tradition, all curated to exist adjacently & concurrently at different paradigm stations within the same space of the center. This was a culminating response to the concept challenge / research prompt of "How do you turn Black History Month into a year-long & / or lifelong practice?" I could have given a "lecture presentation" I guess, but deep down inside that's not how I really rock. Creating a prototype model of a "humanities lab" was definitely the way for me to go, & I'll be unpacking so much from this experience all this week & for quite some time to come." - Shodekeh.

Blood at the Root Frantz Fanon: Combat Breathing "Ideological (Technical) Difficulties...My character Mr. Jim E. Talifero in the play "Blood at the Root", the school janitor & the lost oracle of Cedar, LA, climbing a ladder in order to remove the nooses from the tree Ol' Devoted at Cedar High...Removing these nooses within the context of this theatrical production, (not including rehearsals) which by the time we have our final show on Saturday will total up tp eight separate occasions, has been more than extraordinarily difficult for me, especially as someone who has battled direct & indirect symbolic, violent acts of racism / white supremacy not only in society, but particularly in my own family as a child for many, many years, where I was supposed to feel safe. But yesterday several black student majors in the Theatre program here at Towson University told me that when I engage in the act of taking the nooses down, I am performing an act of heroism, similar to the scene of Christopher Plummer ripping the Nazi flag in half in the film "The Sound of Music". Feeling grateful to the Universe for sending me the exact encouragement I needed in order to complete the next four runs of this show, starting up once again tonight. My performance this evening will be dedicated to two of my great ancestors Lynwood Talifero & Linwood Talifero, who both fought against the Third Reich & the Axis Forces in World War II..." - Shodekeh.

"Breath Garde" (a term conceived of by Dominic Shodekeh Talifero in December of 2025): The curated applications of "Breath Art" which are maximized explicitly through the lens of Franz Fanon's concept of "Combat Breathing" in the name of fostering a diversity of creative, philosophical, experimental and musical efforts to counter institutionalized racism, white supremacy, colonialism and systemic oppression." - Shodekeh.

Radical Eyes Foundations: "Breath Art is the Blues of the Human Beatbox...With my dear caremate + altar-companion Machete Garcia, I've released a brand new single entitled "Fuck Your Fear + Radical Eyes" & I'm so proud & yet humbled to say that not since recording with Joyce J. Scott & Bady Dorzhu Ondar of Alash have I been brought so close to the very essence of the Blues. This of course makes complete & total sense considering that she's originally from the haunted lands of Missouri. We'll be performing these two songs & more during a duet concert that we're having at 12:30 pm at the Seay Library of Music & Art @ Colorado College, which is more than fitting since we recorded our songs in the Colorado College Department of Music last Fall."

Special Note: If you have a pair of decent or advanced headphones, we highly recommend using them, because listening to what we've created is a bio-acoustic + bio-ancestral experience, just as music should be. - Shodekeh.